Western Movies, Cowboys, Runaway Wagons

Remember the old western movies and the scenes with the runaway wagons? No driver and the horses running wildly down the road? Then out of the blue comes the cowboy on his horse, flying over the ground, racing after the driverless wagon. With his hat pulled down over his eyes, leaning over the muscular neck of his horse and his duster whipping in the wind, he rides. Both he and his horse are fully focused on the wagon. They have to save it. They race on, and when they catch up to the wagon the fearless cowboy leaps from his horse into the wagon, pulls on the reins, and eventually gains control of the horses and slows the wagon to a halt--thus saving the day and the wagon.

Picture, if you can, a dear wife and loving mother parking her car in the lower level of a hospital parking lot and beginning her work day with a leisurely stroll up the inclined road to the hospital entrance. She notices her friend, Janet, pulling into the lot. She waits for her to park and walks over to greet her. As she helps Janet get her walker out of the back of her vehicle, she notices the golf cart parked by the ER entrance. It seems to be moving. She looks again and realizes that it is moving. It is driverless and has started to roll down the road, gradually picking up speed.

In an instant, the cowboy scene flashes through her mind. She knows what she has to do. Throwing caution to the wind and carrying her bag and car keys, she races toward the runaway cart. No horse carries her; only her two legs and her cute little red-heeled ankle-strap shoes will get her to where she needs to be. She runs, with bag and keys trialing in the wind, her hair amiss. She dashes in front of the cart and begins to position herself to leap into it. Knowing she has to move quickly before the cart gathers any more speed, she tosses her bag and keys into the driver's seat. She makes a quick assessment of the situation--the angle and height of her leap--so as to go over the arm rest and into the driver's seat. If she miscalculates, if her footing is off, if she slips…

She paces herself with the cart and makes the leap. Instantly she is in the driver's seat, getting control of the steering wheel. And within seconds she has the cart under control.

I was the cowboy today.

There are those who say watching TV is a waste of time. But believe me, there are lessons to be learned in some of those shows. Today, I put one of those lessons into action. Yee-haw for cowboys!!