{"id":12879,"date":"2002-12-10T05:54:59","date_gmt":"2002-12-10T10:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12879"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:07:09","slug":"all-the-shades-of-gold-by-jenny-g","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12879","title":{"rendered":"All the Shades of Gold (by Jenny G)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Summary<\/strong>:\u00a0 looking at the flexible structure of the Ponderosa ranch house .\u00a0 Does the house seem warm and inviting to you or do you always wonder where all those bedrooms come from when guests visit?<\/p>\n<p>Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (3,550 words)<\/p>\n<p><strong>All the Shades of Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not.<\/em><br \/>\n<em>St John Ch 1 v 6.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ben Cartwright put his horse in the barn and walked slowly across the yard towards the house. For some reason that he could not quite put his finger on, he felt infinitely weary. It had been a long, tiring ride home from Placerville; it was a journey that he had made a hundred times before but this time it had taken a lot out of him. Perhaps, he thought, it was just that he was getting old.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, even before he had set out for home he had been drained, emotionally exhausted by long hours of wrangling with fellow members of the Cattlemen\u2019s Association. And it had all been such a waste of time! They were as mule headed and as entrenched in their old positions as they had always been. They simply couldn\u2019t understand that the world was changing all around them, all the time. New people were flooding into the territory every day. The days of the wide-open ranges were numbered; the cattle barons had to adapt, or perish!<\/p>\n<p>Ben heaved a sigh. In his heart he knew that things weren\u2019t really as bad as all that. The change was slow; he was unlikely to see any difference in his lifetime. The boys though \u2013 his sons \u2013 well, perhaps that was a different matter.<\/p>\n<p>The house, the barn and the yard were a study in gray. The sun had been hiding behind rain clouds all afternoon, although it had not rained. It was late afternoon, and the fading light robbed the familiar scene of all color and all life. Even the milk cows, close up against the side of the barn in the home corral, were unmoving, a part of the still life &#8211; only the flick of an ear or a switch of a tail gave the lie to the illusion. The house loomed, a dark, angular shape in its surrounding thicket of scrub oak and pine. The pine log walls appeared black; the roof was pointed and steep, specially designed to throw off the winter snows. It was a stark, sharp shape against the sky. No light showed at any of the windows.<\/p>\n<p>Glad to be home, Ben let himself in through the front door \u2013 the door that was never locked. For a moment he stood just inside, letting out a pent up breath and shedding some of the tension that had built up inside him.<\/p>\n<p>There was no one else in the house. It was dark, and it was quiet \u2013 but not silent. Standing there, not moving, listening, he could hear the tick of the long case clock that stood against the wall. It was slow and steady like the beat of a heart. If he really strained his ears he could hear the creaks and groans of the house itself, the noises made by all wood-built structures as the timbers moved and shifted one against the other. It was a familiar and comforting sound.<\/p>\n<p>Ben hung up his hat and coat on one of the pegs beside the door and unbuckled his gunbelt, depositing it on the sideboard. He allowed his fingertips to glide lightly over the edges of the furniture, shifting from piece to piece as he moved further into the room. None of it was new. Some of it had once been expensive: shipped around the cape from the east, brought up the Sacramento River on a paddleboat and hauled over the mountains in wagons. The rest of it was locally made and had a rough-hewn practicality about its design, solid and durable. All of it was familiar, the touch of it the caress of an old friend<\/p>\n<p>Ben had built this house himself, with blood and sweat and not a few tears. He had felled the mighty trees, trimming them where they lay and hauling them to this selected spot behind a team of horses. He had worked them with own hands until those hands bled. He had nailed them together with expectations and bound them tightly with hope. He had built them thick and built them tall, the walls of a castle, safe and secure against all that the world could throw against him. It was a house that had become, over the course of many years, a home to him and all that was his. Some days, like today, if he stood still and very quiet he could imagine that he heard it breathing, soft and slow.