PASTOR TERRY JONES – THE UGLY AMERICAN

Once again the lines and boundaries of the Christian radical right have been redrawn and they are migrating ever farther beyond sense and sensibility seemingly driven by a media frenzy. Consistent with the precepts of ignorance, intolerance and hate, gun toting, egocentric pastor Terry Jones head of the so called Dove World Outreach Center (UhHuh?), a non-denominational, fundamentalist Christian church in Gainesville, Florida has lent new credence to the term, Ugly American. Jones’ on and off again posturings have understandably outraged most in the Islamic Community, radical fundamentalist and moderate alike, as well as a healthy portion of the religious community throughout the rest of the world. President Obama and all responsible members of our political hierarchy have condemned Jones and his plans to burn copies of the Islamic Holy book, the Qur’an. Heck, the Pope has even weighed in on this controversy. The bright side of this is that condemnation of Jones has been swift and universal and this incident could finally open up some long overdue, positive dialogue on American-Islamic relations.

All this hullabaloo appears to be Jones’s vehicle to raise awareness of his church, himself and most obviously his book, Islam is of the Devil, along with the obligatory t-shirts and mugs bearing similar anti-Islamic messages. Can an e-bay experience be far behind?

Jones’ most recent “negotiations” with Imam Muhammad Musri, President of the Islamic Society of Central Florida would lead us to believe that Jones is apparently willing to negotiate with the “Devil” but not even listen to his own leaders. Apparent intent of his threatened burning of the Qur’an, those subsequent “negotiations” and this whole charade is intended to change the venue of a controversial Islamic Mosque, slated for construction near Ground Zero in New York. As if some guy in Florida has influence over the intentions of their community in New York City. As of this writing New York Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf states he has not talked with either Musri or Jones and has no intention of doing so – and why should he? This is all a sick ploy by Jones to garner attention for whatever and to do anything besides condemning Jones’ words and actions is tantamount to encouragement. It all started with a Tweet and evolved from there – surely a campaign of hate and bigotry.

I find it puzzling that Jones is an admitted huge fan of William Wallace and the movie Braveheart. The irony, of course, is that Wallace led one of the most famous wars against tyranny and injustice and was a champion of freedom, seemingly privileges and rights that Jones is not prepared to grant anybody except on his own twisted terms. All this self-serving vitriol has accomplished is to put our soldiers at risk and callously and unfairly paint all Americans with the brush of bigotry and hatred.

We need to acknowledge Jones and his followers for what they are, reject and denounce their words and actions all the while protecting their right to express those opinions. That’s the great conundrum and what most folks around the world don’t understand about us – the protected and constitutional right of free speech – especially since most of them live in repressive societies where similar words and actions would not be tolerated. The right to perform such a heinous act, one contrary to our constitution and the essence of our free society, is confusing to many and frustrating even to those entrusted to protecting those rights.

A now familiar radical and politicized fundamentalist Islam is anxiously looking for any excuse to incite their followers and forward their extremist agenda witness Salman Rushdie, Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh, Patras Masih, Daniel Pearl, occupants of the World Trade Centers on 9/11/2001, thousands of their own citizens via of their suicide bombings and many others. The backlash is that there are surely consequences for these absurd actions where violence surely begats violence. The BBC tragically reports that Muslim protesters haven been killed and scores injured in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan during a Jones inspired demonstration.

As of this posting Jones now states, “We will definitely not burn the Quran ... Not today, not ever." Talking of consequences - maybe that ultimate decision was made because the Gainesville, Florida Fire Department refused to grant Jones a burning permit, or because the bank that holds the mortgage on their church has now demanded immediate payment, or because their property insurance has been canceled, or because the provider of the hosting service for the Dove World Outreach website pulled the plug on the site or because of the many death threats made against Jones. Tough to say…

We need to pay attention to hate mongering folks like Jones and raise them up as examples of bigotry and hatred and the exclusionary fundamentalists they are. For so publically defining those boundaries early on I guess that we can be grateful but we need to continue our vigilance lest some folks feel those behaviors acceptable. Je me souviens.

