Introduction

Jack Shell grew up in rural Matun, Kansas. His family's farmhouse was on top of one small hill and across the way a little higher were the rankos. Between the properties was a long depression where a creek had once been - but it was only about ten feet wide when I was a kid. The rankos were considered bad seeds. Their property was derelict, always about to be taken by the bank. You never knew which relatives were living there.