b'Cowboy WisdomBLACKIETHE HORSEBy Pete FloresWickenburg, AZ 85390 Texas rancher, passing on Cowboy wisdom and serving the Lord.Drive Thru Open J B would call on me often to see if I was available to help to work his cattle. He would always say, You know the routine, to which I would reply, Yes sir. As I Phone Orders Welcome: mentioned in past articles, the routine was that I would get to his HQ one hour before the rest of the helpers for the day. Then I enjoyed a cup of delicious black 928-684-3515 coffee, followed by a great breakfast of bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy. After that we would saddle up, wait for the rest of the help, and get the day started. This time when JB called, I told him, I have some good news and bad news. He Kingman, AZ 86401 said, Tell me the good news first. I told JB, I have been promoted at my job. He congratulated me and asked what the bad news was. I said, Well, along with the Phone Orders Welcome: promotion I am being transferred out of the county. There was silence on the other end of the phone. JB then replied, You know the routine. 928-391-2373Usually, when I would arrive in the morning to help JB work cattle for the day, I would park next to the tack room. This time the yellow horse that I would always ride was saddled with JBs saddle and next to the yellow horse was Blackie, JBs Every Filibertos preps fresh ingredients fromfavorite horse with no saddle. I observed and went for the routine. After breakfast, we walked back to the tack room, and I asked JB, Which horse am I riding today? scratch daily. All of the tacos, burritos, and carne asadaHe replied, You cannot put a saddle on top of my saddle, so you are riding Blackie are all made with fresh meat and ingredients. today! As I have mentioned before, Blackie was JBs favorite horse and he was the only one who rode him at any time. I saddled up Blackie and we visited about my job transfer. Soon, the rest of the days help showed up. JB mounted Ole Yeller, I got on Blackie, and we made a semi-circle to listen to the instructions for the day. It felt MondayRolled Tacos great being on Blackie, but as JB was speaking all of the day helpers were looking at me. They looked me in the eye, and I could almost read their minds because they TuesdayBeef or Chicken Tacos were wondering why in the world is Pete riding Blackie today. As we rode into the pastures we visited, fellers would just look at me and smile. I am sure they were WednesdayBean Burrito thinking what an honor and pleasure it was for me to be riding Blackie. Blackie was so smooth on the travel, with a soft mouth, and was fantastic to handle. I just felt ThursdayBean Tostada privileged to get to ride such a great horse. FridayJr. Cheese Quesadilla We brought the cattle in, penned them, and were getting ready to sort them. JB said, Pete, you cut and sort the cattle. As they brought the cattle to me, I just had Serving Breakfast Platters & Breakfast Burritos,to nudge Blackie over and he did the rest of the cutting. What a dream it was for Tacos, Enchiladas, Tortas, Tostadas, Quesadillas me. Blackie was so light on his feet and did not back down from any cow or bull. I finished cutting and we worked the cattle the rest of the day. When the work was OPEN: MondaySaturday: 5:00 AM11:00 PM done and the other helpers left, I unsaddled Blackie and washed both Blackie and Ole Yeller down. I walked over to JB and shook his hand, then shook his hand some Sunday: 6:00 AM11:00 PM more, and looking into his eyes I tried to find the correct words to say. He had given me a great gift by allowing me to ride Blackie. I said JB, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. You made a dream come true for me and will always cherish the kindness from your heart. JB said, You are very welcome and my home will always be open to you when you want to come back! As I left the ranch, I felt a little sad that I might never be able to help JB work cattle again, but then my heart filled with happiness for the kind gesture he had bestowed on me on that day. To this day, I still smile and my heart soars when I think about JBs kindness. Gods kindness toward us shows us how to be kind to others and all good things come together out of Gods love.12 October 2023'