We hope that all in the world community recognize Jones as a nut case who speaks only for himself and a relatively few whose opinions surely don’t command respect. Jones has had his few minutes/hours/days of fame and it’s time to put him back in his box.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. says it all for me with his recent, right-on comments, “As this case makes oppressively clear, the Internet and the 24-hour news cycle have evolved an analog to the terrorist veto. Call it the idiot veto — the ability of a single obscure malcontent, powerless but for his willingness to do some outrageous thing, to make himself heard at the highest level of geopolitics and force his way upon the international stage.”

Lest we forget…

Aye,

Ned Buxton

AUGUST IN TEXAS - 2010

Predictable, persistent domes of high pressure have accounted for the 2010 summer heat wave in north Texas. The Dallas-Fort Worth area had an 18-day streak of 100+ degree days that began on July 31 and lasted through August 17 ranking it as the 7th longest period of consecutive 100+ degree days for the DFW area. While August 18 only hit a high of 96° the temps soared back above 100 following that brief respite from the heat. That newest heat wave was showcased by the record setting 107 degrees on August 23 (and a nearby 110°) which tied the record high previously set in 1952 and buckled concrete roads. Heat advisories accompanied by heat indexes of 107 to over 110 have been commonplace. And, yes, we have humidity (lots of it) in north Texas - no dry heat a la Arizona.

While these numbers are impressive and this summer may ultimately rank in the top five hottest, we probably need not invoke some catastrophic, human-inspired Goresque global warming prediction (though we do need to reduce fossil fuel emissions) or divinely inspired apocalypse. It has been much, much hotter in the past. In 2006 we experienced 100+ degrees for 19 days straight (August 8-26). In 1999, the extreme heat lasted for 24 days (July 28-August 20) and 1998 was worse with a streak that lasted 29 days (July 6-August 3). In 1980 Dallas experienced 42 century-plus days in a row (from June 23 to August 3), a record that still stands in north Texas. In 1980 those high temperatures exceeded 100°F for 69 days with all-time highs achieved on June 26 and 27 when the real air temperatures reached 113°F. In all, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex saw 29 days in which the previous record high temperature was either broken or tied. Those records still stand.

Having said that, I do think that my childhood years in north Texas were far more uncomfortable overall and vividly remember the severe Texas drought and heat of the 1950’s and specifically the summer of 1953 when tar and gravel streets melted when temperatures exceeded 100°F for 52 days. The difference then was the fatal combination of heat and extreme drought which we are not now experiencing. My childhood perceptions are probably colored by less than efficient AC systems then and more time spent in the great outdoors. It would appear that more areas of the country are now sharing our heat induced misery.

I do remember some folks performing a rain dance the summer of 1980 at the picturesque Turtle Creek fountain across from Lee Park (as in Robert E.) in Dallas. Surprisingly, it did rain the next day though not nearly enough to break the heat wave which persisted for yet another month.

During the course of my recruiting efforts I talk with folks all over New England and they too have had their bout with the heat this summer. Several weeks ago one very frustrated and overheated lady in Biddeford, ME recounted that the temperature on her deck hit 102 degrees – well above normal for coastal Maine! That’s time for a dip in the 70°north Atlantic… When the Buxton Boys set up residence in Pawtucket and later Providence, RI from 1954-on we thought that the sun was going super nova and we were all going to die in some flaming inferno when the temperature hit the always, unusually high 90°. Well, again, that was an excuse to hit the RI South County beaches.

The geraniums that I was able to heroically save from last winter’s freezing and subzero temperatures via a makeshift greenhouse are now mostly gone due to the intense heat. They stopped flowering and then unceremoniously gave up the ghost despite watering and fertilization. They now reside in the Buxton record book in plant heaven with my less than spectacular 2009 tomato plants that yielded only one fruit (the $30.00 split tomato) due to the intense heat… I am now growing a very healthy bumper crop of hardy rosemary that loves the heat. Can sage be far behind?

