Tag Archives: Cowboys

Backyard Shootout

13 Feb

A Slice of Life

   Bill Lites

Bill

 As I remember how it happened, one day several years ago, I was looking for something in our attic, when I came across an old pair of suede cowboy boots that I hadn’t worn in years.  I got them down, tried them on, and they still fit.  That prompted me to look for the really neat felt cowboy hat I had worn with those boots when I made business trips to California.  After the job was over, on my way back to Florida, I would usually take a couple vacation days and stop to see my mother and aunt in Albuquerque.  The boots and hat were always in style there and I enjoyed the casual Southwestern atmosphere that allowed me to wear my Western duds.  I had spent my growing up years in Albuquerque, and had pretty much lived in western clothes until I moved away from there when I was 18.

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With boots and hat in hand, I got out one of my best Western shirts and some Levis to see if DiVoran would remember her “Bill” of the past

2“Wow, you look great!” she said, as I strolled onto the back porch.  “All you need now is your leather jacket to complete that outfit.”  So, I went looking for it, and sure enough it did make a striking outfit, if I do say so myself.

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When our daughter, Renie, saw me wearing the hat, she wanted to see how she would look in it.  She found a vest and after much fussing with hair and clothes, she came out to show us her outfit.  “Beautiful.” I said, and told her she could wear the hat anytime she wanted to.

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It was the same with our son Billy, the next time he was over, except he wanted to try out the whole outfit.  That’s when I remembered a matched pair of fake revolvers and handmade Mexican holsters my aunt, Jessie, had given me when I was in college.  She had worn them when riding horseback in annual parades as a young woman in the 1930’s while living in Texas.

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Well, that made quite a sight, when Billy walked around our back yard pretending to be participating in “Quick Draw Shootouts” with the bad guys.  It was a Kodak moment, and as you can see, we didn’t let it get by without a photo to remember the occasion.

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Now our son, Billy, has an 18-year-old son, Jacob, and DiVoran persuaded me to give him my vintage leather jacket, so now it is in good hands.  Who knows, someday somebody else in the family may wear my cherished boots, hat, holster and jacket,

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Note:  We still have my grandfather’s denim work jacket from the 1920’s with the patches             my grandmother sewed on it.  I can’t wear it though because the sleeves are too short.

Scripture:  Isaiah 61:10

                                               

 

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Our Trip Across America – Part 9

5 Dec

A Slice of Life

   Bill Lites

Bill

 

As we headed East for the beginning of our return trip we decided to camp at the famous Donner Pass camping area along the Truckee River at over 7000 ft altitude.  It had been pretty hot on the drive from Fort Bragg, so we didn’t even think about the altitude being a factor.  We cooked supper and set around a campfire enjoying the beautiful scenery.  It started cooling off as we began cleaning up the supper dishes.   We kept thinking, “Hey, it’s mid-July, how cold can it get?”  Well, let me tell you, when the sun went down, it got COLD.  We ended up running our little electric heater full blast all night and sleeping in several layers of clothes and we were still cold.

Sign

   

I don’t know how cold it got that night, but the next morning a half glass of water next to my bed was frozen solid.  You would have thought that experience would have caused me to research our campsites a little better the next time, but of course, it didn’t, because back then we were young and indestructible.

 

Statue

Our trip East took us across the high desert to our next stop in Lovelock, Nevada, near the Ute Indian Reservation, where DiVoran was born.  We toured the small town and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the city park.  As we were leaving Lovelock, we passed a group of people riding turn-of-the- century big-wheel bicycles.  What a sight that was.

 

Mts

 

Then it was on East through Winnemucca to Elko, Nevada where we experienced our firs family style Basque dinner (including French fries?)at one of the local boarding houses.

 

boardinghouse

We later learned that Elko was the site for one of the annual “Cowboy Poetry Gatherings” and was honored on the Johnny Carson Show.  We recorded the show where Johnny was impressed, as we were, with some very unusual Cowboy poetry.

cowboys 1cowboy 2

 

 

 

This inspired DiVoran to write a poem of her own, and paint a picture to illustrate it.  The poem was about an experience that took place later in Colorado and goes something like this:

 

Bridget’s Mustang

  By DiVoran Lites

Horse trader come down the draw

In a boil of red-powder dust.

I saw he had three stallions,

And own that one, I must.

“I’ll take the paint;” I say,

“He looks like he’s got soul.

The mare’s in the corral.

Next year we’ll have a foal”.

“You keep an eye on him.” the trader says.

“He’s mustang through and through,

a wild one from the range.”

Foal next year? Maybe two.

“You’ve got fine boys and pups,” he said.

The trader wasn’t done.

You need to jaw around these parts.

It’s all that makes life fun.

“My little `un,” says I, “he’s four.”

My boys are twins—them two

I can’t keep clean clothes on their backs,

Nor none will wear a shoe.

“The pups? Well, one’s part wolf,” I said

“You see those pale, cold eyes?

He has to play the alpha.

Now that ain’t no surprise.”

“You ever want another horse,

I’ll bring one out this way.

Now, watch him close, don’t leave him

For at least a night and day.”

The pups dance all around,

The boys run to and fro,

the horses mill in the corral,

And oh, the dust does blow.

painting

 

—–To Be Continued—–

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