I saw this story and just had to repost it, because I absolutely agree with the point the author makes.
Daniel Boone had it right, elbow room is pretty dang nice. I know my wife will cringe at this analogy, but Chris LeDoux sings about a rancher who moves into town and longs for the wide open spaces of the ranch. A verse in the song laments how he can no longer relieve himself off his back porch.
It’s a long way from being poetic, but it concisely points up perhaps one of the many things we take for granted living in rural America.
As I drove in to visit a friend/rancher this week, I didn't think twice about the river bottoms I passed, the deer I spooked up along the road, or the fact that when I got out I could have yelled at the top of my lungs without disturbing a neighbor.
I did, however, notice the new roping arena down in this scenic valley. It was a big pen, nearly 300 ft. long and 180 ft. wide. The white continuous fence just glistened and the arena sand had been freshly worked. It was downright pretty.
Roping is more than a hobby, it’s a passion. I didn't think anything when he mentioned how he calves cows a mile south of the headquarters or offered to show me his herd bulls in a pasture just three miles from the house.
Nothing dawned on me until I was driving to a meeting later in Denver and sitting in traffic on a three-lane interstate. Off to my left was a housing development that literally stacked house upon house, while a sign trumpeted starting prices as low as $290,000. Eight houses and a little grassy area they called a park didn't take up as much space as my friend’s roping arena!
While being able to relieve yourself off your back porch without having to worry about neighbors, having the luxury of looking up in a night sky to see millions of stars, or creating a full-size basketball court for your kids in your Quonset might not pay a lot of bills, it sure does make life more agreeable.
-- Troy Marshall
It’s a long way from being poetic, but it concisely points up perhaps one of the many things we take for granted living in rural America.
As I drove in to visit a friend/rancher this week, I didn't think twice about the river bottoms I passed, the deer I spooked up along the road, or the fact that when I got out I could have yelled at the top of my lungs without disturbing a neighbor.
I did, however, notice the new roping arena down in this scenic valley. It was a big pen, nearly 300 ft. long and 180 ft. wide. The white continuous fence just glistened and the arena sand had been freshly worked. It was downright pretty.
Roping is more than a hobby, it’s a passion. I didn't think anything when he mentioned how he calves cows a mile south of the headquarters or offered to show me his herd bulls in a pasture just three miles from the house.
Nothing dawned on me until I was driving to a meeting later in Denver and sitting in traffic on a three-lane interstate. Off to my left was a housing development that literally stacked house upon house, while a sign trumpeted starting prices as low as $290,000. Eight houses and a little grassy area they called a park didn't take up as much space as my friend’s roping arena!
While being able to relieve yourself off your back porch without having to worry about neighbors, having the luxury of looking up in a night sky to see millions of stars, or creating a full-size basketball court for your kids in your Quonset might not pay a lot of bills, it sure does make life more agreeable.
-- Troy Marshall
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