Day 25: A cowboy… A horse… The one thing…
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
My bedroom window was open, just like I left it when I retired to bed last night. As I slowly awakened in a semi-conscious state, I could feel the gentle cool air of the high desert morning slowly drift over me. I grabbed my comforter tighter to my body in an effort to stay in the warm cocoon I had created during the night.
My mind struggled to figure out which day it was and all the things on my busy agenda. It was in that moment when my neurons tried to fire, that I decided to do something I rarely do. I shut the thought process down and just lay like broccoli for a little while longer. The birds were singing the morning’s early praises. I decided that there was no reason to try and be an early bird, that job had already been taken! So I went back to sleep reminding myself that some days are just meant to be this way.
When I finally awoke, I struggled to get to the gym. When I finally arrived, I had to dig deep on this one… I was in desperate need of some motivation with none to be found… Perhaps if I had that one thing to get me going I could fly on the elliptical. Alas, all I could do was work hard at staying awake after not having time to indulge in my favorite and much needed cup of coffee. I completed 7 miles on the elliptical and once again, was in need of a cold shower. I left the gym and like a compass always knowing true north, my body made its way to its desire….. A warm and strong cup of coffee… it turned out to be two cups, but I wasn’t really counting!
It was time for the Quest and off I went. The Quest for the day led me to a brown quarter horse named Ms. Pearl, who had the sweetest brown eyes and a gentle temperament. Zephyr Cove Stables at Lake Tahoe made me feel as if I had stepped into a Wild West horse ranch. The guides were down home folk, ever so polite and gracious, and the Stetson hats and Wrangler jeans weren’t so bad either! I paid my fee and made my way to the corral for the one hour trail ride along the ridge overlooking Lake Tahoe.
The horses were lined up waiting to take a novice like me to a place that can only be described as an alpine paradise. They knew how lucky they were… they knew their lives were good… you could see it in how healthy they appeared. This was confirmed when I approached my horse to climb into the saddle. Ms. Pearl and I looked square into each other’s eyes and the sense of contentment was reflected back at me. With that reassurance of her happy state, I placed one foot in the stirrup and climbed on top and placed the second foot in the other stirrup. The woman ranch hand who was helping made the comment, “My, you have the smoothest, shiniest legs… you must have shaved today!” I let out a laugh and said, “I did remember to take care of that one thing!” She laughed and then gave me some instruction on how to handle Ms. Pearl.
That was when my guide, David, trotted up next to me with the most gorgeous tall, grey horse. He was an older gentleman, and as I would come to find out, he was 65 and newly retired. He wore a cowboy hat, worn wranglers, a red t-shirt, and had that western twang to his voice. Most importantly he seemed to be the perfect gentleman.
We started on the trail, and I was in awe. I loved the feel of being in the hard leather saddle and holding the reigns. There was a fantastic view from atop Ms. Pearl and I was certain she wouldn’t do me any harm, despite the rough, spectacular terrain. It was about 3 minutes into the ride that I had that feeling deep down inside my soul. There was something so right riding this horse, as if it was just supposed to be. With that thought, my spirit felt alive. My mind tried to take in every view and store it away to be retrieved later. My body felt completely at ease as we rode through the pine forest on a very narrow riding trail with the edge of the canyon on one side for most of the ride.
David was in front and as we continued along the with the trail ride, he began to disclose a couple details about his life and then he would fall silent after releasing only so much…. It made me curious. So, in my usual fashion, I did my best to engage him in conversation.
David was a team roping rodeo cowboy who had been roping since the age of 12! He quietly admitted to doing the rodeo circuit and explained in some detail how important that purse was to win. It made me envision a rodeo cowboy who traveled from rodeo to rodeo to make ends meet. He then went on to discuss ever so slightly the injuries that “can” occur. And it was then that I admitted having some contact with rodeo riders in the past. I acknowledged how tough they can be. I went on to say, “If those cowboys had a dislocated shoulder, they would just want to rub some dirt on it so they could get back to competing.” David said, “That is absolutely right, Michele! It’s all about winning that prize!” David went on to say that he owned some rodeo horses on his ranch a couple towns away. I mentioned that he must be a lucky man for having the opportunity to spend his retirement doing this part-time work, if you can even call it “work”…. He emphatically agreed while taking time to gaze up at the pine trees that were reaching to the open sky almost as if he were deep in thought. It was in that moment that I sensed that there was more to this man and what makes him truly happy. I wasn’t going to leave without knowing one thing—what was David’s secret to contentment.
As we continued along the trail the conversation took a deep turn as we talked about life after retirement. I asked what things were on his bucket list. I am always prepared to hear people say the things they want to acquire or places they want to go, but I was taken aback by David’s answer. He said, “Well, Michele, there are many places I want to go and many places I have been when I was doing rodeos…. The one thing I want to do is spend time with my granddaughter up in Oregon. You see her Mom is 39 and she was barrel racer, but then she acquired a big job in Oregon and that’s good for her. But I always look forward to seeing my 6-year-old granddaughter!” While David was speaking, his face had this unmistakable smile and the voice inflection was one of excitement and pure joy… I hadn’t heard or seen that until now. David went on to say that his granddaughter is in love with horses and wants to ride them just as her Mom once did. David said that his granddaughter wants a horse and that he will be getting her one soon… He made that statement with absolute confidence and joy.
The conversation slowed down and then a bit of silence ensued. After a couple minutes, he then made a statement that almost sounded like a regret he was trying to reconcile. He said, “Life sure is short, Michele. You work for most of your life and then spend just a little bit of time enjoying it… I am looking forward to spending time with my family… those are the important things in life!” I agreed with his wisdom and he smiled… As the stable came into view and the ride was nearing its end, David disclosed that one other important item on his bucket list was to visit Pearl Harbor… he then very quietly admitted he was an Army veteran who served in Vietnam… I thanked him for his service and he tipped his hat. The ride ended and I thanked him for giving me a fantastic ride and some great companionship and conversation. Then I played paparazzi and snapped a pic with him and his prized horse.
I climbed off of Ms. Pearl and thanked her for being so well-behaved and skilled for my first Tahoe trail ride… I rubbed her nose and didn’t want to say, “Good bye”… she was taken by the ranch hand to go get some water and food. I turned and took one last look at David as he walked away with his horse. I couldn’t help but smile thinking that so many of us rush through our day or don’t take the time to appreciate the one thing in life that matters in the end. Thanks to a wise cowboy, a horse and the view high above Lake Tahoe, I had roped-in some valuable perspective.
The one thing in David’s life that he valued the most wasn’t the adventures he had been on, or the rodeos he had won, or the injuries he sustained along the way… it was the moments with his family that he treasured. It was his family that he carried with him on horseback, deep in the middle of an alpine forest riding with a Reno girl from the Midwest, who without him even knowing, waited on bated breath for any nugget of wisdom he was willing to share.
It took just one horse, one cowboy to share that one thing…. Wondering what tomorrow will bring…
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