We need not forget that south and central Texas including Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio experienced extreme drought and excessive heat for a couple of years until the rains returned last year. The pendulum swings back and forth – all part of that El Nino/La Nina thing… The Climate Prediction Center says we are now moving towards a La Nina weather pattern.

Before we start feeling sorry for ourselves let’s put this in perspective. As much as I hate the high, extreme temperatures all I have to do is conjure memories of horrific Hurricane Katrina that hit five years ago today and the suffering and indignities endured by those incredibly brave residents of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans who now appear to have to fight a new gorilla each year.

Spider bite or not (it’s slowly improving – sort of), it was very pleasant in Montana with daytime highs generally only in the 80’s with even a couple of nights dipping into the 30’s. The Weather Channel reminders of 105° temperatures in the DFW Metroplex gave us good reason to be thankful for our then northern geography.

The bottom line is that Texas is Texas and it gets hot here. It is what it is… Would we rather be in Pakistan where extreme high temperatures have been commonplace (new Asian record of 128 degrees), not to mention the devastating floods that have ravaged over 1/5 the country? Now comes the disease…

We are blessed, Aye

Ned Buxton

MONTANA SPIDER BITE

We just returned from our annual holiday jaunt to Montana and the incredible and always spectacular Beartooth Mountains. This year it was more exciting including a welcome, anticipated visit from long-time Friends Dorothy and Norm Bishop of National Park Service, International Wolf Center and the Wolf Recovery Program fame and all around good guy. Our locale was also visited by those prison escapees/fugitives from Arizona who probably made it to Red Lodge and were seen in nearby Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and Billings, Montana before the last two were finally captured way back in Arizona (apparently they thought it too cold?). We were more vigilant than usual and scrutinized all strangers with a calculating Poirot demeanor.

The bears have been active again though the Grizzlies appear to be staying up in the high country. There was some concern about Grizzlies given the recent terrible death and mauling of tent campers (one death) near Yellowstone Park. Thankfully, the guilty party’s three cubs ended up in a zoo in nearby Billings. The guilty sow is now occupying a non-earthly plane.

We did note that some black bears have learned the relative ease of entry that casement windows offer and the treats in human refrigerators (ice cream and blueberries). Once the berries start to show on native flora, however, they will be gone - back to their normal and relatively safe habitat for more plentiful and nourishing offerings. No, though we saw lots of scat we did not see any bears this year. We did see and or have experiences with some other critters, including at least one spider…

For most of my life I have been well aware of the threat that some spiders (out of 50K known species) pose to Humans including the Black Widow and the Brown Recluse. Thanks to National Geographic and the Discovery Channel we in North America now know about the infamous and sometimes fatal bite of the male Australian Funnel Web Spider and that has always prompted my serious respect for our eight legged cohabitants on this planet. It wasn’t until recently that I started to understand that I needed to be ever more vigilant - closer to home.

One of my welcome and enjoyable chores this holiday was to paint and spiff up the house and that meant standing around the home exterior in a kind of rock border and just happens to be a perfect habitat for some critters. Whilst I was scraping, sanding, caulking, painting, etc. apparently this yet to be identified critter nailed me with consequences that will be remembered for, hopefully, many years. I did not feel the bite though noticed the inflamed and by then painful area on my right calf while taking a shower the next day. It got steadily worse prompting a visit to the local doc who proclaimed that he thought it a spider bite (no Brown Recluse in Montana but the aggressive house spider?) and prescribed a watchful eye on the wound and a return visit the next day for reevaluation.

The next day found a much enlarged even more angry wound which prompted a post-haste return visit and the observation that it was surely staph infected and worthy of lots of attention. A righteous antibiotic was prescribed and that would have to suffice until my return to Dallas. There went my evening glass of southern Rhone red wine (Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault & Carignan) and I have had no alcohol since… Ahh the prospects of a divinely aged red awaiting me in 2011.

