MIKE

Mike was a friend of mine way back when. we both worked at azl and before i got married shared a trailer house. mike was a good hand, and he could rope, and could he! the problem was mike liked a good time, even to the point of being ornery. he was from californis, had grown up roping agains the camarillo brothers and roping with h. p. evetts and other ropers of that quality. i could go on about the crazy things mike did , for hours, but ill only tell one. one spring mike had been kicken but all over arizona. we went to work one mornin and shipped fat cattle then took a coffee break. mike sat there with a strained look on his face. whats wrong i asked. the bfi is commin up and i cant get off work to  go. hell i said its only a ropin. ITS THE BFI  he said.  i didnt say anymore. i had been married a little while and mike always treat the mrs. like she was aces. well she was. next mornin when we got to work mikes horses were gone, his gear was cleanned out of the tack room. the boss went down to his house and it was cleanned out also. no mike. on my saddle was pinned a note for me to collect his last check and hold it for him. gone to chowcilla to the bfi, ill be back. was all it said.  a few weeks later we heard that mike and larry goss had won the big roppin. besting every tough in the world. it took mike 6 weeks to get back to arizona. he was broke and sure needed his last check.  he had won the most money that a team roping in those days paid out but had partyed it all away on the way home azl put him back to work, and his little trailer house was still empty so he moved back in.  i moved on shortly after that but mike and i would run into each other many times over the years. even to the point he and my daughter would rope together, get a check and relive some old times. he s still around some place but i havent seen him in years. sure would like to sit and drink a cold one with him and laugh about old times.