Joel Nelson and wife, Sylvia manage a small cattle ranch outside Alpine Texas where he manages to scribble a few lines now and then. Most of those lines are the distilled product of the life he’s led. Among his life experience are; 35 or more invitations to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. 35 or so to the Texas Gathering in Alphine. A Poet-in-Residency in Northumberland Arts Group (1999). He had a CD of poetry nominated for a Grammy in 2000 (the spoken word category). He has over 50 years as a working ranch cowboy. Several years starting Colts for the King Ranch, Parker Ranch (Hawaii) and others. He served 14 months combat duty with the 101st Airboarne Division in VietNam in 1969-1970. Most recently he was awarded the The 2021 Working Cowboy Award from the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock Texas.