Walden resident pens book of cowboy poetry

Fred McMurry has had dual careers over the years. After graduating from Texas Tech and doing a stint in the Navy he pursued a career as an industrial psychologist and at the same time was a rancher involved in raising cows. He has written a number of business-related papers, but it was his interest in ranching and cowboys that inspired him to write “You Gotta Love Cowboys,” with the subtitle “Their Poems and Their Lore.” The author said cowboy poetry began in the glory days of the Old West, just after the Civil War. It was found on trail drives and roundups. It became popular in bunkhouses and around camp fires. “Cowboys tend not to worry much about meter, simply content with some kind of rhyme scheme,” McMurry said. He explained it was earthy because the cowboys life and concerns were earthy and they tended to write about subjects such as cattle, sunsets, loneliness and trail drives. In rhyme he explains what cowboys don’t do including holding grudges, whine or pass the buck. Superchili is explained in rhyme and praise for bluebonnets in another. McMurry calls himself F. Jackrabbit McMurry and throughout the book drawings of jackrabbits are included with western-related sayings...more