My grandfather’s life as a cowboy was very interesting. Most of what I know about my grandfather was told to me long after his days as a cowboy. As a young boy, at the age of five years old, this was very fascinating to me.
He lived his life as a rowdy, kindhearted cowboy who was an excellent story teller.
First of all, my grandfather loved to be the center of attention. He loved making people laugh. At times, he would get carried away and the wild, rowdy, cowboy side of him would surface. One of his favorite things to do was to imitate riding a horse by using a broom or board or whatever else he could find to pick up and use as a horse. He would then gallop around everyone by going in circles, with one hand waving in the air, and yelling, “Yahoo”, “yippee”, “yahoo”
Although my grandfather had his rowdy side, he was also a very kind hearted soul. He would always be the person that would run and rescue his fellow cowboys whenever they had an injury or if they were injured. He would also respond the same way towards the cattle. He enjoyed being the person to deliver the baby calves. He enjoyed cooking for the men and doing the branding of the cows.
Most of all, I loved the stories my grandfather told me about his many adventures as a cowboy. One that stands out the most in my mind was when they drove five hundred head of cattle through the severe winter cold of the rocky mountains of Colorado. There were six cows who had succumbed to the freezing weather. All were baby calves accept for the one mother cow. Several of the men folk fell ill during this journey. Along the way one of the men was lost due to the harsh conditions and poor weather. This trip was to get the cattle away from the cold and into the lower plains of Colorado. The trip was a total of fifty five days.
Now that my grandfather is gone, I think of him often and remember all his wonderful ways. I miss him dearly. He was a very special grandfather to me. Knowing