The Cowboy
by
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"What the hell am I supposed to do with a runny-nosed little runt like this?" That was the cowboy's first impression of me, his new ranch hand.
"I was told he was twelve and big for his age." he spat. He was furious.
I hung my head and tried to pretend it didn't matter what he was saying, one way or the other. My nose wasn't running and I wasn't a runt. Well, maybe I was a runt.
Mother started to stammer and stutter. I had never seen her at a loss for words before. She did her best to explain that all the arrangements were complete, and her son had had his heart set on this holiday for months. A change in plans now would be most upsetting to everyone involved. "He may be small," she assured the rancher, "but he is strong and certainly bright." She laid it on him good.
I had been preparing myself for this day for the last two months. I was going to spend the summer at a real live cowboy ranch. I had never been on a ranch or even close to horses. The thought of living like the cowboys was enough to excite any ten-year-old's imagination but what did I know about cowboys? We lived in a rich part of the city and our house was one of the biggest there. My parents thought it fashionable to own a large home in a rich district. It was supposed to show you had class and a certain station in life. This was how my Mother explained why we lived where we did, and why I did not have many friends.
I think I would rather have had friends.
Our house was located across the street from a large public park in Winnipeg called Assinaboine Park. There were wild animals in cages and places where you could buy peanuts to throw to the animals. There were hundreds of little trails throughout the park but I was forbidden to go into the park unless I was with one of the family. I was told that there might be strange people there or that I might get lost.
Our city did not have a private school, so I was enrolled in the regular public system. Looking back at my life I can see how my brother and I were sheltered from the everyday outside world. Outside of school we didn't see much of it.
Mother's sole aim in life was to attain the highest rung on the city's social ladder. From what I could gather, she was almost there. She was born in the
small town of Tillsonburg in Southern Ontario. Her Father had been a share cropper on a tobacco farm. This was his first venture upon arriving in Canada from Germany. Unfortunately, he died young, but not before fathering three girls and four boys. Mother was the youngest. Her Mother died a short time after her Father and she was taken to live with Olive, her older sister.
Olive was married to a successful veterinarian practising in Tillsonburg and could easily afford to look after this child who was to become my Mother.
At six, she went to a convent for her formal education. She completed her education studying business and economics at a college in London, Ontario. She then went on to become executive secretary to the president of a large battery company. She was a very clever business woman in her own right.
Father was quite successful in the hardware business when Mother met him and she made certain many large firms sought his expertise. Mother had great plans to help him achieve his full potential in the business and social world. So it was that the largest retail department store chain in Canada, The Hudson's Bay Company, hired him. He became the Bay's senior buyer, a job that required extensive travel.
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About the Book
Skipper is a small boy born with a silver spoon in his mouth and a large chip on his shoulder.
He has everything money can buy but desperately longs to be accepted by his peers and for who he is.
His father, accompanied by his mother, leaves for an overseas assignment and Skipper, at his own request is farmed out to a young bachelor on a small cattle ranch in Alberta.
Skipper has never seen a “two holer”, pumped water from a well or grabbed hold of the “milkers” on a cow and tried to squirt milk into a pail.
How he handles himself is a fascinating tale that at times begs belief.
A delightful collection of stories that sometimes make you cry and other times make you split your sides with laughter.
About the Author
Douglas Hargreaves was Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada in 1925. He spent the first 10 years of his life there, later moving to Alberta. He lived in the area for several years then joined the Royal Canadian Airforce in 1943. He served a tour of operation with an RAF Bomber group, completing his tour of 35 operational missions over enemy territory. He returned to Canada and later obtained a job flying locally out of Pine Falls Manitoba. He then moved into to Northern Canada and became a part time Hudson’s Bay Post employee and Bush pilot serving North Saskatchewan. He is married with two sons and their families. He has written many articles and short stories. His first published novel was The Cowboy now in its third printing followed by its sequel From Cowboys to Cockpits in its second printing.
The books, although fiction, are based on the many interesting experiences and adventures of the author as a young boy growing up in the foothills of Alberta, and his experiences while in the services and in Northern Canada.
The author resides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, but spends much of his time in Blaine, WA with his wife on their sailboat into the Georgia Straits.