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Honcho: A Western Short Story
Honcho is traveling through rough country, more dangerous than he realizes. When he stops to help a defenseless woman with her farm work, he discovers a group of hippies camped near the river not far away. He has heard of hippies and has gone among them to learn of their new ways, but he does not like this bunch. These levelers of society are the kind who will not work or take a bath, and he is sure it is just a matter of time until they try to steal some tomatoes.
Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2018
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About the author
John D. Nesbitt
147 books19 followersJohn D. Nesbitt is the author of more than forty books, including traditional westerns, crossover western mysteries, contemporary western fiction, retro/noir fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
He has won the Western Writers of America Spur Award four times–twice for paperback novel, once for short story, and once for poem. He has been a finalist for the Spur Award once as well as for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award twice and the Will Rogers Medallion Award four times. He has also received two creative writing fellowships with the Wyoming Arts Council (once for fiction, once for nonfiction).
John has had a distinguished career as a college instructor, most notably for thirty-eight years at Eastern Wyoming College. He lives in the plains country of Wyoming, where he stays in touch with the natural world and the settings for his work. He writes about lifelike people in realistic situations, people who deserve justice and a fair shake in life.
Recent works include Castle Butte, a young adult novel; Dusk Along the Niobrara, a frontier mystery; and In a Large and Lonesome Land, a CD of western songs for which he wrote all the lyrics.
He has won the Western Writers of America Spur Award four times–twice for paperback novel, once for short story, and once for poem. He has been a finalist for the Spur Award once as well as for the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award twice and the Will Rogers Medallion Award four times. He has also received two creative writing fellowships with the Wyoming Arts Council (once for fiction, once for nonfiction).
John has had a distinguished career as a college instructor, most notably for thirty-eight years at Eastern Wyoming College. He lives in the plains country of Wyoming, where he stays in touch with the natural world and the settings for his work. He writes about lifelike people in realistic situations, people who deserve justice and a fair shake in life.
Recent works include Castle Butte, a young adult novel; Dusk Along the Niobrara, a frontier mystery; and In a Large and Lonesome Land, a CD of western songs for which he wrote all the lyrics.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 4, 2018
The problem I have with many “serious” short story writers are that they seem to fixate on the ugliness of life. Raymond Carver, for example, wrote about working men who failed in life with broken marriages and failed careers and who were not able to understand or express their angst.
As if in answer to all this, John D. Nesbitt gives us HONCHO, a fine story about a working man who many might consider a failure. He has no steady job, family, or home. Honcho considers himself a success because he knows himself very well and lives by his own set of rules: “A man had to stick by what he believed in, and if he had nothing to believe in he'd better keep looking.”
We learn very quickly that Honcho has “sand enough but no drift” and is a working man who “dressed for use and comfort, not for style.” We also learn that he’s had a tough life because he’d “spent most of his life on the trail” and has learned to be careful.
When he is picked up by Ida, a lone woman in a pickup truck, Honcho uses powers of deduction to figure out her story: Father in hospital, only she and her brother to work the farm, and she needs help. Honcho talks his way into a job, though on his own terms, which included it would last only “as long as he was needed. And as long as neither one was doing a favor.”
As the story develops, Honcho not just works on the ranch, but also teaches Ida’s younger brother what a man should know: How to start an old hand-cranked tractor, determine when hay is ready to gather, how to stack hay from the field with minimum effort, how to take care of the equipment. He also protects the family from an idler who would steal.
We also learn about his philosophy of life:
“To each of us is given a life. To live with honor and to pass on having left our mark, it is only essential that we do our part, that we leave our children strong. A man's task is to give them as good a start as possible before moving on.”
By the end of the story, he must move on:
“As he walked down the driveway to his unknown destination, he did not look back. His thoughts were not of what lay ahead or behind; his one reflection, as he turned onto Bell Road and paused to roll a cigarette, was that Jimmy and his father and Ida had gotten what they needed and wanted, thanks to the efforts of a man.”
As if in answer to all this, John D. Nesbitt gives us HONCHO, a fine story about a working man who many might consider a failure. He has no steady job, family, or home. Honcho considers himself a success because he knows himself very well and lives by his own set of rules: “A man had to stick by what he believed in, and if he had nothing to believe in he'd better keep looking.”
We learn very quickly that Honcho has “sand enough but no drift” and is a working man who “dressed for use and comfort, not for style.” We also learn that he’s had a tough life because he’d “spent most of his life on the trail” and has learned to be careful.
When he is picked up by Ida, a lone woman in a pickup truck, Honcho uses powers of deduction to figure out her story: Father in hospital, only she and her brother to work the farm, and she needs help. Honcho talks his way into a job, though on his own terms, which included it would last only “as long as he was needed. And as long as neither one was doing a favor.”
As the story develops, Honcho not just works on the ranch, but also teaches Ida’s younger brother what a man should know: How to start an old hand-cranked tractor, determine when hay is ready to gather, how to stack hay from the field with minimum effort, how to take care of the equipment. He also protects the family from an idler who would steal.
We also learn about his philosophy of life:
“To each of us is given a life. To live with honor and to pass on having left our mark, it is only essential that we do our part, that we leave our children strong. A man's task is to give them as good a start as possible before moving on.”
By the end of the story, he must move on:
“As he walked down the driveway to his unknown destination, he did not look back. His thoughts were not of what lay ahead or behind; his one reflection, as he turned onto Bell Road and paused to roll a cigarette, was that Jimmy and his father and Ida had gotten what they needed and wanted, thanks to the efforts of a man.”
May 28, 2018
A Most Enjoyable, Easy Reading Western!
Calling on his personal, life-long experience in the western outdoors, Nesbitt masterfully creates this realistic, entertaining tale to give reader's a delightful few minutes of enjoyable reading.
Calling on his personal, life-long experience in the western outdoors, Nesbitt masterfully creates this realistic, entertaining tale to give reader's a delightful few minutes of enjoyable reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews