Western Women: KC LaCourse

Welcome to my “Incredible Western Women” series!

I was born in the small town of Colville, WA, raised in the Spokane suburbs, and moved to rural America with my husband a little over three decades ago. Country life is an amazing place to raise our sons and grandkids. Here on the Colville Reservation, we have lakes, rivers, and creeks to fishing and swim in, hills and mountains to ride horses and hike on, and plenty of space to enjoy family time.

Four generations have grown up and enjoyed this land and all it provides.

I’d like to share rural America with you through words and photos. And if you are a western woman or have someone in mind who can share their stories with us, please pass on their name and contact information to me. I’d love to include them on this journey.

So now, let’s open the corral gate and hear from this month’s western woman!

It is a pleasure to introduce KC LaCourse to you. She is a cowgirl poet with an incredibly kind and generous heart.

KC began her life on a Larkspur, Colorado, mountain for about six years. She attended a school that had one teacher for three grades. Then her family moved to Denver and kept on moving. She grew up in a very violent home and was put in the hospital a few times. The abuse caused all sorts of problems as an adult including various addictions. KC sought counseling and fought to break free from the influences of the abuse.

Yet one effect lingers.

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KC struggles with a form of Dyscalculia or “number dyslexia” which is a math learning disability that impairs an individual’s ability to learn number-related concepts. Those with this disability battle with performing accurate math calculations, reasoning and problem solving, and performing other basic math skills.

To make things worse, KC was electrocuted as a child. “I stuck a hair barrette in an outlet and it fried something in my brain.” She can’t do a lot of things but found she could rhyme and recite.

Dyscalculia was discovered when KC went to college between 2005 and 2010. Because of the disability, she was unable to graduate, falling through the cracks. She dropped out after four years of struggling to pass a basic math class.

“Whatever happened to my brain when I was electrocuted as a child ruined me. I still have report cards up until the accident, and I was doing fine. About 4th grade, it just went downhill.”

But that didn’t stop her.

Wondering if she’d ever have the strength to remain in a relationship, she found she did. Thirty-eight years later, KC is still happily married.

“Western poetry is my outlet,” she claims. I’m currently working on a CD.” KC gets plenty of airtime on American cowboy radio and OZCMR country radio.

In 2019, KC won fifth-place and a flashy belt buckle in the Bristol Cowboy Gathering. “I’m very proud of it.”

Here’s a treat for you!

The Cowboys Lament

On the trail the dust

And loneliness are my friend

For those two facts

There is no end

Only my horse and memories

Remind me of love

That shines down, from the

Harvest moon above

My love came to me

On a ship, from the

Land of green

Of castles and moors

The blue water of Celtic shores

Careless with hearts of people

The hurt I gave to others

I became deceitful

Flaws of youth

Spewed on friends and lovers

As I age and feel the spirit

Of the earth and Native man

I long for comfort

And someone to hold my hand

The peace I must find

As I ride alone

The Bible says for what we reap

So must be sown

At times I cannot sleep

As regret with dust fills my eyes

I sometimes weep

The power of the universe

Must have balance with land and man

I must honor the spirit of what

I cannot see

And believe with time

A kinship will wash over me

With all I have endured and hurt

I look for new meaning

As I embrace the Mother Earth

And walk my path of a cowboy

Understanding will be my companion

And a new rebirth

About KC:

KC Lacourse lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she enjoys writing and performing cowboy poetry. She grew up in Larkspur, Colorado, and has a deep respect for following the cowboy code.

KC is inspired by cowboy history and the struggles of living in the old west, the hardships, and the changing times that cowboys and the pioneer women endured daily.

An award-winning poet, she has traveled to Elko NV, Bristow OK, Durango CO, Grand Junction CO, Kennewick, WA, and Albuquerque NM.

She follows the trail of the cowboy gatherings and breathes life into the ghosts of the past.

Connect with KC on:

Facebook  

YouTube