Lockhart: A tribute to cowboy Baxter Black

Igot an email the other day from Cindy Lou Black. For those of you that don’t know, that’s the wife of Baxter Black. The email was written by Baxter himself. He thanked us for all the support and prayers and the stories we’ve all sent.

He explained how he had been diagnosed with dementia and cancer a while back. He said he was lucky, because Cindy Lou was his caretaker. There’s a bunch of us from across the nation that have sent our stories, poems and best wishes to Baxter since we’ve learned he’s sick. We’ve been trying to keep him entertained.

I have read Baxter‘s columns for more than 20 years on the back page of Western Horsemen. He always had something interesting to say. He always made me smile with his witty use of the pen.

On The Edge of Common Sense is what Baxter titled his stories and poems. His tales were from living in Arizona and being a veterinarian/ rancher.

His writing career started when he got to writing funny stories and poetry about life on the ranch and at the vet clinic.

He became so well liked he was invited to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. For the show, he told of a vegetarian’s nightmare. You can find it on YouTube these days, and it still makes me laugh all these years later.

So, with a lot of frustration and several piles of wadded up paper around my chair, I have attempted to write a tribute to my hero, Baxter Black.

An Ode to Baxter Black

He spoke with ease, humor and wit.

In a cowboy’s creaky voice, Eking out a sort of frail course, Through the sage brush I rode High on the mesa’s he told, Stories of greenhorns, cowboys, and vets

I laughed and snorted without a regret

For Baxter could tell a tale with the very best,

Shakespeare, Longfellow or Frost Couldn’t hold a candle on tellin’ how a cow got lost,

Cause Baxter rode them lonely trails, of a cowboys life

He knows the cold in early morning light,

The howl of a coyote in the dead of night

The bawl of a lost baby calf, how it wags it tail as drinks it’s mommas milk

A baby colts hair as soft as the finest silk,

Baxter rhymed and plotted tales from city boys to wives

Humor, sarcasm, even a few flat out lies,

He made us laugh at our own simple country lives

For half a century he’s been the best,

At tellin about life out in the west A handlebar mustache,

And crinkly smile

He always made me stop workin And read a little awhile

When the newest Western Horseman came in the mail,

I read his column without fail,

But now Baxter is a fadin

Like all livin’ things must do

George Jones sang about who’s gonna fill them shoes

Mark Twain and Will Rogers comes to mind,

When I get to thinkin’ back in time, Rogers and Twain were lauded and awarded plenty a bunch

But I got me another hunch,

I’ve been figurin on it a good bit Baxter deserves a higher praise, More than I can give anyways,

This really ain’t to far a thought to get

He’s made us all laugh and relate He deserves official honor before it’s too late

Baxter Black for

National Poet Laureate

Our nation’s highest honor for a poet

Baxter Black should own it.