A Small Time Warp

*I want to start with the disclaimer that I purposefully edited down these pictures because they are copyrighted and while I have permission to reproduce for myself, I didn't want the full size files on the web at large.*

**And also, I was very clear with the photographers that I wanted Old West pictures, but I knew for darn sure that some of those cowboys had respectable wives and I didn't want a picture of myself being a saloon girl with Jeremy all cowboyed up. The man laughed, but he found me a nice "townsfolk" dress.**

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Back in the Old West, there was a law man named Nolen, Sheriff Nolen. He was a family man and his wife, Mrs. Nolen, was a respectable Christian woman (not like those women of lose morals you often see in period Old West pictures).


They had two fine children, Sydney Marie and John Patrick. John was training up to be a cow hand and had a small calf that he took with him everywhere. Sydney Marie, well she was cute as could be.

Our tale turns, though, as we discover that Sheriff Nolen, before coming out to the peaceable town of Galveston, was actually Jeremy Scott Nolen, one of the famous Nolen boys.

His littlest brother, Jon, was still a rough riding, sharp shooting outlaw. One day Jon came into town and let his brother know about a little opportunity. Jeremy might have passed it up, but Jon brought leverage in the form of Ma Roberts, the leader of the gang.

Jeremy never did like to say "no" to his mama and soon the heist was on. It was simple, really. The only lawman in town was the sheriff himself and with him in on it, the deed was done. After the loot was divvied up, Jon and Ma Roberts headed back home and left Sheriff Nolen to his respectable ways, with none of the townsfolk ever the wiser to their lawman's dirty past.

As for Mrs. Nolen, she never did ask where her husband got the money for that pretty new Sunday bonnet. She may have been a good Christian woman, but she wasn't a fool.


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I now really want to bring my sister-in-law Rachel to this place. I want on Old West picture of her and the kids because I really see her as the embodiment of a western woman. Not a southern woman, swooning and fainting. Not a yankee woman, uptight and overly concerned with society or anything like that. A woman of the west, with the strength of pioneering stock. I think if she had lived back then, she would have been the woman running the ranch on her own, baby girl on one hip, shot gun on the other.

I don't know if she would agree with any of that, but it's how I see her. And I think if she'd been here today, she would have been in the bank robbery photo after taking a sweet picture of herself and the kids.