It's been raining alot lately, and I am loving it!
Now these are not the heavy rains, mind you, or the torrential downpour that creates massive floods 'n all, but this is the pleasant, little drizzle ... the gentle rain, that cowboy stories and dreams of country living are made of!
The temperatures have been around 50degrees, give or take a few. This makes it nice and pleasant ... not cold, but not warm either. You could sit by a fire in this weather and enjoy the sound of the wood burning, and the crackle of the fire, along with it's gratifying warmth. When it's too hot, you really can't enjoy the fire. When it's too cold, you're "huddled" by the fire, reaching into it's flames, trying to thaw out your fingertips! THAT is not that much fun either! But the 50's? It's just right.
I've been working a part-time job in town here, as the times dictate, where the folks who are managers 'n such have got no earthly idea how to deal with people. This frustrates me! You know, cowboys are not known for their tolerance to ignorance and stupidity. We have a world of patience with someone who can't help it, but when their the way they are because they choose to be, and ain't got no better sense to change it (or improve themselves) ... well, that's another matter altogether!
It's that sort of situation where I've been working. Now I love the people, but these folks are in such a darned hurry that they forget that they are dealing with real live folks here! These are people, who are laying their life on the line, as they go into surgery, trusting that we at least have got some idea of what we are about to do, so that their physical problem can be fixed! And the fellas that do the surgeries ... they're pretty darn good at what they do! I'm impressed. But these folks that do the office work ... these managers I've been tellin' ya' about ... they are horse of an entirely different color, and I ain't talkin' about the color of their skin either!
It's days like these, that I look out of the big plate glass windows and I see the rain, and the fog, and the cloudy skies, and I think ... I wish ... that I could be sittin' atop a horse, naturally wearing my slicker ('cause it'll stop the wind and the rain) and hat, and as I sit there under a large tree up on the hill, I can hear it now ... the sound of the rain, dripping off of the tree leaves high above me ... and the sound of the gentle rain as it falls ever so softly onto the winter grass that is still green, thanks to these mild days we've had this winter.
You can hear the peace of all that God has created, as you hear the gentle sound of the rainfall. Occasionally, the horse will stir. And when you readjust yourself in the saddle, there is that oh so wonderful sound of the leather ... it's just plain peaceful!
A Word about Rich ...
and Spring Valley - the Old West Town!
I continue to write, columns, blogs, and on my book. When I finish it I really hope it does well, 'cause I've got more to write, already queue'd up 'n ready to get down on paper. I'd like to be able to make lots and lots of money at this writing thing. You see, I've got a vision ... a dream, for a large ranch. I'd like to get a few hundred acres outside of town (far outside of town). I want to locate it near the railroad, where the old steam train still runs on occassion. And I wanna build an old west town. I'd like the railroad to run through it, or have a track that re-routes "to it", so that folks could come out on a special excursion to see the old west town.
It'd have a working livery stable, with horses and tack (saddles, bridles, etc.) that you could rent, if you didn't have a horse. If you did, you could "drive out" and trailer your horses. You have to park your vehicles at the entrance, and either ride your horse into town, or take the stage coach that occasionally drives through the parking lot. That way we'll have none of those new car things on our streets! But coming in on the train would, in my opinion, be the cream of the crop!
While there, you'd find a restaurant (or several), a hotel, a barber shop, a telegraph office, a local newspaper office, a sheriff's office, and of course, the livery stable. There would also be saloons, though I haven't figured out how I'm going to set this up ... there ain't gonna be no alcohol available in this town. You can also find a general store, a gift shop, a clothing store (western clothing of all kinds), and even a bank! And let's not forget the doctor's office too!
I'd like to make all of this available to Christian groups that could come out ... a kids summer camp, winter camp, a spring break camp, seminars, 'n such ... The church house at the edge of town could host the smaller groups. The larger groups 'd have to take the stagecoach, or ride their horses, or horse-n-buggy's, to the ranch. There, we'd have a large tabernacle, a large dining facility, a bunkhouse (where the working hands live), outhouses, and basically a working ranch!
The ranch hands would be folks who've come out there to live. Be in guys who were living off of the streets, orphans, etc. They'd all be welcome here. We take 'em in, they work for/with us on the ranch. We provide them with 3-squares (3 meals-a-day) and clothes, and a little spending money. They would have a place to live, and folks that love them and care for them.
The ranch would also have a large bunkhouses for the kids going to summer camp, winter camp, or spring break camp, and for folks who have come out for weeklong or weekend seminars. During kids camps, these would be segregated, boys vs girls bunkhouses. The kids would learn to ride, to care and feed horse, to work cattle, and about cowboy principles and the behavior of a gentleman and a lady. Church meeting's at the tabernacle would be regular and frequence, and counselors would be readily available in both bunkhouses, and throughout the ranch.
On the road from the ranch to town, and around those parts, you'd have road signs like in the old days. The roads would pretty much be dirt roads, like in those days, with an occasional road intersection, and signs directing you to the town, or to some other area of the ranch. These could be a ficticious nearby town, or an Indian reservation, where an Indian village could be constructed, if the interest and support are there.
I'd also like to have an area where they could go fishing! A stock pond, or lake, river, etc. Something along those lines. For swimming, I'd like to have a swimming hole just outside of town. It needs to look like a naturally occuring spring, or stream, so the bottom and sides would have to be made to look natural - not the usual concrete. This one could be called "Hot Springs", or something similar, and could be "heated" during the cooler times of the year. This area would have wooden logs built into picnic tables, and large treed areas where folks could ride, or hike, out to the area for a swim and a picnic! We could even have a changing room for men, and one for women, that is styled similar to an outhouse. Of course, there would have to be outhouses here for folks who "had the need". The difference is, these outhouses would actually have toilets and sinks, with running water. An emergency "old western style" telephone would be there on one of the walls, should someone need to call the local operator to get some help out there, should some need arise.
The ranch would have a large swimming hole, a pool, geared for the kids and for large groups during seminar times. The ranch would also have buckboard wagons, buggies, and even a conostoga wagon for trailrides, with the "kitchen" included! Campouts would be offered, where we sleep outdoors, by the fire, and do things a great deal like in the old days.
Look for this vision on my website at: richallcorn.org
I will be posting it up soon, and developing it as it comes to me, in hopes to some day soon bring it to reality!
*NOTE: these ideas and dreams are the creation and design of Rich Allcorn, of Rich Allcorn Ministries, and are therefore protected a proprietary writings.
©Copyright - April 2001, Richard A. Allcorn - All rights reserved.
Writings of a Cowboy
written by Richard A. Allcorn © Copyright 2010 - All rights reserved.
For additional information on Rich Allcorn,
please consult his online profile on Linked-In:
my personal online profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/richallcorn
For additional information,
please consult the following websites: my personal website: http://www.richallcorn.org
additonal writings: http://www.richallcorn.com/writer
our church website: http://www.wordchurch.info
our favorite cowboy church: http://www.wccowboychurch.org
Come sit by the fire, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and let's tell some stories!
