Every kid growing up heard the old stories of cowboys. The cowboys are still there but not every kid knows the newer versions. Kids still today want to be their own little version of a cowboy. Currently, kids do not understand the true meaning behind being a cowboy. “You cuss the hot, and the cold. But something always keeps pulling you back” (McDowell, 1972, p. 36). During the day, cowboys asked themselves over and over what made them do these tasks some considered dangerous or even idiotic. Although wild, cowboys returned the next day to repeat the same demanding tasks. Cowboys have evolved from heading out west for weeks at a time to being home every night and running their own ranch. As the world has evolved so has the cowboy. The cowboys
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“They were men of a particular time and place, living by a code…performing body-punishing and hazardous jobs, putting themselves against a land of sweeping grandeur” (Forbis, 1973, p. 17). These were the real cowboys back in the day. Cowboys “pursued a demanding and sometimes dangerous occupation that required stamina, athleticism, and a specialized knowledge of horses and cattle” (Price, 2003). People pictured cowboys as these mythological people, when in fact cowboys were not mythological at all, cowboys were what most would consider an everyday, middle class citizen. Most citizens in the late 1800’s did not fully understand what a cowboy life consisted of. Cowboys were not witnessed first hand, people only read about the cowboys lifestyle. “The American Cowboy was actually a dirty, overworked laborer who fried his brains under a prairie sun, or rode endless miles in rain and wind to mend fences or look for lost calves” (Forbis, 1973, p. 7). “A cowboy is simply a man who plies the crafts of the cattle ranch; he can be owner or hired hand” (McDowell, 1972, p. 32). The image of what a cowboy life consisted of, differed when compared to the reality of the cowboy
“They were men of a particular time and place, living by a code…performing body-punishing and hazardous jobs, putting themselves against a land of sweeping grandeur” (Forbis, 1973, p. 17). These were the real cowboys back in the day. Cowboys “pursued a demanding and sometimes dangerous occupation that required stamina, athleticism, and a specialized knowledge of horses and cattle” (Price, 2003). People pictured cowboys as these mythological people, when in fact cowboys were not mythological at all, cowboys were what most would consider an everyday, middle class citizen. Most citizens in the late 1800’s did not fully understand what a cowboy life consisted of. Cowboys were not witnessed first hand, people only read about the cowboys lifestyle. “The American Cowboy was actually a dirty, overworked laborer who fried his brains under a prairie sun, or rode endless miles in rain and wind to mend fences or look for lost calves” (Forbis, 1973, p. 7). “A cowboy is simply a man who plies the crafts of the cattle ranch; he can be owner or hired hand” (McDowell, 1972, p. 32). The image of what a cowboy life consisted of, differed when compared to the reality of the cowboy