If I Die Before I Wake Feed Jake

The Legend of Colton H Bryant

Colton H. Bryant grew up in Wyoming and never once wanted to leave it. Wyoming loved him and he loved it back. Two things helped Colton get through school and the neighbourhood bullies: his best friend Jake and his favourite mantra: Mind over matter-- which meant to him: if you don't mind, it don't matter. Colton and Jake grew up wanting nothing more that the freedom to sleep out under the great Wyoming night sky, and to be just like Jake's dad, Bill, a strong, gentle man of few words who can ride rodeo like nobody's business. When Colton started work as a driller on a rig, despite his young wife begging him to quit, he claimed it was in his blood. Colton did die young and he died on the rig -- falling to his death because the oil company neglected to spend the $2,000 on safety rails. His family received no compensation. The strong, sad story of Colton H. Bryant's life could not be told without the telling of the land that grew him, where there are still such things as cowboys roaming the plains, where it is relationships that get you through and where a simple, soulful and just man named Colton H. Bryant lived and died.

Jeremiah, Great but Small

The Arizona Highway Patrol as I Disremember It

Author Paul Palmer first began idolizing highway patrolmen when he was a boy living in Gila Bend, Arizona. As the patrolmen stopped by to visit his father, Paul soon realized that these brave men were true heroes. He had no idea then that one day he would work with the same men he held in such high esteem. As he shares a chronological glimpse into the life and career of an Arizona patrolman, Paul begins with his first job in 1966 as a dispatcher in Holbrook, Arizona, where he jokes his best view of the town was in his rearview mirror. While providing amusing portrayals of the men and women he worked with, Paul relies on slightly exaggerated real-life experiences to depict the wonderful, wild, and wacky people who made up the Arizona Highway Patrol. Paul shares his experiences of the next 40 years, serving in both civilian and sworn capacities and how he developed lasting friendships with the heroes who put their lives on the line every day to ensure the safety of others. The Arizona Highway Patrol as I Disremember It provides an unforgettable look at the humorous side of law enforcement through the eyes of one of its own.