A Cowdogs Advice

Grip up, America!

grit

If the Duke Were a Dog

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As a cowdog, I think this world needs a few cowboy heroes. I used to watch old cowboy movies with dad. And I thought, what if The Duke were a dog?

 

 

 

 

I’ve been thinking about these things, as I consider important virtues to improve my life and make my time in this world meaningful.

John Wayne played a lot of heroic roles, military and cowboy.  But more than acting roles – the man had integrity and honor. There are museums in his honor, in his hometown and in Texas at John Wayne – an American Experience: https://johnwayne.com/experience/

Check out Gritcast – it highlights the steadfast purpose and commitment of Americana today. It is so Duke and reminds me of a certain dog, too.

 

 

What kind of canine would he be, with the values and character traits he held? Here are a few hints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, he stood for all that is right and good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He called it as he saw it and didn’t mince words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was focused, civil and kind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was a quiet gentleman, but took a stand and didn’t back down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was fiercely patriotic.

 

 

 

 

He practiced good sense, he was a way-maker.

 

 

 

Like all of us, he had his flaws, but he stood clearly for God, country and family. He held strong to conservative values, even in the hedonistic world of Hollywood.

 

 

 

He was a man of action who stood for American ideals, freedom, truth. He was tough and rugged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gritty, standing strong, larger than life, boldly straight on God, country and family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what if the Duke were a dog, what kind of dog would he be?

 

Stubbornly loyal, honest, determined, brave, committed,relentlessly focused, with gumption and guts.

He was true grit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Heeler of course!

 

 

Where There’s Hope

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The world needs a big dose of  Yessir happy assurance, like us cowdogs have.  It built into our soul. We earnestly look forward, joyfully expecting a brighter day. That is hope.

This time of year, optimism is lagging, we are winter-weary and it seems this may be the start of another ice age. At least that is what Mom says, and I can see she’s tired of hauling buckets, feeding hay, shoveling and plowing. The worst she says, although I think it is an adventure, is when we go down through the woods to the creek, and chop open a hole in the ice for the cows to drink.  It is bad in early winter, when it is still dark. She says the only good thing about running through the woods in the dark is that she carries a pick-axe!

The creek is frozen over again

 

It is a little scary, but she does it, because the cows depend on it. And while she does it,  she hopes for warm weather, when the water stays open, and hopes for longer daylight. And hopes for an early Spring. Sometimes I hear her muttering and she says she prays without ceasing, especially in the hardest of times, because that ignites hope.

 

 

What brings hope now

“Who plants a seed beneath the sod and waits to see, believes in God.”

This time of year, mom looks at seed catalogs, colorful magazines that are full of hope. I like the carrot and sweet potato pages the best!

She starts seeds in little flats of dirt, with the hope of new flowers and vegetables to fill the garden. We buy trees, lots of them, with a hope that reaches out far beyond us. I may not live long enough to gather apples beneath this year’s new trees with the little boy Sprout, but I hope that someday, he, his kids, and another scrappy Heeler will. And that is what makes us plant this spring.

 

There is hope in: sunshine, longer days, seedlings,melting snow, bare roads and climbing temperatures.  Other times, there is hope in rain, or friends, or a job, or the end of a storm. All the promise a new day brings, anytime of the year.       

 

 

It is going to sleep at night in peace, because of the hope of a new dawn.   

 

 

 

When you need it most

I hear things are real tough for a lot of people right now. There is ice and snow and cold where no one is prepared for it, and they have no heat or water. There is ice on roads where drivers don’t even have snow tires. There is too much rain, or no rain. Like always there is trouble no one can control.

 

 

I know something about that. I have chased cows through mud, snowdrifts, rocks only to have them scatter. I’ve been kicked and rolled down banks, I’ve hurtled through sagebrush and gravel, fallen off four-wheelers …just plain knocked down over and over.

It is hope – and a touch of HELL NO anger – that gets me up and back at it. 

 

 

 

 

 

There is someone out there right now that needs hope, and this cowdog is here to tell you to HOLD ON!

A cowdog’s trials are a little different than yours, but it is still the same inner grit that stands you up and makes you soldier on.  I want to lend you my grit and hope, if you are a little low right now.