Be a Cowboy. Simple.

Sean wants to be one.
John Grady Cole.

I bet you don't know the name, but you can assume a couple things about him by just hearing his name. You could derive that when he introduces himself he looks you in the eye, gives you a firm handshake, and states his whole name. He is humble, but is willing to draw blood for his friend. When you say his name, you know you could trust him. You know he will be loyal. You know John Grady Cole is a man, a man that lives to be a cowboy. So what if he is a fictional character (from the movie and book All the Pretty Horses), he gives you a reason to believe.

His story is one of the many stories that makes up the ideology of being a Cowboy. Watch any western movie, listen to a country song, or go down to the livestock auction, and you will see the dogma I am talking about.

There is something mystic about this dying breed. Their twang and tone is off, but yet endearing. Their lives are filled with hardship, you can tell from their skin; its worn from the punishing work and climate they expose themselves to. Their politeness is uncanny, and you know they know how to love.

People dog on country music. All they sing about is animals, losing their girl, and their truck. Well, that is what happens. Pretty simple. Pretty awesome. Just like our own Silent Cowboy, Walker Wood. Awesome.

They don't have time to go to a doctor. They don't have time to sleep in. They don't have time for pussyfooting. They don't have time for the B.S. The rules or religion, of a cowboy is simple: Be loyal and honest. Work (Pure Country). Love your woman (Lonesome Dove). And get back on once you have been bucked off (think Lane Frost). Now, tell me that ain't a code that everyone should live by.

Being wholly committing oneself to the doctrine of Cowboy is not for every soul. There are sacrifices to be made. Big and small. From being dirt poor to wearing tight pants, its a lifestyle. Its the way of the cowboy. I don't know many true cowboys. I think most are dead and gone. But hell, I am fixin' to pretend while I can.

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