Some Things Aren’t for Sale

At the Coconut Horse, we’re sort of flying by the seat of our pants. The Site Q has not posted in months. And the Q-Source Q has been recuperating from surgery and maybe a stale case of Sandy V. Here is the great thing about Sunday mornings at the Horse – you can get better even if you’re on the IR. How so you wonder? Please share this nugget of wisdom I’ve been seeking. The running, rucking, and/or walking has  a rough start of 0630. I’ve got there early, I’ve got their late. Sargento rarely arrives on time. Anyone is welcome to join us for the First F portion. But here is the nugget of wisdom, the Second F starts around 0730. Posting for the Q-source-ish portion of the morning, getting an overpriced coffee or just bring your own is all fine. As the Bible says, the 7th day is a day of rest and our bodies certainly need rest as evidenced by all the injuries. As First F Q, I highly encourage a rest day, two or three into your schedule. I’m only reminding of the 2nd F portion of the morning.

So, pushing the soap box out of the way…JJ, Udders, Gavel and I ran the loop this morning. It was muggy as an oversized wet blanket thrown on top of you unexpectedly. No escaping the humidity this morning but we all persevered.  Roscoe met us in the parking lot and we did about 30 seconds of merkins on video, sending it to Whoopee to cheer up his daughter. The idea is we’d do a merkin for every minute she sat up which is the next step of her recovery. So we banked about 150 minutes for today, hoping she can hit that mark soon.

Q-source: We finished Cowboy Ethics. I had the last three chapters. You’ve seen some highlights from Roscoe and I the past three weeks. Here again are a few brief bullets.

8) Talk less and say more.

• Cowboys are often viewed as “strong and silent.”
• The bigger the mouth, the better it looks shut
• Cowboys were “doers” and not talkers; if they did, straight to the point
• Imagine they offered candor in succinct doses – simple and profound, usually in curse words (kind of like Midoriyama)
• Pat Summerall – for play-by-play guy on tv. He did it with so few words.
  • “Montana … back to throw. He fires downfield … for Jerry Rice … Touchdown, San Francisco!”
• The Masters broadcast is similar – think of how much the crowd roars accentuate the moment. Some broadcasters say their line and step out to let the patrons cheers take over to support the players achievements.

9) Remember that some things aren’t for sale.

• Author uses movie Monte Walsh to illustrate this point. Cowboys don’t earn much money, Walsh, played by Tom Selleck is offered a chance “play a cowboy in a traveling show. He is asked to wear a costume that embellishes what a cowboy (I’m thinking like a clown of sorts). After seeing himself in mirror, realizes the money isn’t worth it and didn’t want to dishonor his true profession.
• There are some things we can’t trade in for money.
  • This is where words like integrity and values come into play.
  • We all have a price in our head.
    • What would you do for a million dollars? (maybe in today’s inflationary times that numbers is higher, but you’ve played the game).
• What are some things you wouldn’t trade for money?

10) Know where to draw the line.

• A few one-liners from the book:
• “Just because something isn’t illegal, doesn’t mean it’s right”
• “There’s right and there’s wrong, and nothing else in between”

Falling from grace doesn’t always happen in one big fall. Often happens in degrees, cutting corners, and small things adding up to big things.

Society has laws and rules to help us. But for day to day life, mostly we’re on our own. If we don’t have some moral code which we have established, either by our parents, education or other valued sources, we can get off track. Cowboy Ethics is a quick read with 10 concepts that can help you draw the line which you live your life. The more people you choose to associate can keep you accountable. F3 certainly can provide that support.

Announcements: JJ5k, F3 Dads (8/17 at Folsom). Prayers: Whoopee’s 2.0, Turtleman, Roscoe’s Father In Law, Linus’ dad. I took us out. Thanks to Udders for joining us once again – kind of extended family.