It's All Trew: 'The West' full of myth, mystery

If I may squander a guess, I believe the term "the West" has generated more words or volumes of words than any other subject with which I am familiar. In reality the West is like a chameleon, always changing colors. It can be a geographical location like a territory, state, town or maybe a ranch. Sometimes it is merely a direction, like "out there" and at other times it means "anywhere west" of where the speaker or writer is standing at the moment. To many it is a period of time, like an hour, a year or maybe a generation. It can be a destination, a place to go to, or a place to be from. Others consider it a goal to be reached or the reason for failing. The West has been called a deity like a heavenly place or can be compared to hell. It can be a renewal of life or for many in the past, it was the end. No doubt there is a western direction existing on every continent, in every country, ocean and location in the world. But, only in America does the term have such distinctive form and fabulous myth and mystery. Of interest, many believe this vast and sometimes vague period of time only lasted 35 to 40 years. Others believe the West lasted only from the gold strike at Sutter's Mill until the massacre at Wounded Knee. Those of a cowboy-bent-of-mind believe the West is limited to the heyday of the cowboy which only lasted for 30 years or so...more