FOLK COLLECTION 11: The Skaggs Foundation Cowboy Poetry Collection

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Sometimes the Best Cowboys Ain't Always Human

FOLK COLL 11 M-75

Gary McMahan

Sometimes the Best Cowboys Ain't Always Human

During the depths of the Depression, When America drew shallow breaths, Bob had to find him a way To keep from starvin' to death.

ape, pony, great depression, bronco buster

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Freeze branding business offers opportunities to 'dine out'

It's the freeze branding season again at Sims. I started freeze branding my Dad's replacement heifers with number brands almost 40 years ago. A few people started asking me to brand their cattle so I make a few little freeze branding tours each winter. It has always been more of a social than a business.

branding, favor, freeze

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

A good visit takes precedence over any other entertainment

I like a good visit. I was raised to appreciate it. When anyone came in to my folk's house, if the TV was on Dad would irritably say, "turn that darn thing off." Dad always lamented the fact that TV destroyed a good place.

national cowboy poetry, elko, breakfast

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Let's petition for a 'National Return a Book Day'

There really should be a National Return a Book Day. I really like books and when I find a good one, I like to loan it to a friend. I like it when friends enjoy my books. I hate it when they don't return them.

borrow, book, return

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Local ranks up there with world's great communications

It's hard to imagine that the legislature is still in session and has weeks left to go. You would think that in a state like North Dakota, it shouldn't take so long to take care of business. It is too bad that good communicators are in such short supply.

quiet, strength, simplicity

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Where Champions Come to Roost

Times are tough here at Sims. It's good I don't spend much. Spending less is a lot like making more money.

rodeo, steer wrestle, rodeo

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

A personal art collection to be proud of

Times are tough here at Sims but at least we have a great art collection. It's nice to look around the house and see all the nice paintings and drawings.

art, folk, larue, music

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

You could call the Missus 'The Mover' or 'The Marker'

I wish I had a better vocabulary. You would think after using English for all these years I would have a better grasp of the language, but there are a lot of words out there that I should know but still are unfamiliar.

label, move, wife

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Being helpful at the driver's licensing division

Well, another four years rolled around again. I had to go to Bismarck and get a new driver's license. I used to enjoy getting my license renewed years ago when I took a little better photo. I think I looked a little younger and brighter when I had hair and a firmer neck.

driver's license, assistance, age

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

The grass is (finally) greener on this side of the fence

Things have really picked up here at Sims. Every hill is as green as a pool table. Early seeded crops have sprouted and are out of the ground. We had .67 inch of rain in April and in May we have had an additional 1.76 inches so far.

rain, window, lawn

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Birthday night out on the town a huge success

Things are really picking up here at Sims. We recently entertained some friends on a night out on the town.

coupon, couple, friends

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

A tribute to Sig - our own Mr. Almont/Mr.Sims

I am writing this on June 13. Sig died last night. Around here the name Sig has more meaning than Elvis or Cher. A little farther away he is known as Sig Peterson, but it seemed more people knew Sig than most anyone I ever knew.

death, memorial, character

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Don't mess with 'the Missus' at the fast food place

I was really proud of the Missus the other day. She pulled up to a fast food place and placed her order. As she inched up the line, she noticed that several patrons ahead of her, after receiving their orders, turned around and walked back in to return their purchases.

kindness, compliment, prank, fast food

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

We Americans have a bad case of 'consumer woes'

It's a good thing I don't shop much, I don't like most of the products I wind up buying anyway. The high tech stuff is beyond me. I have to have my daughter put new ink cartridges in my computer printer.

consumer, dissatisfaction, products

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

It's haying season at Sims; time to build haystacks

Times are tough at Sims this summer. Early rains were great, but it looks like we won't be denied our yearly drought. Cracks in the ground are deeper than the lines in a 70-year-old, roll-yer-own smoker's face.

hay, dry, skill, stack, art

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

High tech world isn't all it's cracked up to be

Progress comes slow here at Sims. The Missus and I didn't jump into the new millennium; we sort of crawled into it. There is no hi tech machinery around the place, we don't have satellite TV or radio. We do have slow speed internet and a few years ago I invested in a cell phone.

progress, cell phone, bill

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Almont's Labor Day celebration a success once again

Another Almont Labor Day Celebration is history. For nearly 50 years, Almont has hosted a Labor Day Celebration. Only the residents of a tiny town can appreciate the effort it takes to host such an event. It takes a lot of volunteer labor to pull it off.

labor day, parade, age, replacement

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

The weight loss program works, more or less

I never thought I would be anything but skinny when I was a kid. Nothing I ate seemed to put any weight on me. I was self-conscious about it for a while. I wished I had more muscle like my brother.

weight, scale, malfunction

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Memories of school bus bullies

I watch with amazement, now and then, when I watch a school bus go by. They hardly resemble the buses I remember as a kid. A typical school bus today has only a few kids riding and from what I see, it looks pretty calm inside.

bully, school bus, violence

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

New windshield was just what the doctor ordered!

The passing of time sure makes a difference in your life doesn't it? I think I have been a fair driver most of my life. I have safely navigated my cars through blizzards, rainstorms, dust, icy roads, back roads, major cities, and June evenings in eastern North Dakota when the bugs hit the windshield like hail.

car, care, windshield, sight

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Veteran's Day a somber remembrance of those who served

Veteran's Day is coming up soon. Armistice Day, or Veteran's Day, has been around since the end of World War I. I knew a lot of WWI vets. I had a great uncle in that war and lots of my old neighbors and friends of my folks were WWI vets. I could only guess at the number of WWII vets I knew. Most of them said very little about the war.

bomber, veteran, sacrifice

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Dogs are wonderful companions that never question

I like Dogs. I would hate to be without a dog. I am realistic about dog ownership of course; there are only certain types of dogs that I care to own. I like dogs that look like dogs. My apologies to people who like dogs that look like cats, but I don't much care for them.

dog, herd, cattle, happy

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Spirit of Christmas giving can take many forms

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas even if it doesn't look like Christmas here at Sims. The hills are as bare and brown as they normally look during a mid-summer drought, but it is cold enough to feel like Christmas.

christmas, presents, giving

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

Christmas at Sims

When we celebrate this season Like we have done in the past, We cling tightly to tradition As good memories tend to last.

christmas, decoration, country church

Up Sims Creek, The Third Trip

FOLK COLL 11 N-18

Rod Nelson

The most memorable Christmas gift - and the lesson that followed!

Times are good here at Sims. While the weather from Seattle to Texas and from Texas to Maine continues to be rough, right here at Sims it has been as calm as a dead horse.

christmas, gift, bb gun, safety