Heroes

By Rennie Phillips

I believe there is a movie about heroes and legends, at least I think there is. Willie Nelson also sings a song about how his heroes have always been cowboys. Probably true in many cases. Doesn't matter who you are I would imagine we all have a hero or two. Our hero could be a man or a woman or even a youth or child. Age doesn't really matter when it comes to someone we hold up in reverence and honor and awe.

Growing up my heroes would have had to include a cowboy. Kenney Braden was one I looked up to. Not sure he was a hero of mine. Neat guy. Big guy or he seemed big when I was a kid. I'd watched Kenney take a chicken leg and kind of run it through his mouth and clean it off with one pass. Dad told of him dogging a steer at the rodeo in Arthur. Poor old steer never got up.

Another was Waldo Haythorn. Not only did he dress like a cowboy but he was the real deal.

Another might have been Floyd Barker.

One other guy that stood out to me growing up was John Jenson. None of these were the wanna-be cowboys. These guys were the real deal. But to say they were heroes of mine would be stretching it a bit.

If I had a hero growing up it was probably my dad. He could do about everything he set his mind on. Dad was like 47 when I came along and he'd been rode hard and put up wet. He had a lot of aches and pains and looking back he'd had his first undiagnosed heart attack. I'd watched Dad doctor sick cattle or pull calves when a cow was having trouble birthing. I'd watched Dad sew up a horse that had gotten in the barbed-wire fence and cut himself up. Dad helped me break my first colt and watched me get bucked off the first time. I never was a real cowboy and Dad was OK with that. Dad knew I loved books and loved to read. He was probably my first real hero.

Now that doesn't mean Mom wasn't right up there too. Man I had watched Mom skin a bullhead fish, and she could flat do it. Make a slit over the top of the bullhead's head from side to side. Take a pair of pliers, grab the skin on the back side of that slit and then pull. Most of the time the skin came right off the bullhead. A couple slits more and they were ready for some flour and hot lard. Wish I had a couple Sandhill bullheads here today.

Also watched Mom take a chicken and wring its head off, dip the chicken in boiling water and go to plucking the feathers off the chicken. Mom was flat good. But she could cook as well. Probably the best chicken and noodles I've ever eaten. A friend of mine said Mom made the best donuts. Her pies were legendary.

One guy that stood out to me growing up was Wilsie Cross. He was the guy over all the schools in Arthur County. Not sure what that position was even called. He oversaw all the little one room schools in the county as well as the two bigger grade schools right in Arthur. Not sure if he kind of oversaw the high school but he probably did.

In time I graduated from Arthur County High School and went on to college. Met my bride there and got married. We then worked on a cattle ranch in Arthur County for several years. In time we felt we needed to go back to school and get a degree in religion so we moved our family of four to Bartlesville, Oklahoma were I attended college. Met a whole new bunch of heroes there. Mr. Rogers was my theology prof. Mel Shoemaker was my religion prof. Rich Coleson was my Greek teacher. Awesome bunch of guys. Great minds who dearly loved the Lord and lived their lives the right way. Heroes -- maybe but probably not. But they did influence Marge and I to go to Wilmore, Kentucky to attend more school. Met a whole new bunch of people there. Most of them had their Phd's and had written several books. Most were world renowned theologians. Dr. Traina was an awesome Bible teacher.

Looking back my life was influenced by a lot of people who took an interest in a boy from Nebraska. My grade school teachers, grandparents, my sisters and brother, my wife and our boys, our neighbors and our friends. Many took the time to educate and mentor me as I have grown spiritually. When we live our life with others in mind I believe we are all heroes, but when we live our life with just self in mind we are a failure even if the world says differently.