Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Even Cowgirls Read The News
LINCOLN — Among the age-old story of rodeo somewhere a cowboy is competing and somewhere across the horizon a cowgirl is dreaming of the moment he arrives home.
Perhaps, she’s a junior cowgirl wishing she could get permission to go on the road with her daddy as he heads off to the next rodeo.
In a throwback to another era — before the Internet, before cellphones, before cable sports networks, women want details and the cowgirl is no exception.
In between their togetherness to fill her “down time,” the cowgirl picks up the paper, turns to the sports section, and checks the rodeo scores. Curiosity compels her, she wants to know “was her cowboy in the money?” And what kind of shape is he going to be in when he gets home?
Drawbacks exist in the digital age, too. Cellphones can be lost, and hard-drives crash. The best source of preserving a historical record of biographical information is often contained within the printed pages of a newspaper which documents the exploits of the cowboy.
In the tradition of cowboy poetry, the phrase “Even Cowgirls Read The News” spawns a lyrical rendition:
she’s a reader you can betcha that
she keeps on competing with that danged ol’ rodeo
for the undivided attention of her daddy
there’s something about making the paper
across the continent in old Cheyenne
yes even cowgirls read the news
lonesome cowgirls grit the curious rind
was her cowboy in the money?
does he have any broken bones?
she’s got to be the first to know
she’s in tune with the next go-round
drawing bits and tidbits from the news
yes even cowgirls read the news sometimes
she longs to hear it from the horse’s mouth
yet sometimes technology goes south
yes even cowgirls read the news
she’s learned at an early age
that’s the way he’s always been
lonesome rider at the Lincoln Rodeo got to get out of the chute the street dance chases away the blues
yes even cowgirls read the news