Cowboy Wisdom: "If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya."

Hello folks, it is already Wednesday as we think about what all we have to do on this March 5, 2014. I suppose an apology is in order. You remember the little ditty I wrote about the trail riders. They win. I lose. I'm sorry for laughing when your guy was on TV in the freezing rain with the water pouring off his cowboy hat. It wasn't funny. At least not as funny as I thought it was at the time. Sorry. But, after all is said and done, you beat me once again. That's right. Last Friday I was making a trip on behalf of our commercial enterprise, (you know, the companies that produce goods and services and pay taxes so that we can have roadways, etc.), and that's when I found myself all snarled up again, this time behind one of the largest trail ride associations in the area, the Sam Houston Trail Ride Association. You guys really rock. With hardly any effort at all, you can turn four lanes into about a half lane for the millions of cars being held up behind you. And, for those fellows who are the traffic guys on the horses, with the flags, well, I want to apologize directly for that little swerve because I would never intentionally run over anyone. I know. So, your horse jumped a little. I think they do that when they are spooked. Right? Don't you have training for that? That's a joke folks so please don't go off the deep end by trying to turn me in. I'm in enough trouble already and just for the record: I've had enough entanglement with cowboys, cowgirls, horses, mules, porta potties, barbecue trailers, hay, blaring country music, and other related gear to last me at least until next year. Thanks, and oh yeah, please don't forget to accept my apology.

June Holeman, Barrel Racer

This past Sunday after our morning services I found myself all laid up in that recliner in a way that my grandfather would have described, "Like a bunch of dogs all laid up under a shade tree." I was in and out of consciousness as I napped some while keeping up with the NASCAR race and switching during the commercials to the American Rodeo finals being televised live on RFD-TV from the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. This was the highest one day pay out in the history of rodeo competition. One competitor finished the day taking home a purse of one million dollars. One of the neatest things I saw was a lady who almost made the finals in the barrel racing competition. She missed being in the top four by a hair. ( Maybe a horse hair.) What was so great about this particular lady? She is 70 years young and can ride a horse as good or better than most of the late teens and twenty-and-thirty somethings she was competing against. I'm glad I happened to switch at the right time because she not only came close to moving on for the finals but she also received probably the loudest ovation of the day with every one standing out of respect for this outstanding lady and her outstanding effort.

Obviously our nation is in decline as it relates to our standing in the world. This is part of the remaking of America as promised by this administration. The idea in the past was to use our might as a credible threat to deter improper action on the part of our adversaries. Remove the credible threat and what do you have? You have lines drawn in the sand that do not mean anything at all. You have men like Putin who do what they want to do without regard for what we might or might not do. Why? Because a letter filled with strong rhetoric doesn't mean anything to him. Many folks are supportive of this diminishing of our status figuring that we should just stay home and take care of our business. Well, the problem comes with those who have no intention of staying home but are intent on seizing whatever it is they claim to belong to them. If Russia can do it, why not China? Why not North Korea? And, why not any number of smaller countries where territory is now up for grabs. It wasn't up for grabs before because there was a credible threat. Let me leave you with one quote for you to think about. It is from retired USAF General C. Robert Kehler: "Deterrence is still fundamentally about influencing an actor's decisions. It is about a solid policy foundation. It is about credible capabilities. It is about what the U.S. and our allies as a whole can bring to bear in both a military and a nonmilitary sense." Something to think about. Have a good rest of the day and may God bless our great country again is my prayer. Amen.   ...More later.