Here's a picture from my days working cattle. My horse's name was Ben.
I Am A Westerner
By Paul H. Betancourt
copyright May, 2012
By Paul H. Betancourt
copyright May, 2012
Why is it
that cowboys are icons of America? People come from all over the world to stay
at dude ranches where people can re-live the Wild West.
I think part
of the reason is cowboys represent us at our best. Yeah, I know all the
criticisms, but think about it for a moment. In the time of the cowboys,
America was young. We had just ended the scourge of slavery. We were free and
independent. We were confident and self-reliant.
I realized a
few years ago I am a Westerner. It’s not just that I am a Californian and I
used to work cattle. Maybe I have read too many Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour
novels, but the men and women in their stories are my kind of heroes. I find
them out here all the time. The self-reliant, hard working men and women of
Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage are still alive today.
You don’t
need fancy clothes, boots and jeans are fine for most events. Work maybe hard,
but it is honest and productive. The food is honest too. Do you remember Cookie
in the movie City Slickers? “It’s hot, it’s brown and there’s plenty of it.”
And, there’s
just something about those wide, open spaces.
you can find the audio version to this and others at
This is Memorial Day Weekend. Assemblymember Linda Halderman reminds is that over a million men and women have given their lives in service to our country. I can never be thankful enough for their sacrifice. Freedom is not free, and they gave us, As Mr. Lincoln said, "the last full measure of their devotion."
It is the Soldier
by Father Dennis O'Brian-USMC
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given is the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag."
I hope Y'all enjoy Memorial Day Weekend,
and take a moment to remember.
P
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