Will Rogers was a helluva Westerner, and from what I know of him, I’d have sure liked to have visited a bit. One of my favorite sayings of his is, “Never miss a chance to shut up.”
I heard that phrase when I was in my teens but probably didn’t truly understand it until years later. I was helping at a branding on Silver Creek in Idaho. There were a few old cattlemen there, the type that know better than you and have seen more drought, cattle and good horses than you could hope to in a lifetime. I was sitting next to one of them horseback, holding herd, while we watched a buddy of mine, who was busy runnin’ his jaw and not paying attention, get rimfired and immediately darted into the dirt in front of us. It was a good laugh, and no one was hurt. For a few days, my buddy was sure humble. But in that instant, just after it happened, the old cowman leaned over his saddle horn toward me and whispered those words very carefully and with meaning: “Never miss a chance to shut up.” Then he spit tobacco all down his shirt and half onto his leggings.
I feel knowing and understanding that term might have saved me more than I know, carrying my bedroll from ranch to ranch crawlin’ over green horses, with myself being greener. The cowhands I’ve learned from were all too happy to help and teach me, and not once through my travels was I met with anyone not willing to lend a hand or explain something. Every time I’d work at a new ranch, I’d stay quiet and just listen, as just about every ranch I’ve worked on is a bit different, from how they gather cattle, catch their horses and even how to tie a gate. Learning those little trick will sure help a fella’ out.
