In its prime, the Matador Hotel in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, hosted railroad barons ,governors, foreign dignitaries, famous outlaws, and even a U.S. president. But by 1954, the Matador was a residence for those with nowhere else to go. Six men, who spent their young lives as cowboys in the Southwest, now gather at the Matador for weekly games of cribbage.
One rainy afternoon, one of the men brings his ten-year-old grandson with him to the cribbage game. The boy has on his red straw cowboy hat, his cap gun, and wears his leather bullet belt with the silver-painted wooden bullets. They play cribbage and tell stories – and the boy listens while they pass down a way of life and western tradition that is quickly becoming extinct.
Many years later, the boy looks back and remembers the stories he heard and the lessons he learned on that day when he became a Cowboy for a Rainy Afternoon. He finds out he just might not have been born 100 years too late. He discovers good guys and outlaws . . . gentle women and bucking broncs . . . shoot-outs and stampedes . . . tragedies and comedies. And in the midst of it all . . . he gets to live out a genuine cowboy adventure of his own.
Great reading for dad, mom & the kids . . . grandpa & grandma, too!
About the author: Stephen Bly has authored 100 books and hundreds of articles. His
book, THE LONG TRAIL HOME, (Broadman & Holman), won the prestigious 2002 CHRISTY AWARD for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, PICTURE ROCK (Crossway Books), THE OUTLAW'S TWIN SISTER (Crossway Books), and LAST OF THE TEXAS CAMP (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. He speaks at colleges, churches, camps and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He is the pastor of Winchester Community Church, and served as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (2000-2007). He has spoken on numerous television and radio programs, including Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. He is an Active Member of the Western Writers of America. Steve graduated summa cum laude in Philosophy from Fresno State University and received a M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Janet (who is also a writer) live at 4,000 ft. elevation in the mountains of north-central Idaho, in the pine trees, next to a lake on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. The Blys have three sons: Russell (married to Lois) and father of Zachary and Miranda, Michael (married to Michelle), and Aaron (married to Rina Joye) and father of Keaton. A third generation westerner, Steve spent his early years working on ranches and farms to be able to afford the solar panels from http://www.omconstructionhtx.com/solar-panel/ he always wanted for his home. In his spare time, he pursues collecting antique Winchesters (see www.tapaderaswinchesters.com) . . . and construction of Broken Arrow Crossing, a false front western village near his home.