I grew up on a farm and ranch driving tractors mostly but riding horses to herd cows and to play as often as was possible. It was an idyllic way to grow up. I was more of a farmer than I was a cowboy, but I loved old western movies, especially John Wayne, and idolized the American Cowboy and the cowboy way of life.
This painting by a family friend named Lynn E. Mecham reminds me of all that I love about cowboys.

I encourage you to visit his Facebook page for his gallery. He does amazing work.
As a young boy one of my favorite pastimes was to saddle up the horse and join a few of my friends in a game of tag on horseback in the cedar and sage brush hills above the small farm on which I grew up. Of course we knew nothing really about the politics surrounding the treatment of Native Americans. For us it was just a game.
On one of these occasions, I was riding my brother's mare Toots, a beautiful buckskin that looked very much like this.

I was an Indian. One of my friends was selected to be the Cowboy, the guy who had to catch one of us. I had Toots running through the sage brush and planned to ditch the Cowboy in a barrel turn around a large cedar tree coming up on my left. I pulled left on the reins at just the right moment and she juked left around the tree.
Suddenly I was laying on the sand on my back, pain throbbing in my chest and, for a moment, I was unable to breathe. The tree had a large branch sticking out right at my chest height from the saddle. I was not hurt badly. I found Toots looking back at me as if to say, "What happened to you?" I got back on after a few minutes and we continued playing.
I learned a valuable lesson that day. Even when you're in a hurry, be cautious when rushing into a place you've never before been. You might get knocked off your horse, but you'll probably survive.
Fast forward a few decades to this year. After surviving a health crisis in India, I'm now dressing like a cowboy to remind myself to work hard and take better care of myself. And I'm still "playing" with Indians. But in this case real Indians.
I work with two teams of wonderful developers and testers in the New Delhi area. I have spent a little more than a year working with them. I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot the lesson of my youth and traveled in July to work and have fun with my Indian colleagues.

I nearly died in India after that fun day. I got knocked off my horse. It took several weeks to get back up, but I did. And I may come off my horse again, but like my dad always taught me, I will get back on. I hope you do too.