Transcript

​

Megan Torgerson (narrating): Hello listener, Curious to know the man behind the prominent bassy voice we heard at the beginning of Reframing Rural’s Season Four preview?

 

Jim Hamilton: “There comes a time on all of these ranches when the transition from one generation to the next must be made. Sometimes the process goes easy and sometimes it can be difficult. Sometimes it can be extremely difficult.” 

 

Torgerson (narrating): That’s the voice of Jim Hamilton, a cowboy poet from the east slope of the Wolf Mountains in Southeast Montana. He has a CD of poetry called “Thinkin’ About Life” and in the clip we just heard, Jim was introducing his poem about a rancher having a hard time letting go. Let’s hear the rest of what Jim has to say on succession:

 

Hamilton: I call this poem “The changing of the guard.” 

 

There's a problem in ranching country, and it bothers me a bit, 

A problem of succession and folks trying to make things fit.

An older man who's wearing down and a young one coming strong.

A command change is overdue, and there's no clear cut right or wrong.

 

Now across the sea in Britain, at that palace over there,

They change the guard around the clock, and it's done with pomp and flare.

Just a routine piece of business, no tender feelings to be hurt. 

But it's a different proposition on a chunk of ranching dirt. 

 

See, a ranch is not just property or a place to run some cows,

where it's measured all in dollars or the profit it allows. 

It's an ongoing sort of legacy kept on course by brains and sweat by a now aging cowboy rancher slowing down, but not quite ready yet to give control to any one, be it son or son in law, 

though he knows the young one's capable, that thought is just too raw. 

 

He's nursed it through the good times and dang near lost it to the bad. 

Grudgingly, he'll give some credit to the partner that he's had, 

the mother of his children, that gal he married long ago, 

who's been always at his side, helping make this whole thing go.

 

But a child is something else, though the boy's now 34 .

He envisioned life just ending like the closing of a door. 

Oh, he likes a kid being there and hell, he knows he's slowing down, 

and they got it all worked out so he doesn't have to move to town. 

But logic has gone a glimmering. He's just finding it too hard, facing the inevitable, the changing of the guard, 

 

But let's view it from the boy's side, now his perspective shouldn't be heard. 

He has some standing in the issue, and we need to hear his word. 

He's brought back his elder's teachings, a college degree and a wife and son. 

Now he's doing his work and half of dad's and he's doing it on the run. 

 

He's wanting to lease a neighbor's place and maybe run 1,000 cows. 

He's not afraid of worker debt, and he'd get as big as the bank allows. 

He's young and he's ambitious, full of fizz and pushing hard, 

but he's up against that demon, the changing of the guard. 

 

But what creates such a problem that two grown men cannot decide? 

Well, it's ego and it's testosterone and it's that damned old cowboy pride, 

The old one's got his neck bowed for reasons that at least to him are clear. 

The young ones charging on thinking cowboys show no fear.

 

Both are right and both are wrong. The problem's tough to solve, 

But it won't be solved by passion, only thought and stern resolve. 

The old one needs to stop and think, remember back a bunch of years,

just part way changes thinking, sort of mental shifting of his gears. 

 

But there's blame enough to go around, now kid you better think some too. 

Don't be quite so know it all, when there's things you want to do.

Maybe ask some advice from this man that you call dad.

Don't try to do things all at once, maybe slow down just a tad. 

 

Now, he's put in lots of miles of horseback, and he's seen lots of cattle die. 

He's faced down savage bankers, and he's faced the droughty sky. 

All these things he's faced, but nothing quite as hard as this bitter pill that he's facing now.

The changing of the guard. 

 

So kid cut the old one a little slack, but elder, you tone your act down too.

Deep down, you know, it's right. It's just almighty hard to do. 

And folks, believe me when I tell you, your time will come some day. 

Cause old father time, he doesn't play favorites. 

To him, it's just another day. 

 

Do I have the answer? No, if I did, I sure would share. 

But I see my time coming, of that I'm much aware. 

But when I ponder it at all, it just seems awful hard to be facing like some others, 

the changing of the garden. 

 

Torgerson (narrating): Thank you to Jim and Marge Hamilton for permitting us to share Jim’s poem “The Changing of the Guard.” The music you heard behind him was by Bob Petermann.

 

Join us next week for the first episode of Season Five: Succession Stories!