The Cowboy Life for Me

When I was a child, I didn’t really know

or care why and for what I was here. When

I came of age, I realized what I wanted to

be when I grew up—a cowboy I dreamed,

just like Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy.

I had the hat; I had the six-shooter and caps.

I needed a horse and cowgirl to ride along-

side of me. And, I needed to be on TV, on

Saturday morning preferably. That’s when

all the other kids would be watching me.

I would lasso the bad guys and take them to

the hoosegow. “What’s that?” my lady-friend

sidekick would ask. “Don’t you know?” would

be my reply. “Aww shucks, Ma’am, why that’s

cowboy lingo for jail,” I would proudly tell her

with my thumbs tucked boldly between my

belt and jeans.

And she would look up and smile at me

admiringly. No one could smile like she.

It was almost enough to pop the buttons

right off my vest. I really wanted, no I had

to have Annette Funicello as my best girl.

I reckoned then my cowboy life would be

complete. As a city boy, I had my Saturday

morning dreams of the wild west, that is

until my mom and dad would get up and

turn off the TV. How was I ever going to

meet Annette Funicello when stupid stuff

like that kept happening to me?

Chris Hanch 8-11-28