Just another puzzle

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

Just the other day I was having lunch with a friend and he was lament about his grandsons. 

He said,'They don't even know what a cowboy is!" I thought about and said that i wasn't surprised. How many kids nowadays know what a cowboy is? 

When I was a boy every one of my buddies wanted to be a cowboy. Not just any cowboy either.  We wanted to be Hoppy, Gene, or Roy.  Or maybe the little more adventurous would want to be Lash LaRue or maybe the Cisco Kid, or Lone Ranger. We would catch robbers and fight Indians just like our heroes.

I can still recall my Mama calling me at 5:30 on a weekday, "Tony, it's time for the Lone Ranger" I'd get real close to that old radio and hear those words: "Out of the west comes the thundering hooves of the great horse Silver..." For the next half hour my ear was glued to that radio.  I was with the Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion, Tonto.  And, yes, the next time were at the grocery I'd beg Mama to buy Merita bread--it was the kind the Lone Ranger ate. Of course the next day we'd discuss the episode during recess at the schoolhouse. And then there were the movies I went to see with my grandmother.  In glorious black and white our heroes would right all the wrongs of the old west.

I'm not sure what happened to our western heroes. They never drank, smoked, cursed and never beat up a guy that didn't have it coming. And they treated all women folk with courtesy and respect.

I guess my look back on those heroes of yesterday can best be described in this song by Mason Williams.   Cowboy Buckaroo

I was raised on matinees on Saturday afternoons,

lookin' up at Hoppy, Gene and Roy... oh boy!

And I grew up a-thinkin', "the best a man could do

is be a rootin'-tootin' straight-shootin' cowboy buckaroo."

(chorus)

Spurs a-janglin', whoopi-ti-yi-yay.

Just a-wranglin' to every single day.

Yo-da-lida-ladi, yo-da-lida-ladi,

yo-da-lida-ladi, ooooooooooo....

A man should be a rootin'-tootin' straight-shootin'

cowboy buckaroo.

A buckaroo's a cowboy who believes in what is good.

A buckaroo wouldn't hurt you if he could... if he could.

I ain't afraid to say it 'cause I ain't afraid of you.

I'm a rootin'-tootin', straight-shootin' cowboy buckaroo.

(repeat chorus)

Should we be the way we are, or be how we could be?

Could illusion become reality?

I've got to ask the question, 'cause the answer is overdue...

why can't we all ride together and be cowboy buckaroos?

(repeat chorus)

(tag)

Why can't we all ride together and be cowboy buckaroos?

You reckon they'll make a song about the Power Rangers?

El secreto de sus ojos

The title is translated as: The Secret in Their Eyes.  In this Argentine film a retired federal judge writes a novel hoping to find closure for an unsolved horrible murder case in his past. His novel is also about his love for his once superior.  Both meet later in life to discuss the murder case and their feelings for each other. This film is very well done and it's no surprise that it won the Academy Award for the best foreign film in 2010.  I was particularly impressed with the cinematography.  It was as though each frame of the film could stand alone as a still photograph.  I think that European or rather non-American movies tend to be more visual. This film deserves it's 'R" rating with explicit nudity and language.
 I thought it was a great film well done with a number of stories and a surprise ending.

At the Zoo

Somewhere in the dark corners and overlooked crevices of my mind is part of the lyric of "At the Zoo".  But I can't recall any more of it that those three words. I did go to the zoo recently and a great zoo it was.  The Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962 and comprises 125 acres with 1300 animals.  It is also the largest non-profit zoo in the country.  I was fortunate enough to attend with my travel bud, Claudette, and her son Patrick. Patrick, having visited before, was our guide. As usual on our travels time is of a premium and having a guide insured no lost time.

The zoo is laid out according to trails.  There is the Arizona, Africa, Tropical, and Children's Trails. I found the Arizona trail quite interesting because it was the Sonoran desert like the land around the zoo.  The native animals were big horn sheep, pronghorn antelope, javelinas, Mexican gray wolves, Gila monsters, and other animals, reptiles, and birds. After several trips to the southwest I finally saw my first roadrunner without a coyote lurking nearby.

The African Trail had what you would imagine, African animals.  The part of this trail I liked the best was the African plain exhibit.  We sat on a park bench and watched the giraffes, elands, Maasi cattle, and other animals feed in front of us. Patrick kept us informed about the animals we were watching and pointed out those that were less obvious.  I could have sat there for hours watching each animal. Elsewhere in the exhibit were warthogs, elephants, and rhinos.  One thing of note: this zoo was once home to Ruby, the famous painting elephant. Ruby died as the result of childbirth and is no longer the artist-in-residence.

The Tropics Trail had the primates, and if memory serves, the Komodo dragon.  Wow! What a big lizard! There was also a large fenced area which you enter to watch the monkeys play in the trees overhead.  Part of the nationally recognized primate exhibit was closed for renovation.

We also saw the cats big and small, including lions and bobcats.

The Children's Trail includes a petting zoo.  We did not participate.

More information and photographs are at these links as well as directions to the zoo. A word of warning: avoid school field days!

As a closing thought, when in Phoenix visit the Phoenix Zoo. It's a great way to spend a day.

Bringing Home Future Memories

During our travels I take a lot of digital pictures.  I chose to take still photos as opposed to movies because of conveinence.  To capture good video you need a tripod and other equipment and it's time consuming.  Still photos can be taken quickly.  However, most still photocameras can be used to take video as well.  I like the large capacity of the digital cameras.  A 2 gigabit card can store over 600 photogrraphs.  My current digital camera is a Canon PowerShot SD960 IS.  It is a great "point and shoot" camera.  It doesnot have the sophisticated optics, lenses, of a 35mm style camera.  And indeed lacks some of the quality of the interchangable lense cameras, but it is good enough for my shots. Unless you are going to get in the commercial photography business or need the sduperior sharpness of expensive optics a "point and shoot" such as the Canon PowerShot is all you need.  The Canon PowerShot has almost all the adjustable features that expensive film cameras do including shutter speed and exposure control.  There are other features that only digital cameras can have such as a cropping feature right in the camera. It is also very compact measuring only 3.85 x 2.12 x .87 inches. This is very important to someone who travels with a carry-on bag only on airlines.  I'm sold on this camera.  It has served me well on my travels as well as around the house.

Video shot with Canon PowerShot

The harbor at Oban, Scotland, photographed with a Canon PowerShot

In closing I use a "point and shoot" camera to get the pictures I want with a minimum of fuss.