From the Land of Cowboys to You; or, The Modern Buckaroo’s Guide to the World
A recent sojourn to Idaho revealed another essential cowboy truth–cowboys still exist. You just have to know where to look for them.
Oliver’s in Pocatello: Deep into a thick omelette and excellent coffee. Along the counter are seated several men, all with sneakers and jeans and polo shirts or button-down shirts and baseball caps (the new […]
In honor of Day of the American Cowboy, I hereby proclaim New York City the official Urban Cowboy State. Someday to join the real Cowboy State, Wyoming, and receive a parade of cowboys up Madison Avenue (fuggeddabout astronauts and sport teams). This day should be for cowboys of all creeds, genders, ethnicities, sexual persuasions, or […]
Steamy urban heat waves makes me the anti-Cowboy. I get mean and petulant. Kind of like Jack Palance in Shane, but without the lethal grace. How did the real cowboys handle the smells, the dust, the boredom, the loneliness of the West? They couldn’t have just dismissed the heat with an airy “oh, but it’s […]
Yesterday was Owen Wister’s birthday, the man who almost single-handedly created the Cowboy mythos. He’s both a masterful wordsmith and a cautionary example against using the Cowboy indiscriminately.
Who the hell is Owen Wister? One of my favorite places on the Wild Western Web for all things Americana, The Library of Congress’s American Memory site […]
Channel a Mythic Cowboy who sings, and you can embody more Cowboy facts.
Roy Rogers November 5, 1911-July 6, 1998
31. Cowboys get cool nicknames like Tex, Red, Ringo Kid, Cattle Queen, Bucko, or Roy Rogers–although I think Leonard Franklin Slye has a nice ring.
30. Cowboys burst into Song. Mythic song. And often. Try it next time you are […]
Used to prop up many a political point, the Cowboy Hero risks being seen only as a monolithic feature on the American landscape, like those iconic buttes and pinnacles in Monument Valley.* Connoisseurs of westerns know that the Cowboy Hero splinters into impressively variegated types, such as bounty hunters, cowboys (from Jack Elam to Gene […]
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 […]
Bucko’s Boots. Photo copyright 2008 comoed
42. No other shoes do what cowboy boots do.
41. No other shoes do what cowboy boots do.
40. No other boots do what cowboy boots do.
OK, OK, that’s cheating. But it is a fact that bears repeating.
41. Walking in boots makes you imagine the ching of spurs. All the time.
40. Even […]