February 2018 - Meet Me At The Barn

Think About It: It’s Not About The Gun

What Causes Death Among Americans?

I have been doing some research on what causes death among Americans. Here is what I have found:

Obesity

In the United States, 36% of adults and 21% of children are obese. Each year, 280,000 people die from obesity. Obesity is caused by eating too much and moving too little. These obesity facts come at an annual cost of $147 billion. That is a lot of money. It seems to me that if people took better care of themselves, we could free up a bunch of money for many great causes. The bottom line is that 767 people a day choose to die of obesity. The weapon of choice, food. Do we get rid of food? Think about it.

Alcoholism

Every year 88,000 people die in the United States from alcoholism. Divide the annual deaths by 365, and you get 241 deaths per day. The weapon of choice alcohol. Do we get rid of alcohol? Think about it.

Suicide

Suicide kills 44,965 people each year in the United States. Seventy-one percent of suicide attempts are with drug overdoses; fourteen percent are cuttings or piercing, and six percent are with guns. Over half of successful efforts are with the use of firearms, seventeen percent succeed using hanging, and twelve percent of overdoses are successful. Every day 123 people kill themselves. The weapons of choice, guns, bedsheets, belts, rope, and drugs to name a few. Do we get rid of all of these methods? Think about it.

Abortion

Every day in the United States between 2500

The Fidgety Horse

Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival

I spent last week with friends in Elko, Nevada attending the Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival. This gathering started thirty-four years ago as a place where ranchers and cowboys could assemble to share poems and stories about their lives working cattle and running their ranches. In the last three decades, these men and women have continued to foster their relationships as well as their crafts of poetry, music, artisanship, and storytelling. Regardless of the vehicle they use to convey their message, their stories are about heartbreak, hard work, humor, and their appreciation of the American West.

Mike Beck

Among the many performances, lectures, and activities that I attended, one performer stood out. His name is Mike Beck. Mike grew up learning how to cowboy and handle horses from some of the best in the business. Bill and Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt, and Buck Brannaman to name a few. At the end of long days of working with cattle, instead of braiding rawhide like the other cowboys, Mike would pick up his guitar and play. He continued to hone his horsemanship skills and started offering his own clinics sharing what he had learned from the Dorrance brothers. The word about Beck’s clinics began to spread, and he was asked to go to Europe to conduct his clinics. For many years he has done 2-day clinics mostly in Scandinavia. He doesn’t consider himself to be the best clinician or horseman, but he continues to do a few workshops each year

Monthly Archives: February 2018