"I Roped a New Job"
March 30, 2004
In our modern society, many of us face unpleasant choices. Among those choices is one between a "calling" and a "job". That choice is prompted, of course, by a choice between eating and starving.
Recently, I was blessed with a way to go from one calling to another. Writing is in my blood, and has been since I was little. But, my blood also pumps with independence, a love of the outdoors, and a certain energy that is expressed well in one word: horses.
Regular readers of MensNewsDaily know that, currently, we write for free. We do it because we love it. We do it because we have a burning desire to report facts and opinions that the "mainstream" media barely acknowledge. In short, we do it because others won't.
Much of my life has been spent doing things that other people don't want to do. Fighting bullies in school, training to search out plane crashes and treat victims, apprehending law violators, protecting national-security resources (including the President), and dealing with jail inmates. I've practiced law (pro-se), sued my Congressman (when I lived in NY), and got my ex-wife's lawyer sanctioned ... twice! (Fighting bullies and fighting lawyers is very similar.) Oh, and did I mention jumping out of aircraft? Adventure is just in my blood.
Horses are in my blood, too. When I was a teenager, I paid other people to ride their horses. Then, I bought a couple of them, and rode them often. (Among other things, I rode in a cavalry re-enactment unit, and was the cutter in a cattle roundup.) When times got hard, I had to sell them. But, recently, I got a job as a wrangler. So, now, I get paid to ride other people's horses -- and to introduce riding to groups and families. For me, it's a great job. But, it's not for everyone.
So, the purpose of this article is to thank the readers at MensNewsDaily for their kind e-mails, and for reading and forwarding my articles. I also want to thank publisher and editor Mike LaSalle for giving me a chance when others would not. Keep in mind that I might be writing occasionally in the future. But, for the most part, I will no longer be writing on a regular basis.
Instead, I will be spending my working days on a ranch in the hills of Tennessee -- taking people on trail rides, and helping to care for a herd of two dozen horses. I will be taking beginners out on the trail -- putting up with folks that pull the left rein when I say right, stopping when I say go, and going when I say stop. But, those greenhorns are balanced out by the sensible people that come out to enjoy the beautiful scenery and to ride the only animal that is specifically mentioned in the Bible as being in Heaven. (see Revelation, chapter 19) And, what a brave and magnificent animal he is! (see Job 39:19-25) But, working with those magnificent animals leaves me too tired and sore at the end of the day to even consider writing. (The only reason I was able to write this today is because the rain was so bad that we shut down the ranch.)
I'd like to give my readers a taste of what my new job is like. So, I wrote a poem.
If the Lord wills, we'll meet on the trail someday. http://www.acowboytown.com
