Thanks, Mike, no wonder RR is considered the' King of the Cowboys'.

The Cowboy Code of the West- a Code of Behavior Honor, & Ethics all people can benefit by following, here some positive examples from Gene Autry & Slim Randles

Saddle your own broncs – There’s only one person who can educate you or give you a good life, and that’s you. The knowledge is here and the experts are here, but you’re the only one who can decide what to make of it. The buck stops with you.

Ride a ways with others – Show them the ropes. Lend a helping hand until someone else gets the hang of being a Cowboy. Others have done it for you, and this is the only way you can thank them for their kindnesses.

Do what’s right, even if no one’s looking – There are no degrees of honesty and integrity, and this, more than anything else, makes Highlands Cowboys good role models for the rest of society. It will set you apart from 90 percent of the others and is the Cowboys hallmark.

Ride for the brand – It’s called loyalty, and practicing it at Highlands can help bring you a lifetime of friendships and success. You see, no matter what you do, you’ll quietly know inside that you’re a Cowboy.

Lie, but only to your own mind – Never lie to others, but if you need an inner boost, it’s okay to lie a little to yourself. Telling yourself, “I’m really good at this class and I’m going to succeed” is an amazing way to do just that. In the real world it’s called “cowboying up.” It works for riding a difficult horse, and it works in life.

Learn from your elders – Look around for someone whose life and skills you admire, and help out around the place while you’re learning the secrets. Sweeping the floors in Mr. Stradivari’s shop was a darn good way to learn to make great fiddles. Find the best and learn from them.

Lend a hand where it’s needed – It’s called being a volunteer, you do it for free, you even do it for someone you don’t know. You’ll learn the most profitable moments in life sometimes occur when there’s no charge. And it’s fun and habit forming.

To think right, straighten your boots – Make your bed in the morning, hang up your clothes, keep some gas in the car. It’s an old cowboy trick to get your mind right and it allows you to forget the small stuff and concentrate on the important things.

Be polite – Send a little thank-you note to someone who has gone out of their way to help you. It will be emblazoned on their heart forever. They’ll always think nice things about you, even if they can’t remember why.

Choose your pards carefully – Be nice to everyone, but when it comes to picking your pards, your inner circle, pick a person who shares the same values – Cowboy values – as you. It will bring you a lifetime of fun and success.

Find a passion – Look for something to do with the potential for improvement. Whether it’s an athletic goal, a scholastic goal, or just playing the guitar better than you were able to last month, work at it. People with a passion live long and fulfilling lives. If you’re satisfied with your progress, it wasn’t really a passion, was it?

So whether you’re a man or a woman, a city dweller or a mountaineer, it means something to be a Cowboy. With a capital C. A Highlands Cowboy. If that doesn’t work for you, there are always the Livingston Lizards. Here’s a promise: work at being a Cowboy, and all your life you’ll be strengthened by it. Tuck that thought away in your pocket and smile when you say to yourself, “A good Cowboy can do anything.” ~Slim Randles

One of my friend's dad died a few months ago; I grew up in the middle of a ranching area and the little town where I went to school holds a "National Cowcalling Contest" every June. Anyway...he was the last of the genuine cowboys that I've ever known, having worked on a ranch until he retired, then he started up his own small cow/calf operation.

Something he did touched my heart one day when I was out on his small ranch with his son; I noticed hay scattered in spots across the pasture and commented on it to my friend. His son told me that his dad would take one of those big bales of hay - not cheap - and roll it out so the little calves could lie on it. He once told me that he wanted to treat his animals as good as he could and that he wanted them to have just "one bad day"...meaning the day they were slaughtered at the packing house. I tell ya, it was nearly enough to make me go vegetarian. Not quite, but nearly. <grin>

I do wish many "city folks" could see what goes on in operations like that and that their meat just doesn't start out wrapped up on a Styrofoam tray covered in plastic. We need more small ranches like that and fewer of the corporate owned, heavily subsidized ones that only care about the bottom line. Beef is expensive now, but I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for more humane treatment of our food animals.

Oh, and thanks for posting, ed. I used to watch the Roy Rogers show on Sat. mornings (right after Sky King, the plane flying cowboy) I'd sing alone w/ the closing tune "Happy Trails". I like to look at properties in case I ever win, fantasize about it as a lot of lottery winners do and I found a nice, modest place, a big house on just 40 acres and they had named it "Happy Trails Ranch". It sold not once, but twice in a short period of time, the first purchaser having decided Texas wasn't for him and moved back north.

I grew up w/ a guy who looked a lot like Roy Rogers. He grew up on a farm but always fancied himself to be a cowboy and saying he was born too late. He later bought a chuck wagon and competed in cooking contests w/ it.

Another school buddy of mine chimed in once when a bunch of us were about 16 and saying what we wanted to do when we got out of school. I wanted to be a coach, another a vet. and my best friend wanted to be a forest ranger. Chuck said he wanted to be a cowboy. "$400 bucks/month, a house and all the beef you can eat, a dream job."he declared.   That was in the early 70's and to be honest, it doesn't sound like a bad deal even now....although I'm sure the wages have gone up several fold since then.