The affected area on my right calf worsened with a now almost black, ever-expanding necrotic center though the antibiotic seemed to be keeping the overall infection in check. By the time we returned to Dallas the leg was raging and a welcome return to work the following Monday was not in the cards. I first went to my internist who immediately impressed, referred me on to a top notch dermatologist who equally mesmerized, promptly cut on me until the wound now with a concrete hard, six inch diameter started draining. They changed me to a more powerful antibiotic and told me to stay off my feet and elevate the leg. I worked the next day but returned to the doctor Wednesday when my right leg swelled to tree trunk dimensions. He cut on me some more and added another antibiotic to treat what looked more like a Stephen King nightmare at this point (Daddy?). All this wasn’t happening to me. This has to be some diabolically close reality show… As Mother would have said, “Ghastly.”

I was told not to work that day and only work on Thursday and Friday if I felt better. I had to be recumbent and at least have my leg elevated at all times. You, however, couldn’t have kept me out of work then and while I did mostly catching up for a lost week, the calf and my leg would appear (jury is still out) to have made a turn for the better after yet another Doctor visit on Friday that included an additional, more powerful topical antibiotic and the news and attendant relief that the staph was determined to not be the infamous, drug resistant MRSA. Up to that point their fear was I would have to go on an IV antibiotic and perhaps hospitalization. Yikes!

So why go into all this gory (Gang, I have really cleaned this up) detail about my experiences? Well, I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. Aside from the absolutely gross appearance and experience of incredible pain, discomfort, anxiety, lost sleep and the threat to my overall health, the message is clear - this is nothing to mess with. Infection in this day and age by any opportunistic hole in your body cannot be ignored. The rules have changed and keep on changing. We are in a race to keep one step ahead of these ever evolving, opportunistic and resistant bacterial (and viral) infections and failing in our efforts to keep up, may someday best us.

Bottom line: I’m still fighting this thing and am waiting for my spidey powers to kick in and contemplating changing at least my pen name to Peter Parker. I may do that for no other reason than to entertain and accommodate my recent feelings and continuing obsession with all arachnids, sanitation and checking each pants leg before putting on my trews. Despite rumors to the contrary I was not wearing a kilt while working on the house. Indeed, I was wearing shorts that day, a mistake I will not repeat.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

P.S. Went to COSTCO in Plano this afternoon to replenish my larder (buy groceries) and lo and behold - in a metroplex with millions of residents I ran into my dermotologist. I gave him a hearty and respectful greeting though he sternly responded, "I thought I gave you strict orders to stay off your feet." Busted... NB

BELLY DANCING DIPLOMACY

National Public Radio (NPR) recently did a story on the conservative reaction of women in the American Arab Community in Detroit to belly dancing. Many women interviewed had daughters or other relatives learning or actively belly dancing in and around the Detroit area. I wasn’t surprised that most of these women were adamantly dead set against the American or European version of this dance and thought the amount of strategic exposed skin and the seductive movements highly improper and inappropriate behavior. Many of their daughters, nieces, etc had been discouraged from the dance and some even censured for it. I thought to delve further into what has become a major phenomenon in the United States and most western countries.

First of all, “belly dancing” is a western term and mostly fostered and romanticized in the 18th and 19th centuries and introduced to America at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The dance caught on, became more risqué and a staple on the vaudevillian circuit. Then along came Hollywood and film and the rest is history. As sexual and suggestive as many appreciative Americans think belly dancing - it is nothing more than a middle eastern/north African Family inspired activity that appears to have been originally intended only for the eyes of the women of the clan.

There are a lot of theories about the dance that attribute its origins to just plain entertainment or the remnants of an ancient eastern folk dance. Perhaps it is the result of all the above though we are well assured that this form of dance has been thoroughly romanticized, reinvented for Europeans and Americans and even reintroduced back into the Middle East where its movements and presence are not wholly welcome. The dance is still performed there but generally with more clothing than we Americans would accept or expect… So, while we apparently can’t be certain about the origins of the dance, this writer personally believes the Family inspired theory that it is a dance performed by women for women.

