Special for The Armenian Weekly
I met a cowboy recently. A rodeo cowboy. He’s a small-town North Dakotan boy who lived in Los Angeles for years and then repatriated to our home state some years ago. Anyone reading this column space knows how hard repatriation is—whether you’re from L.A. or Lebanon—so you can imagine my appreciation for his journey.
He’s articulate in a way that’s different from most people I meet. He doesn’t fall into the typical speech patterns of, well, any
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Very nice Kristi. Your essay is for keeps! Just like all the other ones published in The Armenian Weekly. The rodeo cowboy is for sure a philosopher. Your own wisdom is summarized in the paragraph before the last one–that loss is inevitable, and that to accept it graciously is the most dignified response. Thank you for sharing your childhood experience. Please keep on writing.
Kristi Jan: This may not be B.S. as you say, but it sounds to me like you got a “bum steer”.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the article and my memories of our farm animals flashed back, and yes that was a very difficult and sad day (if I read your story correctly, caused by this obligation we feel to drop everything and go to someone’s funeral – perhaps you can write about a funeral in rural Armenia one day). And, yes, adopting a “gracious” attitude in everything is the epitome of dignity and good manners. But loss is not “inevitable”, fatalism will not lead to progress and we learn from our mistakes and failures.
Time to hop on a good horse (not a bronco) and hang on to him if you ask me :-)
Fair point, Antoine jan, though I did not say that *all* loss is inevitable. And I could scarcely be described as fatalistic. ;-)
What a touching story Kristi; I am giving you an A
for your efforts and, another A for sharing the story
with us!
Living in Idaho, I thoroughly enjoyed your article. A different perspective on life. The lesson learned here was responsibility to your obligation. Wish more parents could teach their children the same.