From the Land of Cowboys to You; or, The Modern Buckaroo’s Guide to the World
32. Life is more interesting as a Cowboy.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, you’ve got to be careful with this Cowboy thing, but with judicious application, the most mundane duties become charged with Mythic meaning.
from Gunman’s Gold, by Max Brand
Pocket Books, 1960
illustrator unknown
Last Stand! Trapped! Brush Fire! or Die! When this is truly the case, […]
The End of the Trail, by Peter Field
cover illus. Earl Bergey
Pocket Book, 1945
from the collection of ES
36. Anybody can wear cowboy boots; it’s the person who wears spurs who commands attention.*
* Although, outside of a rodeo, a horse show, a trail ride, a ranch, or some serious two-step action, who would wear them? Never mind–go […]
There are days when words come easy. There are days when words come hard. And there are days when other people come to you with the perfect words.
Cowboy metaphors are simple to use but harder to back up (see “cowboy diplomacy”). From the press statements of world leaders to casual water-cooler talk, the downright […]
Like a tumbling tumbleweed, a question or thought on one blog is is found on another. From High Country News (For Those Who Care About the West) comes the feature story “Why the West Needs Mythic Cowboys.”
Untitled (Woody Strode), copyright 2007
The author Jeffrey Lockwood argues, like Batboy42, that Myths (in stark contrast to myths) have […]
A certain commentary conversation was getting veeeery interesting, so I have to bring it to the light of day. High Noon day that is. I had fingered Gary Cooper as a Man Worthy of Emulation (at least on the silver screen). Cooper’s Everyman Marshal Kane is willing to risk all for the sake of duty. […]
When life appears frustrating, demeaning, terrifying, unfixable, and/or immutable, it is helpful to ask: “What would Gary Cooper do?”
His example—and that of other western celluloid heroes—provides an antidote to the life of the office drone, the frustrated housewife/husband, or the cog in the machine. Following the Cowboy Way allows one to stand tall in the […]