Wednesday Western- Why we like Cowboys

   

Who hasn’t thought about the cowboys of yesteryear driving cattle across the prairie, a lawman riding for justice, a modern rodeo cowboy, or the cattle rancher down the road and marvel. There’s something about a man in boots, denim, and a cowboy hat that makes a woman’s heart  increase speed and her mouth go dry. Or promises a male reader that the book will have action, honor, and a different kind of underlying honor that other genres of books don't have.

Is it their manners, chivalry, sense of justice, or the fact they take off their hats and say, “Thank you, Ma’am.”?  All I know - cowboys have the ‘it’ factor for me and many women. And give a man a feeling he's made a like friend.

The swagger of the rodeo cowboy after he picks himself up off the ground. The set jaw, cool demeanor, and stance of a lawman in a movie standing up to the bad guy. The easy way a rancher leans over the corral fence taking stock of his herd, with one foot resting on a rail.

Sigh, there’s something about cowboys.

I write about cowboys both in the past and present. I try to capture the honor, justice, manners, and that raw maleness that seems to ooze from cowboys. I don’t know how else to explain it, but they have a side that would fight a man twice their size, barehanded, to defend a woman or child’s honor.  That is what makes a cowboy or any hero in a romance stay in my heart.

Any man who doffs his hat and opens doors in this day and age gets a smile and notch on my hero meter. And you’ll find most cowboys do. They respect women. I think it harkens back to the days when women were few and far between and cowboys were so tickled to have a female to cater to, they bent over backwards to make them want to hang around. 

What traits do you think make a cowboy? What is your favorite western? Was it the cowboy in the story that made it your favorite?