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The Cowboy Perspective an exploration of grit, servant leadership, and business philosophy with high performers!


Aug 28, 2020

Welcome back Y'all! This episode picks up where we left off with Gerald Burns, and we talk shoeing horses, lessons learned from our fathers and some Billy Albin stories. We round it off with our favorite books, how we view money & the power of friendship. Enjoy! 

Subscribe to The Cowboy Perspective, hosted by Neil Dudley and produced by Straight Up Podcasts

Original Poem by Gerald Burns

I had a good friend a straight shooter he was

There was none more righteous, with cow or a horse

A Cowboy by trade and not just in name

He could handle a tough bronc, as bad as they come

We cowboyed a lot, this friend and me

Back when we was young, this cowboy and me

We worked lots of calves in the spring of the year

We rode some young horses when slack times appeared

We gathered lots of stock, for ole Sam and Joe

We didn’t always like it, as Juicey would know

 

Pride was a factor, we could look at a cow

And tell what she’s thinking, most didn’t know how

Born with it I guess, this Cowboy and me.

An eye for a horse, a yearn to be free

He’s still ridin' those broncs, though he cheats them some now,

And there’s still none better, at ropin' wild cows

We don’t cowboy together, much any more,

My work’s changed some, a new set of chores,

Oh I still look at cattle, my eye’s not grown dim,

But I miss all the good times, I spent with him

 

Long hours of work, when the wives thought we’d left

But we was just workin cattle, in spite of ourself

I hope he thinks of me, when he sees a good hand,

Who’ll be in the right spot, without sign or command

I hope he can feel, when he makes a good ride

And Remember that young cowboy, who worked by his side

We were a good team, we fit good together

And I’ve never found work, that I liked any better

I could go on for hours, with lots of wild tales,

About horses we’d rode, or cows we had trailed

 

Maybe that’ll come later, when time can afford,

It’d be some good readin, but I’ve got a chore

We never talked much, about things that mattered,

There never was need, when cows we was gatherin,

But before I lose thought, or one of us leaves,

There’s things you should know, between you and me

A better friend I’ll never find, a kindred soul, of the same mind

We should still be workin, on an outfit somewhere,

Runnin it of course, for some rich millionaire

 

I never have told you, what a good friend you’ve been

I couldn’t feel closer, even if we was kin

I hope you don’t think, I quit cowboyin by choice

If I could make wages, I’d be ridin a horse

Maybe we’ll get old, and have time to talk,

Sit and Remember, all the places we’ve walked

This may not be “Punchy”, this letter of Rhyme

But it’s helped me to say it, now that I’ve took the time

 

Gerald

Jan/18/1995

 

(2:35) – Good hands and approval

(4:25) – You shod the horses you rode – shoeing horses

(9:00) – Day working – there’s almost always someone who needs a horse shod

(9:35) – There’s no age limit on people that you learn from

(11:00) – You live and learn: Be careful of the words you say. Keep them soft and sweet.

(12:50) – Listen twice as much as you talk

(15:00) – Billy Albin and Gerald caught a lot of cattle

(21:00) – The hardest cows to catch

(25:30) – The first time Neil roped a cow

(27:40) – Gerald’s favorite books

(30:20) – Little Joe the Wrangler

(31:35) – Horses, kids, and the value of animals

(33:48) – The value of a dollar

(38:04) – Don’t leave your kids something to fight over, and everyone gets a Bible

(40:30) – Choices: A wise man will receive instruction

(44:45) – Grandpa Eltos and the tent

(46:20) – You can get through life without money, but you can’t get through life without friends

(49:07) – Wrap up

The Cowboy Perspective is produced by Straight Up Podcasts & Root and Roam

www.TheCowboyPerspective.com