Roy Exum
The Epoch Times is a weekly conservative broadsheet newspaper that is a big part of my morning readings. A regular feature is a collection of warmth where, every week, readers share their wisdom through letters written to “Dear Next Generation.” I have printed several in the past, so taken am I by the sincerity and delicious intent the letters that are submitted and published. In the current edition comes a letter from Jerry Sinor of Colorado, who has spent a lifetime in the saddle as a genuine, sure enough cowboy.
Man, I am all over this ‘like white on rice,’ and it is not lost on me for a second that tomorrow is the first day for our public schools to be back in session. I am pleading for every student and every teacher to embrace the role of a cowboy starting early tomorrow. And the way to do it is to commit to “The Cowboy Code” in the next step of your life. It’s real easy, the way it works. Keep the code and ride tall in the saddle; betray it and you are no longer a cowboy. It’s that simple, you are your own judge and jury. Let see how you’ll do …
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THE COWBOY CODE
(Written by Jerry Sinor and published by The Epoch Times (www.the epochtimes.com) in the newspaper’s August 4-10 editions)
By Jerry Sinor
Yep, I am a cowboy by choice and I am branded for life - I have worked as a cowboy all over the country - I worked for the rancher or cattleman and still do. I am 72 years old and still a cowboy because I have never owned a cow - when you own cattle you are a rancher or cattleman and you should no longer go by the handle (cowboy). The cowboy’s code applies to all true cowboys and if you break one of these, you are no longer a cowboy.
1. WHEN YOU MEET OR ARE INTRODUCED TO A LADY - You remove your hat and say, “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” A lady is 3 years old to 150 years old - and regardless of the look of your hat hair - this law tells the ladies that you are a true cowboy that respects all ladies. If you meet one you don’t respect, then just walk away after putting your hat back on.
2. LIVE EACH DAY WITH COURAGE -- If need be, then die for the Creator, family, friends, and country - sometimes for someone you don’t know.
3. TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK -- Do the best you can because you ride for the brand. That means your boss is your master. If you don’t respect your master, then saddle up and ride away.
4. DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE -- And beyond what folks expect. This will put you above what’s below.
5. ALWAYS FINISH WHAT YOU START -- Think before starting anything in life. It will save you a lot of time and pain.
6. BE TOUGH BUT BE FAIR -- Don’t back off from what you know to be right - but sometimes right is wrong and wrong is right.
7. MAKE YOUR WORD YOU BOND -- Say what you do and do what you say. Your word is what makes you a cowboy. Don’t add or take away from your spoken word. Yes means yes, and no means no.
8. TALK LESS AND SAY MORE -- 50-cent words are better understood than $100-words—and you won’t bore the receiver with 2 pounds of earwax that will stop up his or her ears.
9. SOME THINGS AREN’T FOR SALE -- Your word (bond), truth, love, kindness, all the good things in your heart that makes up a cowboy must never be sold for profit.
10. KNOW WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE -- It takes a lifetime of drawing lines to know where to draw a line, so sit at the feet of old men and women and keep your trap shut, and just open your ears.
11. OBEY ALL OF THE COMMANDMENTS of the Creator. (Start with the original 10)
12. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HORSE -- If not, then don’t own or ride one. This applies to dogs, cats, and rattlesnakes.
13. KNOW WHAT EVIL IS -- It’s not outside, it is inside each and every one of us - get rid of it.
-- Jerry Sinor, Colorado
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At summertime rodeos across the South and Southwest, when a participant is tossed or throwed, sometimes they are slow or too groggy to bounce back off the arena floor. That’s when the public address announcer with say in terse words, “Rider down … rider down!” Then a hushed pall takes over as he or she is attended to. Quiet seconds become tense minutes until finally the rider finds his hat and his feet, struggling to stand. But when he does, slapping the dust from his rear, the announcer calls joyfully: “COWBOY up! COWBOY up!” and the crowd cheers and claps. Anybody can be a rider … but everybody yearns to be a Cowboy. “COWBOY up!
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SOME MORE COWBOY WISDOM
* -- When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
* -- Talk slowly, think quickly.
* -- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* -- Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
* -- Don't interfere with something that ain't botherin' you none.
* -- Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* -- It's better to be a has-been that a never-was.
* -- The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.
* -- If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* -- If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.
* -- It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
* -- Sometimes you get and sometimes you get got.
* -- The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with watches you shave his face in the mirror every morning.
* -- Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
* -- If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* -- Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
* -- Always drink upstream from the herd.
* -- Generally, you ain't learnin' nothing when your mouth's a-jawin'.
* -- Tellin' a man to git lost and makin' him do it are two entirely different propositions.
* -- If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya.
* -- Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* -- When you give a personal lesson in meanness to a critter or to a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson.
* -- When you're throwin' your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else.
* -- Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back.
* -- Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's sure crucial to know what it was.
* --The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back into your pocket.
* -- You can't tell how good a man, or a watermelon is, 'til they get thumped. (Character shows up best when tested.)
* -- Never miss a good chance to shut up.
* -- If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen are defrocked, shouldn't it follow that cowboys would be deranged?
* -- There never was a horse that couldn't be rode; Never was a cowboy who couldn't be throwed.
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HAVE SOME ADVICE TO SHARE? -- Send your advice, along with your full name, state, and contact information to NextGeneration@epochtimes.com or mail it to: Next Generation, The Epoch Times, 5 Penn Plaza, 8th Fl., New York, NY, 10001.” To some young person it might be what he/she is desperate to know.
royexum@aol.com