YOUR AD HERE »

Mad Jack Hanks: Tales From the O-NO Ranch 12-10-12

Mad Jack Hanks
Wellington, Colo.

Gentle readers, do you or have you ever felt as if you were a lot like Charlie Brown? No? Well I have and still do at times.

For example, that little filly that I had a terrible crush on back in high school … it turns out she liked my best friend better.

Yep, that was Lucy yankin’ that football away from me just as I put forth my best effort. Little Charlie Brown has such a good heart and willing attitude most of the time only to have some unexpected occurrence jeopardize his best laid plans.



Take the time I had just started my cowboy career and it appeared that when I was in the pasture doctoring cattle all by myself, I could not, I repeat, I could not throw a bad loop. All I had to do was wind up my arm and toss my twine and my prey was caught. That worked pretty well until I had my best friend from down the country come and stay a few days with me and help me on the ranch. Of course I had bragged about all the ropin’ I would be doing and how good I seemed to be at catchin’ what I went after.

Pullout quote goes herey asdf sadfTin hent praesti onsequat volore tin etum veliquissim duissectem nonse consequam ipit numsandre tin verit alisse dolorem in vulputp atinibh eugait iurem elit atue faci tat nos acilit lutpat nullut la commy.

I’ve told this little tale before but it bears repeating. We rode out in the pasture and prowled for at least an hour before I spotted a steer with a bad case of pinkeye. I was mounted. I was riding an extremely good ranch horse. Some 13 loops later I had this poor ol’ steer down and out, totally exhausted as I was, but I finally got a loop on him. He almost just fell over when I got off to tie him down and doctor him.



There was this other time when I took my 10-year-old son back to my high school that just happened to be open that particular summer. I had told him of my daring escapades on the football field. I told him how I had been selected to be on the all district team both my junior and senior years on offense as well as defense. We stopped at the trophy case where in my senior year we lost one game that would have put us in the state playoffs. All the player’s names were on the trophy. All of them except mine. I was astounded! I couldn’t believe that they left my name “Charlie Brown” off the trophy and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t noticed it when it was presented. Oh well, sometimes me and ol’ Charlie just need to shuffle along and do the best we can with what we’ve been given. Ol’ Linus just seems to hang onto that blanket and be a survivor. I know guys like that.

As a sidebar, Charles Shultz, the creator of Peanuts’-Charlie Brown” has a daughter who is a mule and donkey expert and she has a ranch just west of Loveland, Colo. I call her a friend and she is a wonderful, boni-fied, country girl.

Stay tuned, check yer cinch on occasion and I’ll c y’all, all y’all. ❖


[placeholder]