Fellow Cowboys, Cruel Girls, and AC Fans,

It's been long overdue for me. I grew up in the West. I rode and rafted and lived the life growing up (we had riding access to 10,000 unspoiled acres in Northern California near Redding). And I can shoot better than any of my "fancy" friends would ever believe.

But come college, I left it all behind. Off to the East Coast where I learned to drink martinis, row in a boat that was narrower than a horse and barely wider than my hips, and even dated a real-life trust fund gal. Off to become a dentist. Off to a life that was comfortable, but never quite fit.

Now I find myself, not quite middle-aged, but no longer with an endless view to the sunset, with some health issues that have forced me out of my career. And returning to my roots. It's a new life and a new focus. And a chance to tap into a deeper strain. I plan to learn to ride, again. I plan to get outside more. I plan to fish and hunt and make sure my son knows how to do the same.

And I plan to chronicle it all here. Where better.

Time to saddle-up,
JH