I grew in Brooklyn, my family moved when I was around 18 years old. My memory may not be the greatest especially with details, my dates maybe off, but I'll tell you this, from my earliest recollections I wanted to be a cowboy. How could you not with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Wild Bill Hickok, The Lone Ranger catching bad guys every week on TV. Then there was the movies, whenever there was a cowboy picture playing in the movie theater or on TV I was there. I enjoyed watching them all Tex Ritter, Buster Crabbe (he also played Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Buck Rodgers) John Wayne, Hoot Gibson, my father's favorite cowboy Buck Jones, one of my favorites Lash LaRue. One year for Christmas under the tree I got a gun belt with 2 holsters and two silver cap guns. Next to them was a black cowboy hat, a Silver bullet (the Lone Rangers calling card) a set with a vest, snap on Spurs, bandana, and 2 slide on tubes that look like the top of boots. My brother got similar toys so we can ride off into the sunset together. Of course my brother and I, we would turn the kitchen chairs around and they would be out horses we pack some grub ( usually white bread smeared with butter), and ride off to catch us some bad guys. Sometimes we lasso them with our imaginary rope, hang them over our horses and bring them to the sheriff. We were not allowed to shoot the caps in the house so any shootout had the Bang Bang Bang vocal representation. We spend plenty of stories around the make believe campfire, where we ate our grub and slept Under the Stars. We also had these rifles I don't remember their name but you could put some oil in the barrel then when you shot it, smoke came out. It was great fun to mimic our Cowboy Heroes. We did get to go to a Rodeo most likely it was at Madison Square Garden. I don't recall what its name was I'm sure it was something similar to the photos I posted here. I sometimes can still feel a child's excitement. Watching real cowboys on real horses, trick riding, lassoing, riding Broncos, it's exciting for a city kid. With the build-up from the announcers broadcast, you just can't wait for the next show. I could go on, but to this day I enjoy my cowboy movies, the current ones are more graphic but still enjoyable, I guess they'll always be a little cowboy in my soul.
Cue up my homie: I grew up a-dreamin' of bein' a cowboy And lovin' the cowboy ways Pursuin' the life of my high-ridin' heroes I burned up my childhood days I learned all the rules of a modern-day drifter Don't you hold on to nothin' too long Just take what you need from the ladies, then leave them With the words of a sad country song My heroes have always been cowboys And they still are, it seems Sadly, in search of, but one step in back of Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams Cowboys are special with their own brand of misery From bein' alone too long You could die from the cold in the arms of a nightmare Knowin' well that your best days are gone Pickin' up hookers instead of my pen I let the words of my youth fade away Old worn-out saddles, and old worn-out memories With no one and no place to stay My heroes have always been cowboys And they still are, it seems Sadly, in search of, and one step in back of Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams Sadly, in search of, and one step in back of Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams Songwriter: Sharon Vaughn My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys lyrics © Jack And Bill Music Co.
I've met a few film/tv cowboys. Doug McClure and James Drury from The Virginian were at a Celebrity Rodeo I attended. Also met Hugh O'Brian of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp at End of Trail (Old West Show in Norco, CA). Have got a DVD called When The Cowboy Was King (many of the old spaghetti westerns on tv/movies) and the DVD The Gambler Returns (Kenny Rogers) and a number of the old tv western stars in it, like Chuck Conners (The Rifleman). Actually, wife and I have a full wall of pictures of old western tv stars and their horses. Even Audie Murphy.
@Tony Page The 1950s wa great era in Hollywood for "cowboys." It even rubbed off on real ranch kids. I had cap guns from an early age and credit my quick draw skills from practicing with them. I can't remember what show it was where one gunslinger had his pistol handles reversed so you drew from your left side with your right hand and vice versa. That is the way I wore my revolvers until I sold them just a few years ago. My immediate family had no TV, ever. I had to go to one of my grandpas to watch westerns. My folks didn't approve of Hollywood violence, so I kept it a secret until I was in my late teens. and I had become a seasoned disappointment. Hahaha! Not only did I hone my firearm skills, but I enhanced my vocabulary. I learned to use phrases like, "Reach for it you filthy varmint," "Yeah, you and how many more cowboys?" "You will be pushing up daisies before sundown, pilgrim," and so many more that I still keep oiled and holstered today. I have no idea how many rolls of caps I burned, but it always ended with a bang and went up in smoke. All this early Hollywood "cowboy" influence (bad influence according to my mom) is what led me to do street shoot-out reenactments for the tourist one tourist season in Colorado for the narrow gauge railroad.
Excellent remembrance my favorite expression was "slap leather". I practice my draw till I became pretty quick. Remember later getting a gun set that shot a light beam at a sensor you and your opponent were. If it got hit it would beep. Fun days other memories are coming back,like shooting at a chicken target with darts. If you hit the bullseye the chicken would lay an egg.
I grew up on a farm and also wanted to be a "cowboy," (which did not send my parents into a frenzy of sex-change identity madness ). I had a stable of stick horses which were tobacco sticks since it was a tobacco farm. I galloped for miles around the pasture with the cows, stopping occasionally to have a lick of the livestock salt block and on to save the town from bad guys. Dolls were for sissies.
I do remember the stick that had a horse's head on it. When we played in the house we used kitchen chairs for horses, outside we had a bench without a backrest that we used.
I have a cousin who doesn't live far from me that converted his basement into a cowboy museum it's just amazing. He has a great audio visual system to watch cowboy movies/shows, he has a bookcase devoted to DVDs. He has a section with John Wayne memorabilia. Some of his collections are Originals some are reproduction but it's all great.
One of the biggest disappointments in my life was that I never learned how to ride a horse, O sure I went on pony rides but it's not the same thing. No word can explain the feeling of watching a cowboy get on or off his horse. My eldest grandkids to make sure they didn't feel the same disappointment I paid for horse riding lessons when they were younger.
Kids do the Darndest Things. Me and a friend staged a zoo in the backyard One Summer. I brought out my pets, chameleons, hamsters, rabbits, but the big attraction was "the rare white fly" which was a fly we caught and coated in flour.