COWBOY WISDOM

 

Gore Creek, Vail, Colorado

Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

Silence is sometimes the best answer.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

Most times, it just gets down to common sense, which ain’t so common.

If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

Live simply.  Love generously.  Care deeply.  Speak kindly.  Leave the rest to God.

Live a good, honorable life.  Then when you think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time!

Always drink upstream from the herd.

 “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.”  --Edward Abbey

That final bit of wisdom prompted me to think way back and enjoy a memory a second time.  Early in our marriage, my wife Karen and I enjoyed driving west on I-70 on a summer vacation from Kansas City to Denver, Colorado and the colorful Rocky Mountains.  Western Kansas and Eastern Colorado are flat land cattle pastures and waving wheat fields with panoramic skies that wrap 360 degrees and provide endless skyscapes.  But once you approach Denver, what seems to be lowering dark clouds on the horizon become in focus as towering mountain ranges.

We two city folk had driven up a rather remote mountain trail on a subsequent July afternoon and happened upon a pure Rocky Mountain stream that was calmly moving the opposite direction alongside our vehicle.  It was obviously being fed by springs and what little snow melt still remained on the shady areas among the pine trees.  The temperature was hot in the bright sunshine and we hadn’t packed anything for snacks or drinks on this little adventure. 

As we approached the summit of the trail, we stopped and ventured out into nature beside the gurgling mountain stream.  I dipped my cupped hand into the water and experienced an immediate coolness in contrast to the ambient temperature.  We knew enough about hiking to understand that there are purifying tablets which can be added to ground water in a container, but we were ill prepared for that.  So, I confidently announced that this water must be as pure as any liquid on the planet and drank in a cupped handful of the cool Coors beer Rocky Mountain spring water!

We hadn’t ventured more than a quarter mile up the trail when we saw signs indicating the trail was ending.  We soon noticed a sign that announced the presence of a camp ground ahead and an admonition not to drink the water!  I gasped and turned the car around, realizing that I had just drank water down stream from the herd!  I carefully monitored my lower intestine for about 24 hours, but thankfully never got sick.