Golden

Goodness

Golden

fool’s gold

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

            Glimpses of the dignity of human spirit seem to occur too seldom.

            This life of being hardwired to 24-hour news and institutional hatred does little to remind us there is still goodness. Still, though, goodness has merit.

            Something happened in Arizona in recent days that heralds it.

            Several little cowboys visit us at least once a year for our branding works. Two of them come from Arizona to join the ranks of our New Mexico ranch family’s oldest son and a little Texan that visits too seldom. They are not just fun to watch, but they have become real hands. Two are eleven, one is 12 and the oldest is 14. They can accomplish amazing things and that is a tribute to their parents. These kids can run wild cattle if that is the challenge, they can rope better than most adults, they’ll read a cow from the distance, they will tell you what cow showed up in the drive without her calf, and they’ll tell you if a calf needs to be doctored and turned back when it comes to the fire. They are now packing these 50’ ropes, wearing designer sunglasses, and carrying Moore Maker fence pliers on their near side cinch billets. Their knives are sharp. They have their own opinions of how pockets should be sewn into their leggins’. They wear felt hats year around. They say Yes, Sir and No, Sir. They have been horseback since they could walk.

            They are cowboys.

            Preston, one of the two youngest, is the hero of the moment. Only days ago, he was with his grandmother on a ride north of Tucson when she experienced what has become a terrible and life-threatening horse wreck. Dismounting and positioning his grandmother in what could have been the first of several life saving decisions, he knew he couldn’t handle the situation without help. He had his telephone and he started calling for help.

            As the situation unfolded, the consensus has become Preston was the calmest of the entire cast of participants that eventually medivacked his grandmother to the hospital. At the point where he had to provide instructions where his grandmother was, he told them he could hear traffic on the highway, and they should proceed up the highway until they saw him because he would be there waiting. He was exactly where he told them he would be when they arrived. He led them back urging haste.

            In the aftermath of the terrible situation, he has remained at his grandmother’s side. He won’t leave her.

            His conduct of goodness can only be described as ... Golden.

            fool’s gold

            As summer unfolds, the burning of America continues.

            In what has become an annual summer right of destruction, the forests of America are being converted from unmanaged biomass into embers and soot. If you don’t believe that, just look at the satellite images and observe the smoke patterns. Blind and systemic immobility of government actions have erased the natural tools of catastrophic fire prevention.

            The same observation must be observed by the property and business owners of the cities that are burning nightly as well. The right to riot and destroy has taken precedence over any form of our basic rights and security. It is obvious that blind and systemic immobility of government has erased the constitutional promise of the pursuit of happiness.

            In fact, the first of the recent political conventions portrayed America as suffering urban unrest, the pandemic, systemic racism, income inequality, corporate greed, global warming, and all other arrayed maladies solely on the basis of the sitting president. The egregious property damage, the killing of babies, and the complicit lawlessness of progressive led cities are figments of our imagination.

            With blind hatred displacing all goodness … fool’s gold is their plan.

            Golden

            How does 50 years elapse so quickly?

            Kermit’s daughter sent a card for the occasion with the reminder of the best kind of love.

The best kind of love is the kind that shares the load, goes the distance, and has fun along the way.

            There have certainly been loads, and, in every way, they have been shared. As for distance, the journey has been much more than miles for that little girl from Tatum and the little boy from Cliff. As for fun, walking with her drinking champagne in the garden at the summer home of the Bavarian king during the intermission of a Mozart evening was a first thought example. She was simply ravishing, and, without any doubt, the most beautiful woman there in that star-studded night.

Just think of all the changes you’ve seen and all the big and little milestones you’ve marked.

            Aside from looking in the mirror each morning, the lives of our children and grandchildren will fit under the major change category simply by what time brings. Everybody is gainfully employed, and we are tremendously proud of that. Every grandkid has her beautiful blue eyes, too!           

Remember all the good times you’ve shared with friends and family at every turn.

            The suggestion of arraying any response to that is impossible. There is not even a logical place to start. It’s been quality fun from dancing in the best dancehalls in the world outside of Texas to praying for forgiveness at Concordia (and, most recently, Ascension). Indeed, fun is a byline of this journey.

Hope looking back is a sweet part of today, and hope the road ahead holds that same feeling of joy and adventure you knew when you were starting out.

            For heaven’s sake, we were 19 when this officially started! We had no idea where it all would lead, but, in truth, we were always serious about the road traveled.

            Every day we honored the relationship, she is still the most beautiful women I have ever seen, and the character of the entire affair can only be described as … Golden.

            Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Golden!”