Cowboys and Such

Listening to Michael Martin Murphy's new CD, Tall Grass and Cool Water puts me in mind of the lives of a couple of my friends.

Jim Gray lives the cowboy life in addition to being a writer and historian. I'm sharing some of his photos from his recent cattle drive to Ellsworth. A fourth-generation rancher and inductee into the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame, Jim is one of those rare people you meet not so rarely in Kansas. He is the real deal, probably born in the wrong century but I'm glad to share in his time on earth. His gracious wife is the iconic pioneer woman. Just quietly doing whatever needs to be done. I admire her very much.

To help raise awareness of the Cowboy legacy and to keep folks informed of events, Jim founded the Kansas Cowboy, official publication of the Cockeyed Old West Band of Yahoos Society. It's one of those have-to subscriptions. Get that and a copy of Jim's book, Bad Seed, then rare back in your leather chair and listen to Murhpy and the boys singing and playing Blue Prairie. You're liable to be transported to a better, simpler time.