A Cowboy Remembers

When Multiple Sclerosis disabled Jim Robinson from climbing into a saddle, he knew his “cowboying” days were over. But his memories live on.

As he put down the reins for good, Robinson picked up a pen and within a year complied his short stories into a book called Memoirs of a Texas Cowboy.

“Since I can’t do anything anymore, I wanted to pass my story on,” Robinson said. “I
don’t know if I’ll forget or not later, but I wanted to get it down so people could read it because it’s not that way anymore.”

Robinson will sign copies of his book on June 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Burton Memorial Library during a book signing event hosted by the Friends of the Library.

He will sign alongside locals authors Debra Kuhl, Delbert Trew, and Ronnie Ward and seven other Panhandle authors including Jodi Thomas, Terry Burns, Debbie Elliot Upton, Harry Haines, Gerald McCathern, Phyllis Miranda and Grace Ann Schaefer.

“I read Jim’s book and just loved it,” librarian Jerry Shields said. “We encourage everyone to attend this event because we have so many authors coming, and hope a big crowd is present.”

Although he never thought he would be an author, Robinson has had two stories published in an Albuquerque magazine and also attended meetings held by the Panhandle Professional Writers Association to help him get started on his book.

The first part of Memoirs of a Texas Cowboy takes place south of Lubbock, where he spent his childhood. The rest of the book is spent at Davis Camp on the JA ranch, where he had a lease for 40 years.

“That was a nice time in my life,” Robinson said. “I saw a lot of sights you can’t see from the highway and smelled smells most people won’t ever know about. I covered lots of country and most of it from horseback.”

One of the sights that Robinson writes about is an Indian campsite, where he discovered mysterious holes dug deep into the ground.

“Some of the Indian holes in the ground were 20 feet deep,” he said. “I hope that someone will tell me what they were for because I’ve never figured it out and no one has been able to tell me.”

He also saw things that strengthened his faith.

“When you see a calf take its first breath, you know someone designed that, it didn’t come from a gorilla or something,” Robinson said. “Someone gives the calf their instinct to go get their first drink of milk, and it’s a miraculous sight.”

The last time he got to see these sights was in 2004, one year after he was diagnosed with MS.

“I always thought that Band-Aids, heating pads and Bengay were all you needed, but it didn’t turn out that way,” Robinson said. “Working cattle, getting up and out, and all the things you see and smell while on horseback are now just memories to me.”

Even though MS took away the lifestyle Jim loved, he has learned to accept it.

“I’ve worked with lots of people with MS, and Jim has a great attitude towards it even as bad as things get,” said Michael Thompson, Robinson’s physical therapist.

Robinson’s book has allowed him to get out of the house and travel in order to sell it.
“I’ve been nearly everywhere in the Panhandle selling my book,” Robinson said. “I also plan to go to Canadian, Denton, Ft. Worth, and College Station.”

Memoirs of a Texas Cowboy is 53 pages long, and simple to understand. It is suitable for readers of all ages. If you are interested in purchasing it, you can contact Jim
Robinson or visit www.xlibris.com, or www.amazon.com.

“My book is for everybody,” Robinson said. “That’s why I left out all the colorful cowboy language. It’s just about what people did and things I saw.”

He also has an idea for a second book.

“I plan to write about the good ole days,” Robinson said. “The time before video-games or computers.”

Now that he is an “old-timer,” as he refers to the older cowboys in his book, Robinson shares these words of knowledge with young people:

“Follow your dreams,” he said. “My mom and dad told me not to cowboy because it did not pay very well, but if you’re happy with what you’re doing, then that’s good enough. Even if it is not financially rewarding, do what you love.”