|
Cowboys weren’t dead they had just changed their profession. After the war there was little direction, but there was a lot of hope. Farmers flocked to the city and people moved west to make a new start. Cowboys were our heroes and adventure was our dream. As a boy, the adventures I lived were actually lessons that lasted a life time. Being from generations of hunters and farmers, lessons were passed on from actual experiences. Walking the path was the best teacher, lesson learned were lessons earned for life. Wrestling was my Dad’s profession; his passion was hunting and fishing, that was all the incentive Dad needed to wrestle in territories all over North America… The phrase “That Dog Hunts” describes methods used to teach the new generation tools of the old generation and every hunting & fishing trip became a lesson. As a young boy I didn’t know the task that I was given were lessons to be used through out life. At age 9: Dad, my brother and I were on a ranch outside Tulsa hunting… We had walked about a mile away from where we had parked the truck… Dad turned and handed me the keys and told me to bring the truck to a pond that was about a mile away… I had never driven the truck before, I took the keys and walked back to where we had parked… got into the truck, it was a 1948 Chevy, stick shift, I had watched Dad hundreds of times before, he would take it out of gear before inserting the key… I proceeded with this in mind. Take it out of gear and insert the key; I had to stand up because I couldn’t reach the clutch or the starter that was on the floor… I held the steering wheel and pressed on the starter, the truck lurched forward, oops! Again I took it out of gear… Hit the starter and pushed on the gas, the engine roared, I released the pedal allowing the engine to idle, I felt pretty good considering my small frame… Now I was ready to get this thing moving, I pushed the clutch in and eased the shifter into first… I knew grinding the gears wasn’t normal, but standing up to drive wasn’t normal either. I released the clutch and with a jerking motion I started forward… It was like a bucking bronco and the uneven terrain didn’t make it any easier… I met up with my Dad & brother and we continued the hunt… No one made a big deal about me driving for the first time that day… It was just something you had to learn on your way to manhood… There would be many adventures and many lessons learned in the years to come… Each in its own way adding to your ability to cope and make decisions independent of outside influences that might act as detours in finding the right path… Trust, Self Reliance and Integrity were core beliefs that would aid you in achieving the American Dream… Yippee ki yea!
Related Articles -
Growing, up, during, the, 1940's, and, 50's,
|
