How We Are Doing

Discussion in 'Personal Diaries' started by Cody Fousnaugh, Sep 20, 2019.

  1. Lulu Moppet

    Lulu Moppet Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Nov 14, 2018
    Messages:
    1,163
    Likes Received:
    1,742
    #46
    Shirley Martin likes this.
  2. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2015
    Messages:
    5,747
    Likes Received:
    7,721
    My, my. Pretty darn good.
     
    #47
    Faye Fox likes this.
  3. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    12,750
    Likes Received:
    8,743
    Bill, I know all of this. I spent 20 years, both swinging a rope as a "header"/Team Roper and working for Stock Contractors. Actually, there are those who are past the age of 60 that still Team Rope. Ever heard of Senior Pro? It's not called "Senior" for nothing!

    I haven't been involved (in the arena) for some 18 years now, but wife and I still wear Wrangler jeans, Resistol hats and Roper boots by Ariat. I traded in my old pointed cowboy boots for the Ariat Roper boots right after I bought my Red Roan Quarter Horse (heading horse). When I met my wife, I bought her a pair of Ariat Lace-Up Roper boots that she loves. Got rid of her pointed boots. Stopped wearing the old Western "snap" shirts and went with more modern button-down collar and button shirts that are Western as well.

    There is even Cowboy Church here and in Cheyenne. Look up Coy Huffman (cowboy church minister). He has his own website. Some pro-rodeos even have Cowboy Church on Sunday morning next to the arena.

    IOW, Bill, the cowboy lifestyle hasn't died, just slowed down. Really. And, depending on where a person lives, that person will see more of the cowboy lifestyle. Actually, Bill, take a look at the website Mountain States Ranch Rodeo where actual ranch hands/cowboys compete. We went to a Ranch Rodeo in Colorado Springs when we lived in Colorado before.

    There are still Western events that have cowboy singing and cowboy poetry involved in them.
     
    #48
    Bill Boggs and Faye Fox like this.
  4. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    12,750
    Likes Received:
    8,743
    Just never/ever tell a working ranch cowboy or their foreman that the cowboy lifestyle is dead! Don't go to a Stockyards and tell a Pen Rider that the cowboy lifestyle is dead! And, don't tell a World Champion Rodeo Cowboy that the cowboy lifestyle is dead!

    Yes, the lifestyle has changed, but it's definitely NOT dead!!
     
    #49
    Bill Boggs and Faye Fox like this.
  5. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2019
    Messages:
    6,086
    Likes Received:
    12,253
    Thanks Bill! I use to go and read at cowboy poetry readings, but the last time I went after taking several years off, the old style campfire cowboy poetry was replaced by city folk moving to the country, buying a few fancy horses and showing their skills as Phd's in literature. It was great poetry, just not cowboy. My poems were based on how ranch life had changed. Topics like is a women with horses and no cattle a cowgirl? Seems like a horsegirl is more correct. My favorite was about the way "cowgirls" dress for rodeo. I can't remember most of it, just the verse about tank tops.

    Ladies rodeo tank tops comes in various cuts
    some cropped short, others down to the butt
    Some very form fitting, light colored and thin
    A favorite with boys struggling to become men
    My preference my love is the ones with build in bras
    Supportive and modest and hide my ta ta's
     
    #50
    Bill Boggs likes this.
  6. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2015
    Messages:
    5,747
    Likes Received:
    7,721
    At cowboy poetry readings I never heard a lady recite. Have been to several in Lubbock.
    Lubbock's Texas Tech University hosted this month their annual Nationl Cowboy
    Symposium in Lubbock, an annual event to help keep the cowboy culture alive. I attended that
    event for several years, got to know some of the folk who furnished wagons and equipment
    to the event. Attended a number of cowboy poetry events at the symposium. And for three
    years was one of the official photographers who photographed the entire event for Texas Tech.
    https://cowboy.org
     
    #51
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2019
    Faye Fox and Bobby Cole like this.
  7. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2019
    Messages:
    6,086
    Likes Received:
    12,253
    Oh my goodness Bill, you must get out more. I have never been to one where there wasn't at least one lady, ha ha! Yvonne is well know and one of my favorites.
     