In the United States we now see belly dancing performed as entertainment in many Middle Eastern restaurants, clubs and hookah bars. Sometimes the “men folk” of these restaurants seemingly chose those establishments as nothing more than an indulgence and opportunity to appreciate the female form undulating to supposed ancient rhythms and movements. Many dancers learned their skills at dance studios or even exercise clubs where the benefits of the dance are obvious.

Belly dancers Kaya and Sadie from Denver, Colorado made the finals of the 2010 version of America’s Got Talent and with their stunning performance drew rave reviews from Judges Piers Morgan and Howie Mandel (who wanted more) not to mention thousands of admiring male and female fans on the Internet. Sadly Kaya and Sadie were eliminated from the competition though Howie understandably wanted to take both Kaya and Sadie home with him…

We need note also the presence of the famed American professional dance troupe – the Bellydance Superstars - who were formed in 2002 by famed producer and manager Miles Copeland of BTM, I.R.S. Records and Sting fame. The troupe has toured the world to rave reviews for six years including Europe, Asia and Africa including Morocco where they played in Marrakesh, Casablanca and Rabat. Word is still out on whether they will play Middle Eastern hot spots in Egypt and Syria (how about Iran?) where Copeland hopes to sow the seeds of American goodwill. We do earnestly hope that his admirable efforts will bear fruit.

Now, I am a big fan of Middle Eastern cuisine (right hand only – please) and am well beyond the basics of pita bread, hummus, and baba ghanoush. While in the southeastern US I frequented several Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants owned and operated by Middle Eastern businessman and restaurateurs. I was pleasantly surprised with the attendant belly dancing. The dancers were all friendly and would even talk with restaurant patrons after their performances.

All the girls appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent. Of course, I had to ask where they learned to dance. Much to my delight and perhaps the harbinger of an additional breakthrough diplomatic strategy that could end the thousands of years conflict in the Middle East was their collective answer. They had all learned to dance at the local Jewish Community Center. Hmmm.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

DANIEL SCHORR – LAST OF THE LAST

I have long been a fan of National Public Radio (NPR) and one of the reasons was the almost delicious and independent presence since 1985 of Senior News Analyst and famed commentator Daniel Schorr. Prior to NPR Schorr had a distinguished 23 year career with CBS (the last active member of smokin’ Edward R Murrow's Boys) where he impressively earned the enmity of Richard Nixon in 1971 (Watergate). Ted Turner tapped Schorr as his first employee in 1979 and he called CNN home for several years. Schorr gave CNN instant credibility and a place in the market.

The always feisty and outspoken (I say courageous) Schorr followed an almost no holds barred approach that startled and cajoled the subjects of his attention. He validated his effectiveness by earning a place on Nixon’s infamous “Enemies List” and was denounced in Pravda as a "provocateur" and denied return to the Soviet Union in 1957 after refusing to cooperate with Soviet censors and antagonizing Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in a Face the Nation interview. Schorr was then head of CBS’s Moscow Bureau, but boy did he make a point...

While he was mostly recognized as an award winning radio and TV journalist, he was one of the mainstays of The Christian Science Monitor where he very impressively plied his trade in newspapers from 1948 to 2009.

I liked the idea that he served in WWII in Army Intelligence but never thought the CIA and FBI beyond his purview. No sacred cows there – the truth will out. CBS and the NY Times who had nurtured hard wired relationships with these entities didn’t appreciate Schorr’s candor. Schorr’s handling of a suppressed House of Representatives Intelligence Committee report (The Pike Report) on illegal activities in the CIA and FBI and all the attendant posturing turned out to be a good lesson but nothing more than a temporary speed breaker for Schorr.

Working to the end, Schorr last appeared on NPR with that distinctive voice of his just a couple of weeks ago. In his remarkable six decade career he reported and ultimately interpreted and opined the news for NPR setting the standard for modern investigative journalism. Given that role Schorr proclaimed that NPR was his own, Promised Land because, "Nobody ever told me what not to do."

