Cowboy Poets Survived Battle of Little Bighorn

In 1957 the last surviving warrior to help annihilate Custer and the 7th Calvary at Little Big Horn died. This man, lived in a tepee during the time of the great cattle drives from Texas to Kansas, and helped annihilate the 7th Calvary with bows and arrows, also lived to see the atomic bomb, television and the beginnings of space travel. During the lifespan of this man and people born in the 1950’s, “necessities” have gone from food and shelter to laptop computers and Blackberry® phones. In this world of technological wonders and one stop shopping for clothes, computers and food, most have forgotten, or never learned where their food comes from. Forgotten is the fact that the word cowboy does not describe reckless bankers and politicians, but a man who makes his living in the saddle, taking care of cattle. Most people do not realize that cowboys are not mythical, or the fact that they not only survived the Battle of Little Bighorn, but that they still exist today.

The cowboy appears a bit different in these modern days. He is as likely to pack a cell phone as a six-gun, and there are some days he may pack both. Rather than a bedroll in back of the saddle, he will have specially designed saddlebags filled with several different kinds of pharmaceuticals so he can rope and doctor cattle in the pasture. Part cattleman, part horseman and part veterinarian, these modern day cowboy lead a lifestyle which span the centuries. They may spend weeks, or even months without seeing a paved road.

Rather than having help a phone call or text message away, these trans-centurions live in places where a response from 911 may take hours. This leads to a self reliance unmatched in modern day living, and, as laughter is the best medicine, a sense of humor that goes with it. While the rest of the world reads warnings to avoid serious injury while operating a computer, or listening to public service announcements telling golfers what to do in a thunderstorm, cowboys are roping yearling calves in the middle of prairie dog towns or dodging lightning strikes on their way to low ground.

Trips to town are only once or twice a month, and until the recent advent of satellite television, nights were void of any entertainment other than what they could produce on their own. Using their daily experiences as material, they create poems, songs and stories which are a richly entertaining look into how it is to live as a cowboy in the 21st century. As laughter is the best medicine, these poems, stories, and songs are full of self effacing humor that is dry as a west Texas wind yet are as philosophical as Socrates.
Out of this form of entertainment has come what is known as Cowboy Poetry Gatherings. February the 27th and 28th the first annual Texas Crossroads Cowboy Poetry Gathering will take place in Van Horn, Texas. This event is a venue for other gathering around the country to discover talent that is either completely new or known in a small region of the country. In order to facilitate this, the event will be broadcast live, in both audio and video formats, through Ralph’s Back Porch at http://www.ralphsbackporch.com

There will be a special no host get acquainted party at the Cattleman’s Steak House in Van Horn Thursday night, February 26th at 6:30 pm. The public is welcome.
Day sessions begin at 11:30 am both Friday and Saturday. Tickets for the Friday night dinner show are $20 and $10 for the Saturday night finals show. Call the Van Horn Convention center at locally at 432-283-2632 or toll free at 866-424-6939.

For more information visit us at http://www.texascrossroadscowboypoetry.org

Bob Kinford has been working on ranches across the west for nearly forty years. He has written two books about his expierinces which are available at http://www.2lazy4u.us He is also starting a new cowboy poetry gathering/talent show in Van Horn Texas called the Texas Crossroads Cowboy Poetry gathering