    #52
    Bill Boggs and Bobby Cole like this.
  8. Faye Fox

    Faye Fox Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2019
    Messages:
    6,086
    Likes Received:
    12,253
    What Ever Happened to Cowpokes
    by Faye Fox


    Cowboy that and cowboy this
    I’m sick of it, no respect for the Miss
    In fact, little or no respect for the cow
    Lots of bull while boys drink morning coffee
    With half fried eggs and meat from the sow


    Have these boys forgot who taught them to deliver a calf?
    It wasn’t their daddy, who put his arm in half
    Mama was the one that put her arm in all the way
    She was never skirmish or dramatic, but was calm and steady
    Turned the breech around then went about her day


    Now I must address the real issue
    So you drugstore types may need a tissue
    I’m sick and tired of the boy or girl with only a horse or pony
    Braggin about rodeo belt buckles so damn big from bull riding
    Riding the bull for 8 seconds, doesn’t erase the phony



    They call themselves cow boy or girl
    It makes me nauseous and sick, I want to hurl
    If your mini ranch has no cows that moo
    Just horses all groomed up and pretty
    Calling yourself a cow anything is just lots of bull poo poo


    Call yourself a horse girl or boy
    Your $100K horse trailer pulled by your $50K toy
    Doesn’t impress me, as I see no cows in the back
    Just fancy expensive horses, special blended horse food
    Choice hay, expensive custom made saddles and all your tack


    Your boots girl, look at the extra high heel
    I bet that crocodile will soon off the cow leather peel
    Lucky for you, you have a horse and don’t have to walk
    Because those fashion boots you wear up to your knee
    With those Denim looking leggings so tight you can hardly talk


    Real western wear is not made in China or places with forced labor
    It is made in the Americas, Australia, and such and something to savor
    Real cowgirls or boys never dressed up all fancy and guss
    Fashion wasn’t considered, just wear that aided them in their work
    Their hat had a purpose as did chaps, boots, dressing was never a fuss


    So real cattle people prodding cattle along were called pokes
    Long before the all-inclusive cowboy became popular, nothing but joke
    Real cowboys never called their mama a cowboy, not even a cowgirl
    When her jeans were ripped and worn, they got mended, not sold
    In a boutique for a high price because they had back pockets adorned with pearl

    Cowpokes is correct not slang as the liberals want us to believe
    The cowpokes language isn’t totally lost, just needs retrieve
    Ever try to poke a horse?
    Just try it, if you don’t believe me
    Just don’t come crying to me with your fools remorse



    When cowboys dropped their shirt and trousers
    In times past, cowgirls exclaimed wowsers
    Real cowboys once wore red long handle underwear
    Not shorts smacking of undergarment, called macho men boxers
    Or those awful knee length underwear looking shorts you wear to the fair


    Listen guys this isn’t a women’s lib rant
    Just me, now a city girl, that doesn’t know can’t
    I no longer can call myself a cow that or this
    I live in town wear sandals and girly sports wear
    Fix my hair all pretty and the cow poo I don’t miss

    So @Cody Fousnaugh and @Bill Boggs and cowboys on this site
    Just having some poetic improvisational fun, not pickin a fight
     
    #53
  9. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2015
    Messages:
    5,747
    Likes Received:
    7,721
    While working on a ranch as a teenager all my cowboying
    came to naught when the only broc I tried to ride not only
    threw me but threw me out of the corral in front of God, the
    owner, and all his help. Most all the stock hands were part
    time employees and when the work ended for most of us,
    I hung up my gloves. My job had been building fence,
    where most young or new hire employees started. Never
    was a cow hand but I did attain the distinction of becoming
    a profession dishwasher.
     
    #54
  10. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    12,750
    Likes Received:
    8,743
    A Saddle Bronc Rider and myself, me a Team Roper, use to be sponsored by a nightclub in Orange County, California. Boy did we see our share of "wannabe cowboys" and "buckle bunnies". Both knew a whole lot about dancing, but would never/ever allow their new boots to get dusty or dirty. Give them a saddle, blanket, pad and bridle, they wouldn't know what to do with any of it. Their main interest at a rodeo was watching bull riding. When that event wasn't on, both would be at the beer stand.
     
