Chasin’ The Cowboy Way

From my earliest memories I wanted to be a cowboy. Of course I know now, what I didn’t know then, that Hopalong, Roy and Gene didn’t truly represent anything close to cowboy life. But they were the catalysts to my dream. As I grew and became more aware, my vision adjusted, modifying into a greater reality with what true cowboying is. But that reality was only a change in understanding environment and daily occupations, not in values, ethics and morality.  Those fundamentals remained the same ideals that had drawn me to those TV cowboys back when.

Then, I got the opportunity to work on a horse ranch throughout my teens. That, of course, only strengthened and underscored my dream. For a while I even believed a path was coming into place.

But life happens and the opportunity to truly cowboy never fell into my lap and, shame on me, I never actually went after it with full gusto. My Vietnam era military call, pursuit of an acting career and becoming a gun enthusiast and instructor and, ultimately, a job in law enforcement seemed to fall into my lazy lap. But not the cowboying. I even ran my own small cow-calf effort for a few years. But it was only a five-pair effort on a 40-acre spread. I never really was truly cowboying. Losing my shirt while feeding those cows, only demonstrated my passionate desire for the life.

My childhood dream, laced with a lot of ultimate reality, is the inspiration behind this poem.

Chasin' The Cowboy Way

The rural town where I grew up
Had cattle ranches all around
But I was just a mere townie
I weren't exactly cowboy-bound

by Rik "Yonder" Goodell

© 2025 All rights reserved

This painting, by Jack Sorenson,  of a tough young cowboy, reminds me of me back on the Desert Moon.

For more of this artist's work, go to his website:

https://www.jacksorensonfineart.com/