What Cannot Be Shaken...

The other morning, a friend told me how discouraging it is to know that our way of life is gone. There’s not enough left here for a fresh start. What will happen to us, to our heritage? I wondered about that. I thought about the people I know whose hopes are tied to the future of what seems to be a dying era.

Lee married Leslie a few years ago, and since then they’ve been living and working on Arizona and New Mexico ranches. The most valuable things they own are horses, and they are happiest when they are doing what they love.

Lonnie and Rachel married right out of high school. Lonnie is a cowboy who breaks broncs for a living. Rachel rode colts while carrying both their sons, so I reckon those boys will grow up cowboy, too. They live on her dad’s ranch in Lordsburg, trying to build their own future.

There isn’t much of a future in ranching today. But when Peg and Leota were young, it was the smartest thing for a young man to get into. He’s 93 now, but he still runs cattle in the valley. He can tell stories about wild cattle and wild horses; about the Mescalero Apaches; about the big rodeos on the 4^th of July. Back when he and Leota started out, this was just cattle country. Now, there are two towns and several hundred people living on it.

When I think of the people who settled the West, my heart swells with pride. It is them, their memory, and their land that is fading into the shadow of history. Even as I write, their descendants fight to keep that way of life alive. It makes me wish for a miracle. If only there was a way to bring America back to her roots. I suppose that what cannot be shaken will remain, even when we are all gone.