    #55
    Bill Boggs likes this.
  11. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2015
    Messages:
    5,747
    Likes Received:
    7,721
    @Cody Fousnaugh,
    I'll bet you were good, a cut above. Had a cousin who rodeoed a while. He was pretty good
    but never got into the big time. He became a Baptist preacher and pastored for many years.
    What he was pretty good at was writing and reciting cowboy poetry out of Guyman, OK.
    And almost forgot, Texas Tech did sponsor a rodeo and gave scholarships and they have
    one of the best western museums anywhere.

    Whatever we do, wherever we go, an old piece of advice is still fresh today, we oughta pause
    along the way, every now and then, and smell the roses.

    Good luck, Cody.
     
    #56
  12. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    12,750
    Likes Received:
    8,743
    I did attend a Roping School in Norco, California. The instructor was originally from Montana and wore the Montana cowboy hat with a big crease in it in front. My first "heading" ropes came from Rattler Rope Company until Classic Rope Company bought them out. Always wore a white Roping Glove and kept my thumb out of the dally.

    There is a big Timed Events Championship in Guthrie, OK in the Lazy E Arena yearly. It covers bulldogging, tie-down, team roping and steer tripping.
     
    #57
    Bill Boggs likes this.
  13. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2015
    Messages:
    5,747
    Likes Received:
    7,721
    Unless the writer is specific a reader may use their own imagination. And since I have
    never seen any plastic models that I can recall, when I read the poem I supposed the
    line was used because it rhymed with bed to finish out the poem, and gave it no more thought.
     
    #58
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2019
  14. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 13, 2015
    Messages:
    5,747
    Likes Received:
    7,721
    One more word about "cowboy" and cowboys. I personally have always detested the word, cowboy.
    In the 1870 census in Texas, my grandfather was listed as a twelve year old stock hand, working on
    a ranch in Stevens County. The term cowboy was not used in Texas until much later.
    The history of the cowboy can be traced back to Spain where men worked cattle. They were called
    vaqueros. Men who rode and roped well and the term sprang from the word vaquero. A translation of
    that word would be cowman or cowboy. The translation wasn't thought of yet in Texas until ranch life
    in northern Mexaco flourished under what was called the "hacienda" system, which included Texas and on further north while it was under Mexican rule, meaning of course, ranch life. I suspect cowboy didn't really catch on until early western writers started using the word cowboy.
    Before the term cowboy was used, a number of other American terms were used. Stockman, stock hand and herder were some terms used to refer to men who handled stock or cows. Wrangler later used to refer to men who handled horses. I guess what I'm saying is that writers and later movies made the term 'cowboy' as he came to be known popular. In all probability, cowboy came into play because boys most often worked on ranches in early Texas. It was mostly boys who made the cattle drives north to Kansas. Grown men were simply not available. So cowboy would have been an appropriate name for young teenagers who mostly worked the ranches of early Texas. This is not important and relates to nothing in particular. It is simply my take on things as passed down from my family, some who were the care takers of cattle on some of the ranches in early central Texas.
     
    #59
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2019
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  15. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    12,750
    Likes Received:
    8,743
    March 1st, 2020 update here:

    Well, I'm wearing my Wrangler jeans, of which I'm always wearing during the winter anyway, my felt cowboy hat, and Ariat Hiking Boots, but sometimes my Ariat Lace-Up Roper Boots, more and more here. To Walmart, restaurants and other places. It really, really feels good to go "Western", since we didn't want to "stick out like a sore thumb" in northeastern Florida (aka Jacksonville) where absolutely nobody wore, or liked, Western clothes. Here, very accepted whereas there, nope! Even my wife will wear her felt cowboy hat at times. Looking forward to later this month when we go to the BIG Denver Indian Pow Wow. Been to it before and it was great. Then, later this summer, will head to Colorado Springs and the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame for the 2020 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies.

    Have been to CLA (Centennial Livestock Auction), just north of us, a few times to watch sheep, goats, cattle be sold. Want to stop by when they are selling horses.

    Enduring the winter of cold-to-freezing temps and, of course, snow. Sometimes much more than just an inch. LOL

    Unpacked our freshwater fishing gear yesterday and put the reels on the rods. Bought our 2020 Colorado Fishing Licenses today. In a few months, have the boat "summarized" and head to local state park and onto Boyd Lake. Rodeo action and parade at CFD (Cheyenne Frontier Days) and 4th of July Parade in Greeley, as well as the Greeley Stampede Rodeo.
     
    #60
    Holly Saunders and Ken Anderson like this.

Share This Page