<\/p>\n<p>Outside, beyond the lake and the pine-clad hills, the sun, setting now in a blaze of glory, at last slipped free of the enshrouding clouds. The intense copper light tinged with saffron and with dazzling pink flooded into the room through the tall, un-shuttered window that graced the dining room. It brushed a swathe of brilliance across the polished wood of the table and gilded the backs of the ornately carved chairs; it brightened the striped satin of the sofa and cast long, dark shadows on the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Ben walked towards the fireplace \u2013 the heart of the home. Built of massive, grey granite the blocks fit snugly together &#8211; there was not room for even a playing card to be slipped into the cracks between them. They were the solid core on which the whole house leaned \u2013 the intrinsic backbone of the building without which it would surely fall. In a mood for remembering, Ben recalled putting these great blocks in place, the sheer hard work of hauling them, one by one over new roads in a flatbed wagon has been backbreaking. And then had come the muscle cracking effort of hoisting them into place. In memory he could still smell the bear grease that had eased the pulleys, hear the creak of hemp as the ropes strained under the load and feel the heat of that summer\u2019s sun on his back. There had been only himself to do the work, with the help of one very young man to depend on and the occasional assistance of a neighbor.<\/p>\n<p>So lost was Ben in his reverie that he failed to hear the rapid rattle of a horse\u2019s hooves outside in the yard. A few moments later the front door opened and Hoss Cartwright, Ben\u2019s middle-born son came in to the house.<\/p>\n<p>Hoss was a huge man in every respect. Taller than his father even without the high crowned hat, he was wide in the shoulder and barrel-chested, a veritable giant of a man. But physical size was just a small part of what there was to Hoss Cartwright. Large as the great room of the ranch house was, his personality filled it to capacity. Bashful, kindly and caring, his bluff manner concealed a heart as big as all outdoors. At the sight of his father his broad face split into a white, gap-toothed grin.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hi, Pa! We weren\u2019t expectin\u2019 you back from Placerville \u2018till tomorrow!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ben smiled fondly as his enormous son dumped hat and gunbelt on the sideboard. &#8220;I decided not to stay overnight after all.&#8221; He didn\u2019t add that a bleak room in a hotel in Placerville held none of the attractions of home. Hoss, of all his sons was the one most likely to understand that sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>Hoss, as was his habit, headed straight for the kitchen. Ben found himself remembering the man\u2019s mother. Hoss had inherited her ice blue eyes and her reddish hair, spun as fine as silk \u2013 along with her open-heartedness and practical, Swedish individuality. She had not been an especially large woman; Hoss had gotten his size from somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Inger had never known the house \u2013 had taken no part at all in its design or construction. Ben had met and married her on his way west. She had died in a covered wagon, victim of an Indian attack while still making that prolonged, intermittent and much-interrupted journey.<\/p>\n<p>He paused to wonder what she would have thought of the home he had built. Certainly it was larger and more pretentious than anything she had ever known. Ben smiled slightly as he thought of her. Her halting voice with its light and lilting accent would have made the high rafters ring with laughter and the strange, sweet songs of her homeland. She would have pulled him out into the center of the great room and danced him around for the sheer joy of living!<\/p>\n<p>Hoss came back from the kitchen munching on a huge slab of sandwich. Ben frowned. &#8220;I thought we would wait supper until your brother got home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mm. Sure, Pa. That\u2019s okay.&#8221; Hoss spoke through a mouthful of bread and fat belly-pork. &#8220;This is just a little snack ta keep a man goin, ya know?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ben chuckled and shook his head indulgently. Hoss\u2019s appetite \u2013 and his capacity \u2013 was renown.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Say, ain\u2019t it kinda cold in here?&#8221; A puzzled look on his face, Hoss looked around and behind him for the source of his discomfort. The walls of the house, two pine logs thick, effectively resisted the summer\u2019s heat and the intense cold of winter. They could do little to forestall the encroaching damp chill of a late autumn evening.