With a brilliant candlepower Schorr sometimes had little patience for those mere mortals who couldn’t or wouldn’t walk the walk but they nevertheless remained part of his constituency. Schorr embraced a mostly liberal perspective but that didn’t stop him from tenaciously defending to his core the opportunity for anybody to communicate and espouse their causes and perspectives. Schorr bemoaned the “Slippery, Sliding Scale of Civility” in our society which has turned out to be a harbinger of even greater demonstrations of disrespect in the 21st century. Schorr believed that we all win when we engage a respectful exchange of ideas and perspectives whether it be personal, business or political – however diametrically opposed we are.

Daniel Schorr was 93 and lived a full and productive life leaving what may be an unapproachable legacy for journalism – especially when you consider his pedigree and witness to world history. He made a difference and always guaranteed that we would have all the information and perspectives – sometimes at personal expense. Daniel Schorr made sure that we didn’t forget the lessons of history. As Bill Moyers wrote immediately following news of Schorr’s passing, "With razor-sharp wit, personal courage and love of our craft, he distinguished himself and journalism."

Daniel Schorr because of his personal conviction and character was the archetype for that almost extinct journalistic model that embraces the truth whatever the cost and really didn’t have any other options save to pursue that path. I ask who is capable of picking up the gauntlet and giving us that kind of balance in the future?

I now have an even greater sense of my mortality, especially as I move through my 60’s. When Friends and those that occupy sacred and highly respected status in our lives move on - it signals the beginning of the end of our upright status on this planet and I wonder whether how many of us would in the final reckoning have made such a courageous difference. Well done and sleep well, Daniel.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

THE HORSE & THE COWBOY

So what came first – the chicken or the egg or the horse or the cowboy? A Friend recently pondered the latter question so this post is dedicated to simplistically answering that complicated query and even defining who the first cowboys were. Most folks out here in Texas don’t appear motivated or compelled to look much beyond our current borders to ponder that inquiry. If we were just talking about Texas Cowboys then we could wax eloquent about some real heroes whose presence and work ethic was critical to expanding and defending our borders and perpetuating our way of life in what we now know as the American Southwest. Our question is much more macro and predictably takes us well beyond the shores of North America and surprisingly to some ancient shores.

It would follow that those who were the first to domesticate the horse for the purpose of droving - and not just as beasts of burden and a source of food - may have been the first cowboys? Well, that remains a somewhat controversial question that is still being debated. Up to a millennium appears to have transpired from the domestication, breeding and the ultimate use of the horse to drive stock. Bottom line: the horse came first.

We need note that the horse originated on what is now the North American continent some 55 million years ago. They evolved and migrated across the Bering land bridge into what is now Siberia and spread across Asia and then into Europe, south to the Middle East and into Africa. During a time line from those 55 million years to roughly two million years ago and the Pleistocene Epoch (The Ice Age) when Hyracotherium transformed into what we now know as Equus – the modern horse (browsers to grazers).

The advent of Humans in recent times (roughly 10,000 years ago) resulted in the demise and extinction of Equus in North America who - as current theories appear to correctly postulate – was hunted for food. Boy did they miss the boat and validates once again that cultures evolved at substantially different rates based on their environment, natural resources and motivation.

The images of horses appear in Paleolithic cave art as represented in the caves of Lascaux (a series of caves in southwestern France near Montignac as represented in the painting above my mantle) as early as 30,000 BCE. Now these animals were truly wild horses which as we have noted were more than likely hunted as food by Cro-Magnon (Early Modern Humans) and Neanderthal before they were ever used as a work animal. The occupants of what is now North America had to wait for the Spanish to reintroduce the horse (our first nations called them big dogs) to our continent in the sixteenth century in their ultra successful attempt to create a new world order (colonization) – a la Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján and Hernando de Soto.

At any rate, while the horse was extinct in North America, horses were fast becoming a mainstay of many ancient civilizations including the Sredny Stog culture, the Botai people of Kazakhstan, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Scythians, Parthians, Mongols and others. The horse properly established their significant place in history and, hence, our inquiry today. We are certain that the first horses were domesticated as well as used for food and then transportation of both humans and cargo somewhere around 4,000 to 3,500 B.C.E.

