For The Sake Of A Good Cowboy

Several years ago, I was visiting some friends where I used to work in Nevada, and after a rodeo we all went out and went dancing. I was pretty sick with Lyme disease at that point and getting out and dancing and living it up with was a great treat, albeit exhausting. I was sitting there with my friends, when all of a sudden I had a wretched smothering attack (these are really common when you have Lyme disease. They are also not any fun at all because it feels like you have an elephant on your chest and are slowly being smothered to death.) I don’t remember saying anything about it, just looked down and concentrated on breathing (i.e. told myself sternly that I was not allowed to freak out in public!) when a cowboy who had been sitting with me and my friend at the bar, got up and came and stood beside me. He never said anything, didn’t do anything, just stood there. And for some reason his silent companionship was hugely comforting. He alone, out of sea of people around me, noticed that I didn’t feel well and just offered the support of standing there beside me, and I thought to myself, “This is a nice guy.” That was the night I met Randy McCLure.  Besides being a terrific dancer, Randy’s a hell of a bronc rider, fun and kind to boot (hehehe this kind of sounds like a personal ad at this point! Hehehehe sorry bud!) and he has worked around some pretty cool outfits throughout the ION area. There are a lot of really great cowboys out there these days, but so many of them are a$$holes. Sorry, but they are. They might have some surface manners, but a kind heart? They’re pretty rare. When you meet a nice one, it’s awfully refreshing. Plus, Randy’s the reason I want to hunt a caribou sometime, supposedly they’re not terribly smart!

Last week Randy was in a car accident that involved a rolled pickup and was life-flighted to The University of Utah Medical Center. There he underwent surgery to fuse his neck and they’re watching his broken back until they know more. As of right now he can move his arms but no movement in his legs. Please pray for my friend who LOVES to cowboy and is actively working his butt off to get better. As someone who has had what they love to do taken away from them due to illness, I know how hard it can be to look at the time involved in getting better and not get discouraged. But I also know first hand how the prayers of friends and loved ones can encourage and uplift you on a hard day, so please keep Randy in your thoughts and prayers. He made me feel better during a time when I was really discouraged and didn’t feel well, and I felt like he somehow understood what I was going through.

Keep up your hard work Randy, you are a tough man and you are incredibly inspiring to us by your determination to work hard at getting better. We love you bud and are rooting for you!

Randy’s also the 2012 recipient for the Cowboy Crisis Fund through the WSRRA and they’re holding a silent auction during the WSRRA National Finals Rodeo November 1 through the 4^th in Winnemucca, NV. If anyone is interested in giving a cash donation or an auction item you can contact the WSRRA at info@wsrra.org or by calling (916) 296-2326. Seeing how the cowboy world rallies around those that are wounded and hurting always makes my heart happy, and this really makes it do a happy dance. If you’re led, you can walk into any Wells Fargo branch and make a donation under Randy McClure’s name.

Take every day as a gift and treasure your friends and family.

We’re on your side RANDY!!!

                                                          Photo Credit: Lee Raine

xo xo Liz