<\/p>\n<p>Ben noticed how chilly it had become and turned to the fireplace. The makings of a fire were already laid in the hearth &#8211; great slices of pine wood on a bed of shavings. He struck a match on the hearthstone and applied it to the kindling.<\/p>\n<p>The shavings caught fire at once and the bark on the logs started to crisp and curl. Faint at first and then stronger as the flames took hold, flickering amber firelight touched the men\u2019s faces, and a wave of radiant heat spread outwards through the room.<\/p>\n<p>Ben held out his hands to the warmth, and Hoss sat down to finish his sandwich. The big man was sure glad to see his father looking more relaxed; in recent days his pa\u2019s dark eyes had been distracted with worry and his mood as fragile as them fancy spun-glass do-dads Hoss had seen in a city store once at Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;So how\u2019d your meetin\u2019 with the cattlemen go, Pa?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ben sighed and settled himself into the other armchair. &#8220;Not well.&#8221; Ben\u2019s voice sounded as weary as he felt. &#8220;They just don\u2019t seem to understand that with all the new people coming in we\u2019re going to have to give way on some things: access, right of way, water rights, or in the end they\u2019ll take everything away from us by sheer weight of numbers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hoss pulled a face. He didn\u2019t understand everything that went on at those high-flown meetings, but he had similar concerns himself &#8211; about newcomers encroaching on the wild and beautiful places that he loved. He settled back and started to tell his father about the day he had spent checking the yearling herd and on the progress of the young stock.<\/p>\n<p>It was nearly full dark when Joe Cartwright arrived home, and it was turning cold outside. Bursting through the door with his usual enthusiasm, he found his father and his brother sitting companionably in the warm glow of the firelight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hey, what you-all fellas sittin\u2019 there in the dark for?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The youngest of Ben Cartwright\u2019s sons, Joe had retained the appearance and much of the hotheaded exuberance of youth. Shedding his coat and gunbelt at the door, he moved swiftly \u2018round the big room, lighting the oil lamps and keeping up a constant stream of chatter. Before long, the yellow light had spread to every corner, driving back and defeating the very last shadow. Ben watched him with affection. In Joe, he could still see the image of Marie, his mother \u2013 just as alive and as full of energy as she had been on that last fateful day. Of a smaller stature than either Hoss or his father, Joe was light boned and slight. He had his mother\u2019s dark brown hair with its tendency to curl in the nap of his neck and her sparkling hazel eyes, green flecked and so often filled with mischief.<\/p>\n<p>Hoss got up to close the shutters across the tall window, sealing out the night. Ben, now warm and comfortable beside the fire, had to make an effort to stir himself. Soon, the three of them were sitting round the table with supper spread out in front of them; in Hoss\u2019s case a good deal of it was already inside him! While they ate, Joe talked, regaling them with tales of his exploits with the banker\u2019s daughter and telling them all about the new, bright-chestnut foal that had been born that autumn to his favorite mare.<\/p>\n<p>Watching the young man\u2019s animated face as he spoke, Ben was again reminded of Marie. She had adored horses too, and had loved to ride. Of all Ben\u2019s wives, Marie alone had known the house \u2013 indeed, Joe had been born there. It had been Marie who, of a French-New Orleans background herself, had imported the elegant continental furniture that graced the great room, the gilded, silver backed mirrors and the fine linen that the family still used. Marie had loaded the tables with flowers and filled the air with their fragrance. Marie had hung bright curtains at all the windows and brought a sophisticated, feminine grace. Marie had turned the big, solid house into a warm and welcoming home.<\/p>\n<p>Once they had gathered again beside the fire, Ben put on another chunk of pine wood, and the flames danced and crackled. He started his first pipe of the evening, lighting it with a long spill and puffing out clouds of smoke. None of his wives, he remembered, had much enjoyed the aroma. Then, while Joe and Hoss set up the checkers board and sat down to the first of an interminable number of games, he settled back into his armchair. He shook out the pages of the Virginia City Clarion; the paper was only a week old so, its news was virtually brand new.<\/p>\n<p>By half past eight the fire had burned down to smoldering ashes, and Ben was dozing in his chair. He had been lulled into sleep by the warmth and the comfort and the murmur of his son\u2019s voices. Hoss was losing yet another game, and Joe was chortling with delight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That\u2019s two weeks chores you owe me!