Another Cowboy Rides Away

A week ago we laid my husband’s Uncle Don to rest. If there ever was a personification of a true Texas cowboy, it would definitely be this man. He had a life long passion for training horses and he always had a special connection with animals. He dropped out of school in the 8th grade to work on the family orchard, finished his GED, rode broncs until his body gave up, was a proud veteran of the US Army, worked for Bell Helicopter, owned and operated a diesel mechanic shop, and eventually retired to the Flying B Ranch with his wife Elsie, outside of Childress, Texas. His favorite past-time was sitting on his back porch where he had a front row view of the cattle, his beloved horses, and the setting sun.

My husband wrote a poem in memory of his favorite uncle which I thought you might like.

Rest In Peace Don Bright.

UNCLE DON

by Chris Bright

 The hands of a cowboy show
 the rigors of his tole.
 The scars and cracks of hard work
 oppose the gentleness of his soul.
  
 The roughness of the cowboy
 is broken by the sight
 of a single tear that appears when
 a calf was born that night.
  
 One more horse to break
 Another day of joy.
 The delight of a cowboy
 comes from deep inside the boy.
  
 The rodeo calls to him
 to ride for fun and fame,
 but the larger calling is the horse
 that no one else can tame.
  
 He knew to train is global
 to train both horse and man.
 Because the horse already knows
 What the riders don’t understand.
  
 To teach the people and the horse
 Is the most important of all
 And that is what he brought to us
 For that he answered the call.
  
 Sorrow comes as years go by
 from no longer being fit
 to train the horse that can’t be trained
 to respond to the bit.
  
 The rodeo is no longer his,
 the bareback rider rests.
 The sadness in his eyes that dream
 of that one final quest.
  
 Just one more ride is in him.
 Just a final one.
 But the Lord reached down and took him back
 before that ride was done.
  
 It’s hard to find the answer
 to why Don was called to rest.
 I guess the Lord needs cowboys
 and Don was one of the best.