COWBOYS & GIRLS

Hey there Campers;

This is day 3 at the 34th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. We started off with - A Rumor of Humor session. This session was so popular Lo & I were one of the last 8 people to get in. Nita & Bob came later and were turned away. Not to worry they went to a great musical session. Our session featured Yvonne Hollenbeck, Waddie Mitchell, Rodney Nelson and Jake Riley. They gave poems on, giving your wife a gift “she” really wants, Quite Before you are Dead, write about what you know (aka being skinny), The Good Old Days before things start to drop and the daughter-in-law. The poets keep us in stitches laughing so hard.

We proceeded to the next session with The Ponies- A Celebration of the Horse performed by Mike Beck. Mike is sort of a horse whisperer. He has a special way of dealing with horses and people. He has traveled the world helping as many horses and people as possible. Did you know that Scandinavians don’t do horses? They think more of soccer.  Mike is a singer and poet. This was a very good show. He is highly recommended.

We decided to drop in on the Dom Flemmons & Brian Farrow session. While standing in line we met Karen and her husband and her pooch Noodles. She was the lady with the great pants from yesterday. It was good to see her again. Dom and Brian session was an African American Cowboy music program. Dom talked about how the music from the black cowboy affected music in the black & white communities. He sang songs from Led Belly - Old Howard Dead and Gon’. He wrote a song - Lost All my Money But a $2.00 Bill. He also talked about cowboy Nat Love. Nat Love, aka: Deadwood Dick – Greatest Black Cowboy in the Old West. He also discussed Bass Reeves. I was really fascinated with this since I had just read his biography several months ago. Born to slave parents in 1838 in Crawford County Arkansas, Bass Reeves become the first black U.A. Deputy Marshal West of the Mississippi River and one of the greatest frontier heroes in our nation’s history. Did you know the series - The Lone Ranger- was based on Bass Reeves?

  

We stopped for lunch. We went to the Coffee Mug. The food was simple but really good. Both couples decided we need to go back to our room and RV to have some down time.

When we came back to the conference center we saw little buckaroos earning money shining shoes. What a ingenious idea since there where lots of boots around.

In the evening we had a session - The Old Ones: Remembering Our Roots. This featured Amy Hake Auker, Pipp Gillette, Andy Hedges, Waddie Mitchell and Randy Rieman. This session talked about poets like Henry Herbert Nibbs, Gwendolyn Haste, Harry Jackson, Bruce Kiskadoon, and Charles Badger Clark. It ended with the poem - When They’ve Finished Shipping Cattle in the Fall. It talks about the end of a cattle drive and all the cowboy has been through.

 

Since we could not eat at Luciano’s last night due to it being packed we made reservations to assure our seating tonight. The food really hit the spot. Got my treasured spaghetti and Cesar’s salad. It came with 3 meatballs that could have been a meal by itself. Bob & Nita got a chance to enjoy them with their meal. Lo had a “small” salad. 

 

We enjoyed ourselves with good conversation and called it a night.

Well Campers until next time.

Lo & Bren