What ever happened to the Cowboy? As I grew up at the foot of the Rocky Mountains the West has always been a part of my life. My heroes were guys like Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Rex Allen and a thousand others who rode across the silver screen. In later years I began reading authors like Will Henry, Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey and many, many others. I learned from the stories of the people who ventured west from the settlements of the east. As a genre the Western tells us the tales of our ancestors as they forged ever westward. Names like Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jim Beckwourth filled out tales of the mountain men, John Chisholm, Charlie Goodnight and Oliver Loving did the same for the cattle drives north to the rails. Most people today know very little or nothing of this time period. A couple of times westerns have tried again to find a place in the movies but they haven’t done too well. I’m not sure if it was the movies or the lack of interest that caused them to dwindle into obscurity. “Dances With Wolves” despite a few major changes from the book “Lonesome Dove” and “Tombstone” are the exceptions instead of the rule. Well the movies and books may not be what they once were but as Chris LeDoux so eloquently told us, there are still real cowboys out there “You Just Can’t See Them From the Road.”
I am willing to open this up to guest bloggers on the subject of Westerns as a genre, if you are interested in posting please leave a comment or shoot me an email.
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