You’re telling me that your sister has a horse and I told you that I don’t anymore, but do have a powerboat. Was asking if she had a powerboat. Kind of counteracting what you told me she has and what we have. If you don’t understand, don’t worry about it. Let’s get back to Ken’s Thread now.
Sadly, I have never had a horse or a powerboat, so I guess I'll have to move into the city. I did have a saddle once, though.
I didn't ..I'm impressed Why did you have a saddle without a horse? Inherited one? Found one? Planned on getting a horse? I have been on every type of boat there is except a kayak. We had lots of friends that owned different boats...it's okay once in awhile..I'm not a boat person. Well maybe a boat person just not a water person. Least favorite was the powerboat...did like the pontoons and yachts. Didn't like sailboats either...too close to the water. And in keeping with the small town topic....most of this was when we lived in the small town.
The old west is drying up. Baseball caps are interchangable with western hats, White athletic shoes replacing cowboy boots. Wrangler jeans popular only because they cost less than the real McCoy and if you have a 38 waist, a 36 wrangler will fit you. Horses, quarter horses, are mainly owned by the wealthy and old Harley's and Japanese bikes are replacing the horse. There are a few holders on in some of the mountain states to the west of the 1870s, when stock hands were given the name of cowboy by some of the Wild West shows. There are no more cowboys, except in advertising and propaganda, and western lore. Better stay where you'll be better accepted or get you a pair of motor bikes and give-me caps and you can yell, "Hi, Ho Silver, Away," as you pop a wheelie down the main drag as you ride out toward to the kids rodeo Corel where they keep their competition anamials to show at the state fair. The west is changing. Small towns may not be what they used to be. They depend more on tourist trade. One of these southeastern small cities may be the real deal, where home is the real McCoy and the genuine is not make believe. The real deal may be where you are living now.
Haha...a good deal even if only for a sawhorse...too bad it was stolen....bet michele could have sold it on eBay.
@Cody Fousnaugh Yes. What in the world do tattoos and backward baseball caps have to do with reality? The mimic done by folks to look just like the others? Stereotype. My friend Charlie, with us in a Mexican restaurant, tasted something, and remarked coarsely, "No wonder those people kill each other!" Every ethnicity has been known to "kill each other" to one extent or another. Stereotype. Important word to understand. AND, the fact that stereotypical behavior does not "arise from nowhere", like some mysterious vapor. Often, it is derived from fact. Frank
@Chrissy Cross Specifically, if the powerboat's power fails, it may be dragged by ropoe pulled by a horse. Actually, in early America, goods shipped by canal and waterway were often pulled by horses, or more usually, mules. Still not sure about the difference between a mule and a jackass though. "Stubborn as mule, stupid as an ass?" Frank
@Chrissy Cross To great extent, cowboys are fictitious. Since farming and cattle grazing have deferred from the small-operations, family-like, of long ago, riding herd has become rare. Cattle ranchers use Jeeps nowadays. Can you imagine Clivus Bundy riding herd? Few folks are aware that predatory animals take such a toll of grazing animals that ranchers routinely kill them on sight, many using "silencers" to avoid spooking their stock. Frank
Frank, if you were trying to “get me going”, by what you are saying about cowboys and ranching, you done a good job of it! Actually, I’d love to see you tell the cowboys who are in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, the Dakota’s, Nebraska, Kansas and even Texas that there are no more cowboys. There are still plenty of ranches all through America that have ranch hands aka cowboys working on them. Of course these aren’t the cowboys of the old West, but there are those that are in an organization of “fast-draws and quick-draws” as well as those that do fancy 6-shooter handling, that spend lots of money on Old Time Western Wear and the guns and holsters they wear. There are lots of rodeo cowboys all over America and some even have full-blown cow-calf operating ranches. Heck, you probably didn’t even know that there are high schools in different Midwest states that give that give a full scholarship to college or university to those young cowboys and cowgirls that participate in high school rodeo. So, the Cowboy lifestyle is NOT gone. Slowed down, yes, but definitely not gone!
Chrissy, have you ever been in/around an airboat? While they are useful when getting around shallow water and swamps, they are absolutely dreadful--airplane engines mounted on flat-bottom boats! My neighbor has one, but he told me he wished he had bought a tractor instead. (A little off the small town topic)
Thanks, Ken, for both your comprehensive reply and for adding some local color including your personal view on this. What becomes clear is that the situation on both sides of the pond is really different in part and can't be compared. One thing I didn't quite get, though, is why rainwater collection is banned in certain places?