Cowboys and Recycling

"People been saying that cowboys have been a dying breed for a hundred years, they just die hard I guess" -Miles Culbertson, Director for the Livestock Board of New Mexico

That quote was one of the most well spirited things I've heard during my short 'career' as a 'journalist'. Imagine someone saying it with a rural twang and a potential wad of chew in their mouth. Then you get a real sense of how it sounded. Deep rooted in country back roads.

The reason I talked with Miles Culbertson of the Livestock Board was to get numbers of professional cowboys in the state. My interest in professional cowboys was peaked when I did a brief story about a National Monument in New Mexico hiring pro cowboys to wrangle cattle out of the area. Feral cattle had wandered into the park, and they were very ill-tempered. Charging at hikers and all of that. The park manager gave me the number to the cowboy they hired, as well as the number of the Livestock Board.

The definition of a 'professional cowboy' is extremely vague. Miles explained it to me, saying, "All cowboys are ranchers but not all ranchers are cowboys". OK. I tried to play it cool on the phone with Miles, pretending I understood that perfectly. But,I didn't get a true idea of what/who a cowboy is until I called Devon Canaply, the cowboy hired by the park to remove the feral cattle.

He answered the phone gruffly, like I disturbed him. As soon as he answered I went into my usual and typical monologue, "HI!!! This is Brett Cihon from KSFR News and I want to do a story about cowboys! You guys are so weird and interesting!"

This isn't exactly what I said, but it was along those lines. Most people I talk to are more than happy to give me an interview. People like being in the limelight. Well no, some people like the limelight. Some people, as I quickly found out, are actually humble.

Devon stammered with his words for a few moments and said, "no sir, this doesn't interest me at all". I was taken aback. Until now, people (other than Val Kilmer) hadn't refused an interview request. Shocked, I asked him why.

"Well, it's just our life," he said. "It's not interesting, it's what I do." "I don't like the spotlight...I am a working man and there is nothing special to make a story out of". I explained to him that most people, correction most Urban people, know nothing about cowboys. "Well, if you have questions about what I do, you can ask, but I'm not going to do the cowboy piece," he said.

I talked to him a little while longer, embarrassed I had come on too strong.

After I hung up, I reflected on the call. It sickened me to think about how I approached this man. His job seemed like such a novelty to me, and I thought he saw it as a novelty also. A weird break in a sea of white color and 401(k)s. He must have known that what he did was obscure, right?

No. This man had been a cowboy his whole life. His friends were cowboys. Him and I are different. His parents didn't pay for him to go to college, nor does he want to live in a big city. He doesn't think being a cowboy is an 'obscure' profession. He lives his life raising cattle.

I felt bad I viewed his lifestyle as a novelty. More importantly, I forgot that most people aren't like me; don't see like me. When I called him up, I was used to talking to PR people, people who wanted to be on the news, and I forgot what a lot of this country consists of-people that aren't like me.

So, I'm trying to find another cowboy. It won't be the same, though. These cowboys were recommenced to me by the livestock board. "They will want to talk to you," Miles claimed. But now I think a true cowboy won't want to talk to me. A true cowboy wants to do his job in peace, and doesn't have time to talk to a cashmere wearing news reporter like myself.

We have started doing little video clips at www.ksfr.org and www.ksfrnews.com. I hold the camera sometimes.



I did a cool report about the horrible state of recycling in New Mexico. Here it is, 13:20 in.