Riding For The Brand

I just finished reading a Zane Grey novel a few days ago. For those of you not acquainted with Zane Grey, he was the Louie L'Amour of the 50's. He wrote some great western novels, many about Utah and the southwest. Like L'Amour, his novels always seem to have a hero and a moral to be learned. One of the moral lessons of this novel is to "ride for the brand".

To "ride for the brand" is a cowboy saying that means you are loyal to your employer. It means that if a man is paying you to do a job, you do it. You give him a good day's work for a day's pay. You protect and defend the cattle with his brand on them at all cost. This is a lesson I think many today have failed to learn.
I couldn't help but think about this as I was working on a service project Saturday. A cousin of mine has been the prime mover in getting a new shed for the cemetery. She isn't physically capable of doing much of the work herself, so she relies on other volunteers to do the hard stuff. I have been one of the objects of her prodding and as such have been involved in several stages of construction of the new shed.

Saturday my brother Brent and I burned brands into the wood on the front of the shed. I know it sounds like a very simple operation but it isn't. Brent has done some research and found the brands of many of the old livestock men in the New Harmony area. He then made branding irons that could be used just as they were in days gone by, and in fact are still used in the livestock business today.

First you heat the branding iron until it is hot enough and then you press it on the wood until you get sufficient burning to leave the brand permanently on the wood. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well first of all it is no simple matter to heat about 36 branding irons. We used a propane weed burner at first and that worked well for the smaller brands. It just wouldn't heat the larger ones, and anyhow we ran out of propane. So then we made a fire in a 50 gallon barrel that had been cut in half. That's how the cowboys did it, they just built a fire. As it worked for them, it worked for us. If you left the branding irons in the fire long enough, they got hot.

A hot branding iron is a fearsome thing. I had a glove on my right hand, but burned my left hand when I automatically used it to try to steady the hot iron as it tried to move out of place. Just try holding a hot branding iron that weighs upwards of 20 pounds at eye level or higher. If I had forgotten, I again learned why they throw those doggies on the ground and hold them down. It's a lot easier to let gravity help.
Another problem is branding irons that aren't quite level. The larger a branding iron the harder it is to make it's face level. When pressing such a thing into hair and flesh it isn't a big problem. When pressing it onto a hard flat piece of wood, the high places hit first and the low places don't get hot enough. So we had to bend and straighten, and follow up using a hot flat section like a wood burning set. Anyhow, we got the job done. What we thought we would finish in a couple of hours took nearly five, but I think it looks okay.

So, who is going to finish this project? Sometimes I think I have done my share, especially considering the town charged me $600 each for a couple of 4 x 10 foot plots where my wife and I will eventually be laid to rest. But, do I "ride for the brand" or not? I guess we'll find out when the next call comes.

Broadway In The Desert

Last night we had an incredible experience. We went to the production "Les Miserables" at the Tuacahn outdoor theater near Saint George. We had some qualms about the temperature, but it turned out to be quite pleasant. We thought we might get rained on for a while, but the cloud cover cooled things off somewhat and by intermission there were just a few lightning flashes in the distance and a nearly full moon peeking over our shoulder.

We had asked about the production, and had received comments like "over rated", and "okay", but I have to repeat that to me it was an incredible experience. I don't pretend to be a qualified critic, and you will probably agree when I confess that some of my favorite movies are "Michael" and "Groundhog Day", but I do know what I like, and I liked this!

I was impressed from the opening scene! Where else in this country will you see a team of live horses pull a loaded prison wagon onto the stage? In fact, several scenes make use of live horses pulling various contrivances, and in one scene there is even a live pig! And where else can you see this production where the battlefield at 'the barricade' is an entire hillside with an actual cannon and muskets firing?

And what of the acting? Again, I know I am not qualified as a critic, but when Fantine took her last breath and Jean ValJean promised to raise Cosette as his own, I had tears in my eyes. And that wasn't the only place. Little Eponine's loyalty and devotion made your heart ache and again a tear rolled down my cheek as she sang "On My Own" and gave her life for the revolution.

Along with the acting, the singing was magnificent! I got cold chills (it was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit) as Fantine sang "I Dreamed A Dream" and wanted to rush on the stage and hug Little Cosette when she sang "Castle On A Cloud". Cold chills came again when the students sang "Red and Black", and as Valjean sang "Bring Him Home".

Obviously I love the story of this musical as it threads the history of France and the revolution into the lives of these very real characters. I like the theme that man can overcome evil with good, that one small act of kindness can change a life, that man is not necessarily a product of his environment, but that he can change, and that God can be a very real force in our lives no matter what our situation.

There is much more that could be said, but if you have read this far I feel lucky to still have your attention. Let me end by saying that I saw this production several years ago in Salt Lake City presented by a professional Broadway Acting Company and paid $65.00 for very mediocre tickets. Last night as a senior resident of Washington County I paid $27.00 and sat on the second row where I could see every expression and even the spit. I liked this one much, much more.

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

We have just had four of our nine grand daughters with us this holiday week-end. Starting from oldest to youngest they are Desiree (4), Camille (3), McKenna (1) and Chloe (10 months). They are all beautiful little girls and they all love grandpa. Grandpa is the one that takes them fishing, horseback riding, and riding on the four-wheeler. Yes, I am very careful with my precious cargo.

Each of these girls is different in many ways, about the only thing they have in common is that they are all blond. Each one has a unique personality that gets more evident each time I see them. There have been times, mostly when they were younger, that they wanted nothing to do with Grandpa. McKenna is probably the most cautious and slow to warm to me, however Desiree has had her turn at that as well. Desiree has grown out of that for now, and this time it only took a few hours and McKenna was friends with Grandpa. Sometimes it has taken days. Camille has always been

friendly with everyone, as is Chloe.

I have five more granddaughters, three live in Rexburg and two in Kamas and each one is special. I also have three grandsons, one in Rexburg and two in Kamas and they are also special. I hope they all know how much I love them, and how I THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE GIRLS! (and boys).