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Aw, Little Joe,&#8221; Hoss shook his head mournfully, &#8220;I guess it just ain\u2019t my night.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Joe started to set up the board again. &#8220;Another game?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don\u2019t reckon\u2026&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Joe beamed. He just knew he was on a winning streak, and he wanted to push it as far as it would go. &#8220;One more game \u2013 double or nothing!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Tempted by the prospect of recouping his losses but aware that luck was running against him, Hoss scowled, &#8220;I don\u2019t know\u2026&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Go on! Be a devil!&#8221; Joe glanced at his father to assure that the elder Cartwright had not heard his small blasphemy. &#8220;It\u2019s your move.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hoss\u2019s face screwed up in concentration. He wiped his palms on his pants and reached out a hand.<\/p>\n<p>The wind moaned in the chimney. Hoss hesitated, his fingers poised over a piece. &#8220;What was that?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wasn\u2019t nothin\u2019. Just the wind.&#8221; Joe was eager to get on with the game; already he was savoring victory and anticipating long, warm lie-ins in bed. &#8220;C\u2019mon. Get on with it!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hoss threw off the feeling and made his move. The ranch house was a very long ride from their nearest neighbor, and they were not expecting any visitors. It must have been just the wind that he heard. He tried to pay attention to the board \u2013 after all, there was a whole lot riding on it.<\/p>\n<p>The game was halfway through and Hoss, to his surprise and delight, was winning when the front door opened abruptly, and a tall man walked right in. Joe and Hoss looked up in surprise. Joe\u2019s hand jerked, knocking over the checkers board. Ben started awake. The newcomer closed the door in the teeth of the gale that tried to follow him in. He took off his black hat and shook it, shedding jewel-bright droplets of water; outside in the night, it was raining. Joe and Hoss relaxed, and Joe cocked a cheeky grin.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hi, Adam! We didn\u2019t expect you ta make it home \u2018til tomorrow!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Adam Cartwright, the eldest of Ben\u2019s sons, the child of his first marriage, unbuckled his gunbelt and hung up his dripping coat. He ran a hand through his cropped black hair. &#8220;I got as far as Sutton\u2019s Crossing and thought I might as well ride on home. That was before it started to rain.&#8221; He didn\u2019t have to add that, mostly, he preferred home to anywhere else. He moved swiftly to the fire to warm himself. His brothers could see that his pants were soaking wet and that he tracked water across the floor.<\/p>\n<p>Ben got up and shook hands with his son. &#8220;I\u2019m glad you got home. Did you have a good trip?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Eventful, anyway.&#8221; Adam\u2019s handsome, evenly featured face twisted for a moment into a grimace of distaste. It was an expression that reminded Ben instantly of the beautiful, dark haired Elizabeth. How often had he seen her pull that very same face in a fleeting moment of disgust.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The trail\u2019s already washed out in two places between here and Sparks,&#8221; Adam was saying, holding his hands out to the fire, &#8220;and the Truckee River\u2019s runnin\u2019 high.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ben frowned, &#8220;But you did get the contract to Kingdom Jones on time?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was late,&#8221; Adam confessed, &#8220;but I talked fast. He signed it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That\u2019s good news, son! Well done!&#8221; Ben felt the strain of the last few days lift off his shoulders. He noticed how wet Adam was. &#8220;You\u2019d better get dry, and I guess you\u2019re tired after your ride.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Adam stretched a few stiff muscles in his back. It always amused him how his father still tried to chase him off to bed. &#8220;I\u2019d like to unwind before I turn in &#8211; and I could do with something to eat.&#8221; He arched an expectant eyebrow at his younger brothers.<\/p>\n<p>Gazing at the upset checkers board, Hoss sighed. Just when it looked like he had a chance of winning\u2026 Joe was more than happy to abandon the game; he was already well ahead in the scoring. He slapped his older, bigger brother on the black clad shoulder; &#8220;I\u2019ll get ya some grub, Adam.