Time to CowboyUp!

CowboyUp-
    rodeo life: tuff-up, get back on yer horse, don't back down, don't give up, and do the best you can with the hand you're dealt.

    ranch life: give it all you've got, or "I cowboy for a living."

 From Merrian-Webster Dictionary: cow·boy
    noun
    1 : one who tends cattle or horses; especially : a usually mounted cattle-ranch hand
    2 : a rodeo performer
    
    From the American Heritage Dictionary: cow·boy  
    n.
    1. A hired man, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback. Also called cowman, cowpoke, cowpuncher, also called regionally buckaroo, vaquero, waddy.
    2. An adventurous hero.
   
    John Wayne about old time cowboys--
   
        "They were simple, direct men.
   
        They believed in things like liberty and minding their own business.
   
        When the first cowboys were herding longhorns up the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Kansas they were a pretty tough lot, but they had to be. It was a rough era in our history. There was no room for nuance or no time for luxury.
   
       Out of the lives of these cowboys have come all sorts of stories and legends, Some true and some fiction. But the most authentic and dependable evidence of what the cowboys really were has come from the artists who pictured them in their true environment, risking their lives in stampedes, freezing or sweating, under the stars, by lonely campfires, rowdying in saloons, fighting, branding and whooping it up around the chuck wagons."
   
   The American Cowboy, why is he such an icon? After all Pigboys and Sheepboys (yes there was such a thing) aren't sung about or romanticized in movies.
   The Cowboy had a horse, he didn't use a carriage or wagon, he had the ultimate mobility. During the heyday of the Cowboy, riding horses was a luxury in most of the world, in Europe, only the upper class had riding horses. Here in America, a common Cowboy not only owned a horse, if he was a good Cowboy, he may even have a "Remuda" of 1-3 more horses.
   
   Recently a German College student I know was taking a film studies class. The students had to select a genre of movies and explain their significance to the culture. She selected American Cowboy movies. She had spent some time with my family and I have a large collection of classic American westerns that I had exposed her to. This is what I told her;
   
         "The American Western is the American version of Mythology. Since the United States is a relatively young country we had to develop a mythology of our own to explain who we were. They were also stories used to teach American ideals of morals, virtue and duty.
        
    The Cowboy became the American version of the Knight-errant. He was a rugged individualist, but also loyal to friends and dangerous to foes. He was not easy to anger, but once he was wronged he took matters into his own hands to see justice was served. He was the protector of Women, children, the weak and elderly. He was a Patriotic American who loved his country, even though he may have been a former Southern Soldier (American Civil War)."
   
The Cowboy epitomizes uniquely American values of individualism, Freedom, and Justice. They did not care about your race, religion or country of origin. What was important was could you be depended on and most important, could you "CowboyUp"?

Like the Willie Nelson song "My Heroes have always been Cowboys" I grew up wanting to be a Cowboy like John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Gary Cooper, Rowdy Yates, Hoss, Little Joe, Paladin, and Matt Dillon. If you grew up in the 50's or 60's, you probably wanted to be a Cowboy too. I can not remember a time in my life that I haven't had at least one pair of Cowboy boots somewhere in my closet. When I was a kid my dad always wore a straw Cowboy hat. That's the way I still see him in my minds eye whenever I think of him. He hasn't worn a Cowboy hat in years, not since baseball caps became more stylish in the 70's, but I still think of him in that sweat stained straw hat.

 I have been lucky enough to have met real Cowboys, I have made several trips to Montana, to the "Cat Creek Cattle Company" which is near the small town of Winnet whose town motto is "Winnet Montana, it's not the end of the earth, but you can see it from here." While there I was able to meet many ranch families and enjoyed their hospitality, I missed the trip wherein my Dad and Brother assisted with roundup and branding. They didn't actually ride, they just helped with the "Banding" (neutering, using a tight band), vaccinations and branding. These folks are all hard working, Patriotic, and generous to a fault.

My Paternal Uncle played at being a Cowboy, he Rodeoed from time to time, I believe he was into roping. I do know that he owned the same Appaloosa three or more times. "Jack" was his favorite horse. Whenever times were tough or he didn't have a place to keep him, he would sell Jack only to buy him back when he could. The last time he bought Jack back, Jack's riding days were over, he loved that horse.


The current administration and other Eastern Elites, much like their beloved European Socialist idols, find Cowboys laughable. When President Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan and then Iraq, he was lampooned as a Cowboy. You see, the Europeans think calling someone a "Cowboy" is an insult. Which is something I had to explain to our German College student, that most average Americans don't. If you were an Eastern elite or an Obama appointee, it would be. To me, there could be no higher praise than being called a "Cowboy".

Since the antithesis of what this regime stands for is the Cowboy spirit, I suggest a "quiet riot". Show solidarity with your friends and compatriots in the Tea Parties. Get those old Cowboy boots out, polish 'em up and wear 'em. Go to you local "Tractor Supply" store. They have inexpensive straw Cowboy hats. Wear them this summer to the Little League and Soccer games you attend, they are great for keeping the Sun off your face and neck, that's what they were designed for. They have a full selection of Cowboy style work boots and if you wear a suit or Business attire for work, a pair of shined Cowboy boots work just fine. Cowboy boots go with Jeans, Khakis or Slacks.

 Show your independence and your opposition to where our country is going... "CowboyUp!"