The Real Cowboy

It has begun! The Houston Rodeo has come to town. It isn't everywhere that you get the chance to see cows going through the middle of a major metropolitan city. The cowboy hats, the wrangler jeans, the the whole array!

My questions is how can you really know if a person is a cowboy or not? I heard on the radio that if you area a wannabe, then you have to dress a certain way. Thus the cowboy hat, the wrangler jeans, don't do the "Garth Brooks" shirt beacuase that was, as they say "so yesterday". But the problem is... I would not call just anyone that has the look of a cowboy and the talk of a cowboy - a genuine cowboy. There are too many people out there that think they are cowboys just because they rode a horse, and have a big buckle. Let's just face it, "YOU ARE NOT A COWBOY UNLESS YOU WORK WITH COWS!" - thus the COWboy. Riding a bull takes guts but doesn't make you a cowboy. What makes you a cowboy is wakeing up early, working the ranch, moving the cattle, fixing the fence and stuff that.

I remember when I was a child being in church with a real cowboy. He was a gentleman of some age - i.e. like a adopted grandpa. The pastor asked us to all hold hands for prayer. He reached down to take may hand with his, and it was like holding onto leather. The sun had taken a toll on his skin, you could see it in his weathered face, but the riding of horses, roping of cattle, the mending of fences all had a toll on his hands. They were thick and hard. He was a hero to me, but he was also a real cowboy. I will tell you how to tell if someone is a cowboy - just look at their hands. It is a sure tell sign of a real cowboy.