Image is everything – so they say. If you don’t believe me, just look at the billions of dollars spent each year carefully crafting an image for everything from perfume… to automobiles… to politicians. As one of my old marketing professors put it, “’It’s not so much about what you buy, but more about what you THINK you’re buying.” In other words, one doesn’t purchase a particular fragrance of perfume or cologne because it smells so much better than the other brand, but rather because he or she will assume that they will instantaneously become the person in the ad who is surrounded by hordes of beautiful people.
A motorcycle company has thrived for decades by promoting an image of tough, cool and rugged. Breweries have risen to the top or fallen by the wayside, due much more to the image that they were successful in portraying as opposed to the actual taste of the stuff. Politicians and TV evangelists have found themselves doomed when real events proved their lives were nothing like their ‘image.’
Enter the American Cowboy.
You can rattle off a hundred different occupations and I dare say none will conjure up more lofty thoughts than that of the cowboy. Rugged, handsome, tough, gritty, independent, strong, hard-working, honest, quiet, trustworthy and sensible are just a few adjectives that describe the stereotype. Throw in the fact that he is kind to both kids and animals and you have, just about, the perfect human being. The sad part is that the breed is dang near extinct!
I’m privileged to know one of the last ones. Cowboy is just a few years older than me and, as far as I know, has never worked at anything in his lifetime other than ‘cowboying.’ It’s said that he ran the rodeo circuit in his younger days – saddle broncs, I understand. After he got too old or too broke for the rodeo, he worked seven days a week doing ‘day work’ by hiring himself and his horse out to locals to work cattle. If you needed cattle rounded up to sell or work the calves, or retrieve that one unruly beast that nobody could catch, Cowboy was your man. That’s a tough way to make a living, but a good cowboy can stay employed and make more than you might think.
Cowboy even managed a couple of big operations during his life, but that nomadic spirit always took over at some point and he moved on. Never married, Cowboy was never without an attractive woman by his side when he so chose. Even now, at a somewhat advanced age, the women are still drawn to him and his ‘image.’ His female companions are a little older these days, but just as attractive with their colored hair, tawny lipstick and tight jeans.
Last week, I saw Cowboy for the first time in a couple of years. I ran into him at the grocery store as we were both doing a little shopping. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before we parted ways. I admired that he still dressed impeccably from his boots to his hat. He looked good.
As I stood in the checkout line, I couldn’t help but notice that Cowboy had stopped at the fancy, schmancy coffee hut which is part of the grocery. I couldn’t believe my ears as I heard Cowboy order a grande, double, half-caf, mocha latte. What the @#$%?
I hurried through the line to follow Cowboy outside. Iconic legends like Cowboy drink black coffee out of a tin pot that was most likely brewed over an open fire – not in an over-priced kiosk from a boy (I think) with purple hair. In my mind, if he took one sip from that cup, the last American hero would die.
From a safe distance outside, I watched as Cowboy stepped into his dually pickup truck, took the lid off the latte, and slowly… handed it to the aged, yet lovely, blond-haired woman who cheerily snuggled up next to him.
Whew!
Jerry Crownover farms in Lawrence County. He is a former professor of Agriculture Education at Missouri State University, and is an author and professional speaker. To contact Jerry, go to ozarksfn.com and click on ‘Contact Us.’
