I have been considering making some New Year’s resolutions for 2015, but I can’t seem to get it done; my mind keeps thinking about character. Character matters! So rather than focus on resolutions which I always seem to fall short of and then wallow in the inevitable guilt which follows, I have been focusing on the foundations of human character. And as I reflect on my western heritage (Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming), I really cannot remember any of my family talking to me about New Year’s resolutions. I do, however, clearly recall the many times my parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts talking to me about being a good person and what it took to do so.

By far the best test for uncovering character as found in down-to-earth, honest, hard-working people, harkens back to the 1930s. At that time, Gene Autry ranked as the number one cowboy star in the world, a real honest-to-goodness hero when there still was such a thing.  Befitting his image, Autry (born in Tioga, Texas, and has an Oklahoma town, Gene Autry, named after him)   devised a list of do’s and don’ts to illustrate exemplary character and citizenship. This Wrangler’s Ten Commandments, so to speak, provided the proper direction for people the world over.

            Gene put forth his convictions in what he terms “The Cowboy Code.”

THE COWBOY CODE

• A cowboy must never shoot first at a smaller man or take unfair advantage.

• He must never go back on his word or a trust confided in him.

• He must always tell the truth.

• He must be gentle with children, the elderly and animals.

• He must not advocate or possess radically or religiously intolerant ideas.

• He must help people in distress.

• He must be a good worker.

• He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, actions and personal habits.

• He must respect women, parents and his nation’s laws.

• A cowboy is a patriot.

Gene Autry said it as well as it can be said. Let’s all resolve to live the Cowboy Code, not only in 2015, but as long as we’re standing on the green side of the range. It will make the world a better place. Happy 2015, Pardner!