There is no doubt that cultures which used the horse for a variety of tasks, including agriculture, war, hunting, transport, recreation and, yes, food would have out of necessity had to develop a way to control what had to be herds of horses and livestock and someone to direct this resource – someone on horseback. Aha! We know now that the wheel was also part of this equation.

The solid two or four wheeled Mesopotamian (Sumerian) chariots pulled by as many as four Onagers or asses before the introduction of the horse were first used around 3,500 to 3,200 BCE for transportation and war though some archeologists speculate that the wheel may have been invented far earlier in Asia. In a great irony, we need note that the wheel already had some manufacturing applications i.e. the potter’s wheel before it was remotely thought to aid in transportation.

The Egyptians invented the spoked wheel around 2,000 BCE and took the chariot and the role of the horse to the next level in Africa. By around 1435 BCE the Egyptians were mass producing the chariot. But there had long been a horse culture in Iberia which suggested by acclaimed Portuguese historian, zoologist, anatomist, horse breeder and paleontologist Dr. Ruy D’Andrade dates from the Neolithic period (5000 – 4000 BCE) when native tribes of what is now Portugal and Spain may have even used horses in war.

Though their origins are unclear it would appear that the less than homogeneous Iberians were soon influenced by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians and yes, ladies and gentlemen - the Celts (among others) who apparently in several successive waves were a major factor in the development of their culture. From these roots sprang the great horse culture of Spain and one of the primary sources of the modern Cowboy.

Though the origin of the early name of Spain, “Iberia" continues to be debated, some scholars attribute the name to the Greeks while some even allow for a Celtic influence. While the real origins of the name will probably remain unknown relative to our post we do have substantial evidence of Celtic weaponry, horseshoes, bridle bits and even spurs evidenced around 500 B.C in Iberia. We also see riders in saddles portrayed in Iberian stone carvings, bronze castings and paintings.

While the Celtic influence is undeniably substantial and while this writer would love to attribute one of the fundamental origins of the cowboy as Celtic, alas that conclusion will never come. It is apparent that the cultural input was from many disparate sources and out of this rich mélange evolved the Vaquero/Caballero/Cowboy of the Americas.

If we are objective (my reward for this effort) we have to give due credit to the Scots for their prodigious influence especially in the American West for the evolution of the modern cowboy. You see, the cattle industry had long been a staple of the Scottish culture and even to the degree of elevating reiving (rustling) as an honourable rite of passage akin to counting coup by our own First Nations.

When Neolithic and Bronze Age peoples arrived in Scotland some five thousand years ago they brought the Celtic Shorthorn with them which bred with the native wild cattle and voila – you have an industry where cattle were routinely driven and pastured in alternate mountain and lowland locations and then eventually with the development of the cattle industry driven to market by drovers – both on foot and on horseback. This became an established profession from the 16th century in Scotland, a skill that migrants to the Americas (US and Canada) took with them – along with their culture. All this activity was concurrent with the initial Spanish activity in the Americas. The Scots émigrés became a substantial component of what we now know as Cowboys of the American West.

The archeological record has not revealed whether wild horses spread into Scotland after the end of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago or if horses came with those first settlers. We are certain that horses have been in Scotland since at least the 8th century BC and were ultimately used later to great advantage by both the Picts and the Scots.

Ron Gibson, Scottish Member of Parliament (SNP) and historian in his, In Plaids and Bandanas: from Highland Drover to Wild West Cowboy establishes clear and coherent links between the Highland cattle drovers of 16th century Scotland and the North American West.

The Scottish connection and legacy is well documented in the record and seems highlighted by the seventy year ownership (1882-1952) of the iconic Matador Land and Cattle Company by a Dundee, Scotland group. Matador, located on the high plains at the caprock of the Texas Panhandle was once one of the largest ranches in the world reinforcing Scotland’s transatlantic relationship with Texas.

Matador and Texas history resounds with the names of folks like Alexander Mackay of Dundee and Murdo Mackenzie who was characterized by then US president Theodore Roosevelt as "the most influential of American cattlemen."

