by JACK LINDEN
Growing up in Kansas, I believed that all the cowboys in the world were in Texas. I associated ten-gallon hats on Roy Rogers and Gene Autry with cowboys and Texas. As I remember, some of those “oaters” I couldn’t wait to see on Saturday afternoons, I never never saw Roy or Gene ever deal with any cattle in any movie.
Living now in a small Texas town and driving to my hometown in Kansas, I think a lot more about this country, the land it encompasses, and the images many people have. It is apparent that a lot of people have the wrong impression of Texas and Kansas – and other states.
One of the first things to come to mind as I make the long drive is a song made famous by Bing Crosby.
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,
Don’t fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don’t fence me in...
I want to ride to the ridge where the West commences
And gaze at the moon until I lose my senses
And I can’t stand hobbles and I can’t stand fences
Don’t fence me in.
I realized as I drove from my town to my hometown, much has changed since this song was inspired by a gentleman in Montana. But the words need little imagination to become real. You start by erasing a lot of towns and people from the map. The cities of Austin, Dallas - Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and Wichita have to be eliminated from your conscience.
Having done that, let your imagination go wild. Suddenly, you begin to wonder what it was like driving a herd of cattle from south Texas to the railroad head in Abilene or Dodge City, Kan. The land of Texas and Oklahoma is really flat and the horizon is a long way off. You cross some rivers but you realize that they are few and far between and, in any given year, the small creeks may be dry.
As you continued on into Kansas, there they were – the Flint Hills with the blue stem grass that grow shoulder high. Grass so nutrious that you could let the cattle graze on it to fatten them up for the trip to the slaughterhouse in Chicago or Kansas City.
Cattle grazing in the Flint Hills of Kansas led to a lot myths about a lot in our history. We have all heard of the gunfights and the hangings. Television of the ’60s made these myths seem real, but we know those television showes were created by writers who knew nothing of the real West.
Taking a trip from my town to Kansas now gives meaning to the words in the song “Don’t Fence Me In.” As you drive into the Flint Hills in Kansas, you are suddenly aware of the song’s meaning, as you actually see the ridges where the West commences, and a moon that causes you to lose your senses.
At the top of the hill, you see what “wide open spaces” means. You feel like you can look for a million miles and not see a fence. There are rolling hills, dotted with cattle, a farm house off in the far distance, surrounded by cottonwood trees. But no fences, save the one that keeps the cattle from roaming onto the interstate.
When you do that, you suddenly realize that it is indeed a big country. Drive it and enjoy your imagination.