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thanks Joe.&#8221; Adam gave him a wink and one of his rare, quick smiles.<\/p>\n<p>Hoss started to put the checkers back into the box. &#8220;Hey, Joe, get some for me too, huh?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Adam went upstairs to change into some dry clothes while Ben stoked up the fire. Sitting back in his chair he thought some more about Elizabeth.<\/p>\n<p>She had been the first woman he\u2019d ever loved. For a long time after her death he had believed that he would never love again. She\u2019d had the same raven-black hair that she had bequeathed to Adam, and the same eyes: hazel-brown in daylight, dark in the shadows and a bright yellow topaz in the full light of the sun. He had her wicked sense of humor, her slow burning temper and her sudden, sincere laugh.<\/p>\n<p>It saddened him to think that Elizabeth had had no part in the house. When she had been alive it had been no more than an insubstantial dream in Ben\u2019s mind \u2013 a \u2018one-day\u2019 sort of thing. He\u2019d had grandiose plans for them then, in the far off days of his youth, such high hopes! That had been half a lifetime ago. Those hopes and dreams had died when she had died and were buried in the New England earth. She had left him only memories \u2013 of joy and of sadness. And, of course, she had left him her son.<\/p>\n<p>It had been Adam who had relinquished his childhood and crossed a continent, following his father west. Most of the way he had walked, cold, tired, and hungry across desert, plain, and mountain. He had crossed rivers, fought Indians, eaten his meat raw when he had to; he had never complained. It had been Adam, as a young man, who had worked alongside him to tame a wild land. It had been Adam who had drawn up the plans for the house and worked with his hands to get it built. And Adam who had retraced his steps across the country, exiling himself for long years and returning with the education and the acumen necessary to ensure the survival of the family business to the end of the century \u2013 and beyond. Ben knew that &#8211; just sometimes \u2013 he forgot that his eldest had a sensitive and artistic nature carefully concealed behind his tough exterior.<\/p>\n<p>When Adam came down, clean, and dry, and dressed in comfortable clothes, he brought his guitar with him. After he had eaten he sat beside the fire, playing gentle melodies and singing in his fine baritone voice. Then his family joined in and sang along with him: hymns and ditties and the popular music hall songs of the day. The house swelled and grew with the love and the lives of those present and those whose lives were remembered. It filled up with music and laughter until it spilled over and flowed out into the yard along with the rich golden light.<\/p>\n<p>The End<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_12879\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"12879\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif?resize=16%2C16&#038;ssl=1\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary:\u00a0 looking at the flexible structure of the Ponderosa ranch house .\u00a0 Does the house seem warm and inviting to you or do you always wonder where all those bedrooms come from when guests visit?<\/p>\n<p>Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (3,550 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9737,"featured_media":14402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,4],"tags":[14,15,17,16],"class_list":["post-12879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-humor","tag-adam-cartwright","tag-ben","tag-hoss","tag-joe","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-4-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":1124,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pondarosa-House-3.jpg?fit=564%2C401&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12136,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12136","url_meta":{"origin":12879,"position":0},"title":"The Rebirth of Joe Cartwright (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"August 1, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"DebbieB passed away Christmas 2021. Any reader wishing to read this story should e:mail the Brandsters:\u00a0 Brandsters2020@gmail.com","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Drama&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/feature-2.jpg?fit=338%2C338&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12134,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12134","url_meta":{"origin":12879,"position":1},"title":"In My Father&#8217;s House (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"May 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"DebbieB passed away Christmas 2021. 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