Synopsis:<\/b>\u00a0The two Cartwright brothers circled each other sizing up each other for the final draw, the question is: Who\u00a0really<\/b>\u00a0did win?
\nRating:\u00a0 G
\nWords:\u00a0 1200<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Brandsters acknowledge that the authors are the owners of their stories.\u00a0 Should an author included in the project reach out to us and indicate they do not wish their work to be archived in the Bonanza Brand Fanfiction Library, we will remove their stories.\u00a0 We would also be happy to change the e:mail address for any authors who wish to continue to have their stories archived in the Library.<\/p>\n
Author’s Note:\u00a0 On Saturday, I gave 4 sessions of the Praxis test at the University. Three of those sessions were full which means I had to watch them all like a hawk to make sure they didn\u2019t cheat. However, one session only had one person. Since there wasn\u2019t anybody to cheat off of, I didn\u2019t have to watch her as closely. So I started writing bits and pieces of a short (very short!) story and this is what came out of those notes.<\/p>\n
This little tid-bit was not edited or re-written as I continue my experiment. (That experiment being this; I\u2019m trying to see how much of a story I can get on paper in the first writing.)<\/p>\n
Anyway, hope you enjoy.<\/p>\n
\n
The Argument<\/strong><\/p>\n \n I was sitting at my desk when I heard the angry voices float through the window above my head. Adam and Joseph. What in the world are they arguing about? It\u2019s been a tough winter, I admit, and we\u2019re all tired and our nerves are frayed, but fighting amongst ourselves isn\u2019t going to help. Maybe if I just let them fight it out it\u2019ll be over once and for all. I peek out the window to get a better handle on the situation.<\/p>\n Adam, the oldest, sometimes lets his college education get in the way of his thinking. I watch his tall, lean muscular frame move towards his younger brother like a mountain lion on the trail of his worst enemy. He stops and while I can\u2019t hear his words, I know they are ones of anger for his body language speaks volumes. His arms are folded across his broad chest, back straight, feet planted firmly on the ground, head cocked to one side. The scowl on his face alone would probably frighten small children\u2014but not Joseph. This youngest son of mine has an extremely short fuse on his temper and it doesn\u2019t take much to get him riled. He stands now looking up at his taller, more muscular brother and I can\u2019t help but smile. Joseph has never been one to back away from a fight, no matter the opponent. As I watch the two of them, the story of David and Goliath comes to mind, not only because Joseph needs those dark curls of his cut, but because Adam is a good 3 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier. If bets were being taken, most would chose Adam as the hands-down winner. That is, unless they knew Joseph, the feisty little banty rooster.<\/p>\n I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to look into the smiling face of my middle son, Hoss. His blue eyes cloud over as he peers out the window at his feuding brothers. He looks back at me, curiosity written all over his moon shaped face. I shrug my shoulders and shake my head, indicating I have no idea why they\u2019re fighting.<\/p>\n Hoss strides outside to the rocking chair on the porch and lowers his large frame, shifting his weight to get comfortable. Leaning back with his hands clasped behind his head, he rocks gently as he watches the show his brothers are putting on. I pull a chair up and sit beside Hoss. I realize he\u2019s puzzled by the fact that I haven\u2019t made an attempt to stop Adam and Joseph, but he doesn\u2019t ask any questions and I don\u2019t volunteer any information.<\/p>\n Suddenly, Adam throws his hat on the ground angrily. I fear fists may begin to fly any minute. If they do, I will be forced to intervene. Joseph turns his back on his brother and I hold my breath. I know in Adam\u2019s eyes, this will be seen as an act of defiance from the youngest Cartwright. But, Adam holds him temper in check, though he shouts at Joseph\u2019s back. Joseph slowly turns around to face Adam and I sense Hoss preparing to intercede if necessary. But, Joseph doesn\u2019t throw any punches. I\u2019m amazed at his restraint. Maybe he\u2019s finally growing up. Ordinarily he would have been on Adam like white on rice. Hoss settles back into his chair, but I know he\u2019s ready should his brothers \u2018discussion\u2019 become volatile.<\/span><\/p>\n Now Joseph is shouting as he stands toe to toe with Adam. I have to give the kid credit. Not too many people have the nerve to stand up to Adam. Now, don\u2019t get me wrong, Adam\u2019s not a violent person. Oh, he can hold his own in a fight and usually come out on top, but it\u2019s his mind that strikes fear into many a man. Adam\u2019s logical mind has defused several fights before they ever got started. After all, who can fight logic and expect to win?<\/p>\n Joseph, while an intelligent boy, prefers action to logic. His fiery temper demands combat and clouds sound reasoning. I can see his fists clinched by his sides and know he\u2019s fighting for control. More angry words pass between them. Joseph kicks a rock, watching as it goes sailing down the road\u2014I think the rock is probably glad to be away from them. Hoss again prepares to step in.<\/p>\n Suddenly, Adam says something to Joseph and both boys squat down on the ground. Adam draws something with a stick. Joseph takes the stick and draws something else. Hoss and I share a puzzled glance. What are they up to now? Adam points to Joseph\u2019s drawing and nods his approval. Joseph studies Adam\u2019s scrawling, makes some changes then signals his consensus. They stand up, wiping the dust from their hands on their jeans. They shake hands. Adam grins and throws a hand over his younger brother\u2019s shoulder. Joseph echoes the gesture as they both stride towards the barn.<\/p>\n Adam and Joseph are no sooner in the barn then Hoss jumps up from the rocker and heads towards the spot where just seconds before his brothers had been arguing. Resisting the urge to follow, I wait impatiently. Hoss studies the ground with a look of disbelief before throwing his head back and laughing uproariously. Puzzled, I make my way towards him. Looking down at the writing on the ground, I join Hoss, laughing until my sides hurt. From the corner of my eye, I see my oldest and youngest sons watching from the barn. Both are grinning like the cat that ate the canary. It\u2019s the first time in a long time that we\u2019ve all shared a laugh together and as Adam and Joseph come to stand beside me; I put an arm around each and smile my thanks.<\/p>\n Beaming, Joseph holds his hand out in front of Adam, who reaches into his pocket and fishes out five dollars. Shaking his head, he forks the money over as Joseph flashes a grin and a wink.<\/p>\n The four of us look at the ground again. There, scrawled in the dirt, were these words:<\/p>\n Pa looks first\u2014Adam gets $5 Hoss and I never found out what the real argument was about, but from that moment on, the trials and tribulations of the bitter winter were forgotten and laughter once again filled the Ponderosa.<\/p>\n The End<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Synopsis:\u00a0The two Cartwright brothers circled each other sizing up each other for the final draw, the question is: Who\u00a0really\u00a0did win?
\nHoss looks first\u2014Joe gets $5
\n<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n
\nRating:\u00a0 G
\nWords:\u00a0 1200<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12436,"featured_media":41001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1091,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-joe","category-drama","wpcat-1091-id","wpcat-23-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12436"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}