American Cowboy

The ‘American Cowboy’ quickly evolved into his own unique living archetype of brashness, moxie, language, etiquette and personal codes to live by. It’s amazing that the heyday of the ‘cow men’ (how they truly liked to be referred) lasted a brief twenty years, and yet their impact still defines a lasting image and identity of an entire nation. For those that read history, the names of Goodnight, Loving, Teddy ‘Blue’ Abbott, Chisholm and Nate Love, hold special significance. How many men have steeled themselves for a challenge and were able to do so by tapping into these exemplars of yesteryear?  My father took great pride in his western heritage and of the time spent as a youth, on horseback, hunting and working cattle, at the family ranch in Pine, Arizona. I was often reminded of this by his coming home from a 12-14 hour work day, at the office, and his inquiring about a job he’d given me to take care of around the house, “Did you get the job done, or, do you have an excuse?”  That’s pure cowboy. He never wanted to hear the excuse…..just wanted to know if the job was done or not. Cow men ‘oft times didn’t have time for the fluff of life, “Give it to me straight.”