In the end there is no doubt that the Modern Cowboy is the composite of the great horse cultures of Europe, Asia and Africa embellished with our own American brand. The very existence of the Cowboy validates once again that we are everyman and the product of a back and forth cross cultural pollination. The world was getting smaller even then…

When all is said and done it took the Spanish to facilitate all this by contributing/importing their culture and the horse back to the Americas/New World ultimately to New Mexico and Texas where an increasingly homogenized though equally disparate group out of necessity prompted the creation and evolution of our modern cowboy decades before my forefathers landed at (or somewhat near) Plymouth Rock.

Aye,

Ned Buxton

One of the inspirations for this post and an excellent source of information on this topic is the book, Origins of the First American Cowboys by Donald A. Chávez y Gilbert. Donald is an educator, historian and writer from Belen, New Mexico where he teaches in the Los Lunas Public Schools and also operates the Terra Patre Farm. You can gain some of the interesting details of this great adventure by reading his revealing book in its entirety, online at: www.nmhcpl.org/COWBOY.html. This gentleman has his act together and we strongly recommend this undoubted future member of the Buckaroo Hall of Fame for his objective and well written works.

Might of Right also recommends Highland Cowboys: From the Hills of Scotland to the American Wild West and Plaids and Bandanas: From Highland Drover to Wild West Cowboy both by historian and Scottish MP Rob Gibson who recounts the connection between the cattle cultures of Scotland and those of the iconic Texas cattle industry. Boots and kilts, aye.

NB

FOURTH OF JULY 2010

For many years my personal heroes have been Charles Kuralt (RIP), Bill Geist, Andy Rooney, Ben Stein and others of that ilk because of their ability to communicate, enlighten, make us all think and sometimes laugh (Thank God for CBS). They are mostly right though some have been labeled as curmudgeons, save the polite Kuralt. These folks have walked the walk and sometimes (OK mostly) pushed the envelope to make their points.

For most of my life I have been compelled to share my ideas and thoughts to the chagrin and delight of some – on both sides of that coin. I always envisioned that someday I might occupy that lofty perch as demonstrated and earned by the above icons. Importantly, I have also learned that when some folks get it right, then there’s no reason or excuse to try and improve on it. Today on CBS’s Sunday Morning Ben Stein nailed his 2010 Fourth of July homage and I offer it to you intact. Enjoy.

“Two hundred and thirty four years ago, a group of very brave Americans came out with the rough draft of the best idea for human organization in the history of the world: a nation in which the government would run not by a monarch, but by the consent of the governed.

As I said, that was a rough draft, that Declaration of Independence. For generations, Americans lacked the ability to govern themselves because of their race, and then for a while after that because of their sex, and even for longer, because they didn't have enough money.

But in a miraculous process, through wars and protests and lawsuits and demonstrations, this American nation now truly is run by the consent of all of the governed, of all races, creeds, sexes, and economic stations.

This truly is a miracle in human history. Its glory can be demonstrated by a simple test, as former Prime Minister Tony Blair once said, "How many want in and how many want out." Very few people leave this country voluntarily, and a heck of a lot risk their lives to get in and stay in.

Now, we are under attack by a creed that hates the freedom and human dignity this country stands for. Those people have serious power to hurt us, as we have learned. And some people say we cannot beat them because you cannot fight an idea.

But that is exactly why we are going to win: because the idea that the founders came up with in 1776 is the one that is closest to the deepest aspirations of the human heart: freedom and individual dignity. The men and women who risk their lives to vote in Iraq and Afghanistan, our brave men and women who offer up their lives for this ideal, the millions who want to come here prove that the Founders had hit a home run. Or, put it this way, how many taxi drivers do you suppose there are in Pakistan who left New York City to move there?

We and the other free societies are where the human soul wants to be, and on this Independence Day, We are not red America or blue America, to coin a phrase. We are a very blessed America and the future belongs to the free.”

Well done, Ben, and along with the rest of you out there - enjoy a happy and safe Fourth of July. That’s your right…

Aye,

Ned Buxton