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Homage to a True American Cowboy

Posted on February 8, 2008 by admin Filed Under Quotes, Video | 3 Comments

As my Grandpa’s birthday approaches I thought I’d share a few of the many wise words he spoke. He passed at 55, when I was just five years old, but my memory of him is as vivid as if he was sitting next to me now.

He was a true American cowboy. An engineer by trade–working for the “outer space program”, as my Texas-accented Grandma used to say–he held fast to his cowboy roots. He was soft-spoken but firm, gentle but mighty. He’d put on a pair of dusty Levi’s and work on his truck every Saturday morning with a Budweiser on the garage shelf and Buck Owens playing on the radio. When I’d spend weekends with him and my Grandma he’d give me a quarter if I finished my oatmeal before he did: “One for the money, two for the show” was how our race always began. He always let me win.

Anyway, a few of his favorite phrases come to mind whenever I think of him.

On loose-lipped, fast-talkin’: “Speak slowly. Think quickly”.

On being a good listener: “Never miss a chance to shut up and learn”.

On women who wore tight clothes and too much makeup: “She’s rode hard and hung up wet”.

And on western belt buckles: “A good belt buckle will keep your pants up but only careful consideration and plain talk will keep your head on straight”.

Hats off to you, Grandpa.

For more cowboy quotes, click here. Listen to Buck Owens sing one of my (and my Granpa’s) favorite songs below.

Ralph Doubleday and the American Rodeo

Posted on February 7, 2008 by admin Filed Under Articles, Celebs, Fun | Leave a Comment

Famed rodeo historian Foghorn Clancy called Ralph Russell Doubleday “the undisputed World’s Champion Rodeo Photographer”. His photographs, postcards and prints from negatives played a tremendous role in advancing the sport of rodeo. According to Clancy, “Ralph was the first noted rodeo photographer because, in those days, there were not many photographers who would risk camera and film, not to mention life and limb, trying to get action pictures”.
Doubleday’s story is chronicled in articles compiled by the Donald C. and Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma. Doubleday’s photos capture the thrill, excitement and real danger of the sport and beg the question, ‘where the heck was he standing–perhaps under the steer–when he snapped that shot’? They also remind viewers why western belt buckles, as stylish as they’ve become, are more necessity than fashion statement: They keep your pants on, cowboys, when a buckin’ bronco is doing all he can to throw you.

Top Five Westerns of All Time

Posted on February 6, 2008 by admin Filed Under Celebs, Fun, Top Fives | Leave a Comment

1. High Noon- Gary Cooper, Lloyd Bridges and Grace Kelly in the most contentious showdown ever.
2. Stage Coach- Booze, gambling, outlaws and danger. Classic.
3. True Grit- John Wayne as Rooster Coburn. “Howdy Pilgrim”.
4. Unforgiven- Clint Eastwood said this film “summarizes everything [he] feels about the western”. I agree.
5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid- Robinhood and his loner sidekick. And it made Redford a superstar.

**honorable mention: Dances with Wolves and Desperado. Costner created a compelling film and Desperado?…wit, humor, romance and the battle between light and dark.

Eastern Belt Buckles

Posted on February 3, 2008 by admin Filed Under Articles, History, History of the Western Belt Buckle, Special Buckles | Leave a Comment

Ciao Canada! We’re heading East for a brief lesson on the origins of belt buckles. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, belt buckles were an indispensible part of the equipment worn by Roman and Greek warriors. Metalsmiths took great pride in ornamenting them with intricate designs.
An incredible specimen ca. 400 was found in the tomb of a mercenery soldier in Vermand, France. Though Romans considered those living outside the Empire to be barbarians, they often relied on these exiles and foreigners to protect the Empire’s borders. This particular soldier is suspected to have been very high-ranking; his set of belt buckle and three spear shaft mounts is gilded and richly inlaid with patterns of scrolls and rosettas.
The buckle, in particular, resembles many modern western belt buckles. Its careful metalwork and geometric design alongisde two eagle-like creatures, most likely Phoenixes, resting on the buckles clasp, mark it as an obvious precursor to the belt buckles that would later develop in the West.

Western Leaders and their Western Belt Buckles

Posted on January 31, 2008 by admin Filed Under Articles, Events, Politics | Leave a Comment

Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister, and President George Bush have a cowboy connection. And, yes, I know this is another Canada-related post. My plan is to cover western fashion on a global level. Next up, boots and spurs in Belarus. Democracy in action, folks. Anyway, on the occasion of George’s 60th birthday, PM Harper ponied up to the White House bearing gifts reflecting the western heritage of both Canada and the U.S.

A CBC news column counts a limited edition Calgary brass belt buckle and a flat-brimmed RCMP Stetson among the tokens proffered. George thanked the Prime Minister by calling him “Steve”, a no-no according to Steve’s Mom.

This got me to thinking: World leaders should go by their college nicknames, as in “Angie, Sark, K Jong and I discussed global warming over beer nuts and a pint at Bullfeathers and I think we’ve reached a resolution.” Of course, they’d have to don Levi’s and western belt buckles before George would consider them allies. Frankly, I think that might make the world a better place.

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