The Pony Express – and One Noisy Day

On April 3, 1860, a wiry fellow working for Russell, Majors, and Waddell, jumped on a horse in St. Joseph Missouri and with a whoop and a holler carried a mail pouch east. Cheers erupted from a crowd of spectators. Ten days later that mail reached San Francisco, and thus the Pony Express rode into history.

One hundred and six years later, on April 3, 1966, the day I was born, a different kind of noise reverberated across America. The number 1 song on the pop music charts was My Soul and Inspiration by The Righteous Brothers. On the country charts, I Want to Go to You by Eddy Arnold held the number 1 spot.

At the movies, the musical, Frankie and Johnny, graced theater marquis from St. Joseph to San Francisco. Elvis Presley and Donna Douglas starred in this show. Records were available from the movie’s soundtrack and contained songs like Please Don’t Stop Loving Me and Down by the Riverside. Donna Douglas, by the way, starred in The Beverly Hillbillies. Now, who doesn’t remember that opening theme song?

The Dodge Charger rolled off conveyor belts and proceeded to cruise along roads all across the country. Technically, this car came out in 1964 but was only for show. It wasn’t available to the public until 1966. Although it probably made much more noise than the average pony, it could get you from St. Joseph to San Francisco a lot faster.

News of the Vietnam War occupied airwaves and newspaper columns, as protesters, took to the streets and chanted for peace. Flower Power was the slogan of the day, but demonstrations rose in volume and intensity before it was all over.

No matter what kind of noise was made in 1860, 1966, or even today, one thing remains the same. The Pony Express makes us think of thundering hoof beats, brave riders facing dangerous circumstances, and a special kind of romance that comes along for the ride.

Ride into My Heart

Kimimela, a member of the Sioux tribe, works at a Pony Express station where she struggles to cope with the death of her sister. When she’s kidnapped by gun smugglers, can her Cherokee friend, Pony Express rider Gabe, rescue her before it’s too late?

Debby Lee was raised in the cozy town of Toledo, Washington. The American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America are two organizations Debby enjoys being a part of. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steven Laube Literary Agency. As a self-proclaimed nature lover and avid listener of 1960’s folk music, Debby can’t help but feel like a hippie child who wasn’t born soon enough to attend Woodstock.

Debby loves connecting with her readers on Facebook and via her website at www.booksbydebbylee.com