JOHN AT "ZIA'S SPACE ASKED IF I'D EVER BEEN A COWBOY AND WHERE, BECAUSE I SIGN OFF AS "BUSTEDUPCOWBOY". WELL, THERE'S A STORY BEHIND THAT.

   WHILE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, ONE OF MY TEACHERS, WHILE DISCUSSING AMERICAN HISTORY, PROFERRED THE IDEA THAT, IN THE OLD WEST, THE BUFFALO HUNTERS IN THE LATE 1860'S AND EARLY 1870'S WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GENOCIDE OF THE AMERICAN PLAINS INDIANS. ON THE OTHER HAND, A SCIENCE TEACHER USED AN OLD WEST EXPERIENCE ON THE NEED TO RESTRICT THE OF MOVEMENT OF, OR LIMIT THE SIZE OF ANIMAL HERDS, TO HELP CONTROL DIASEASE. HE RECOUNTED THAT, IN THE YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THE HUNGER FOR BEEF ON THE EAST COAST, FUELED IN PART BY THE KILLING OF SO MANY FARMERS AND DESTRUCTION OF FARMS BY THE WAR, LED TO THE CATTLE DRIVES NORTH OUT OF TEXAS TO THE RAILHEADS IN KANSAS. AND THIS BROUGHT WITH IT A TICK-BORN DISEASE THAT BUFFALO HAD NO IMMUNITY TO. THE BUFFALO DIED OFF IN HUGE NUMBERS, SO THE INDIANS STARVED AND SO BECAME DEPENDANT ON " THE GREAT WHITE FATHER " FOR ONE OF THE FIRST WELFARE PROGRAMS IN THIS COUNTRY.

   THE HISTORY TEACHER WANTED ORAL, VIEW POINT REPORTS GIVEN AT TIMES ON WHAT WE WERE LEARNING. SO, WITH A LITTLE RESEARCH, I CONTRASTED BOTH VIEWS OF WHAT I HAD LEARNED BETWEEN THE TWO TEACHERS. THE RESEARCH ( THE ONLY REAL THINKING I DID IN SCHOOL ) LED ME TO WHAT THE LIFE-STYLE OF THE REAL OLD WEST COWBOY WAS LIKE. NOT THE OUTLAWS AND GAMBLERS VS. THE SHERIFF AND THE DEPUTYS OR ROY ROGERS OR THE LONE RANGER TYPE STUFF. I BECAME VERY INTERESTED IN THE ACTUAL $30 / MONTH, DAYLIGHT-TO-DARK IN THE SADDLE, REAL WORKING COWBOY, THE ERA THAT ONLY LAST FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. THE REAL COWBOY ERA. I ALSO READ AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A REAL EAST MONTANA COWBOY AND SOME HIS EXPERIENCES IN THE 1880'S WHICH GAVE MORE INSIGHT. LOUIS LAMOUR NOVELS ALSO EDUCATED ME.

   WHEN I ENTERED THE CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS IN 1978, THE WORK EXPERIENCES I HAD LEARNED FROM THE OLD WEST, FORMED THE WORK ETHIC THAT I PRACTICED TILL RECENTLY. I HAD ADOPTED A WESTERN FLARE IN MY DRESS AND GROOMING, EVEN WHILE AT WORK.  MY CONSTRUCTION COMPANY WAS CALLED "SILVERADO CONSTUCTION."

   IN THE LAST 30+ YEARS I'VE SUFFERED 5 SPINAL CORD INJURIES, THE LAST ONE WAS DEC/06., 3 SPINAL CORD SURGERIES, THE LAST ONE WAS JAN/07. IN 2002, AN IMPLANTED CARDIAC DEFYBRILATOR WAS INSTALLED TO CORRECT AN ODD HEART PROBLEM. DURING A DOCTOR VISIT IN 2004 THE DOCTOR SAID I WAS ONE "BUSTED UP COWBOY" AND THE NEURO-SURGEON SAID IT AGAIN WHEN HE SAW ME IN DEC/06.

   SO, IT STUCK IN THIS ENDEAVOR. MY COSTRUCTION CAREER IS LIKELY COMING TO AN END. THE LAST SURGERY WAS TO CORRECT A HERNIATED DISK IN MY LOWER BACK. (MY FIRST 2 WERE IN MY NECK.) THE SURGERY DID NOT FULLY CORRECT THE LOST OF FEELING AND PAIN IN MY LEFT LEG. BALANCE ON A LADDER OR SCAFFOLDING IS A DANGEROUS PROPOSTION. FATIGUE IS A BIG PROBLEM ESPECIALLY IN COLD WEATHER.

   SO, THAT'S MY STORY.

   MANY THANX!

   BUSTEDUPCOWBOY