[bksvol-discuss] Book submitted: The Cowboy and His Elephant
- From: "Shelley L. Rhodes" <juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 22:41:21 -0500
yes you heart that right
The Cowboy and His Elephant
By Malcolm MacPherson
Under the .rtf section of the website. I suspect the only thing that needs
to be done, is insert the missing page numbers, and strip the headers.265
pages.
From the book Jacket:
"A wonderful story, both hilarious and heartbreaking.
Anyone who takes on the heroic but hopeless responsibility otherwise
known as love for an animal will embrace this book."
- Michael Allin, author of Zarafa
If elephants talk, and many people believe they do, what do they talk of?
Of mothers and sisters and babies, of tall grass and cool water, ancient
migration routes, rich wallows, sunrises, men?
Do they talk of their longing for family, of dying, of where they began?
A contemporary myth about African elephants concerns the elephant that
escapes from the cull. She is called the Storyteller.
Is the little elephant Amy such a one?
Is her tale of her life with the cowboy a story she will repeat
when she returns home to Africa?
IN THE LATE 1980S, A FEMALE BABY
elephant was born into a herd that lived on the plains of southern Africa.
Her mother had carried her for two years, and normally she would have nursed
her for five more. But the close-knit family of wild elephants was to face a
predator for which it was no match -humans. In a "cull," the family was
slaughtered in a few moments. Only the newborn female's life was spared.
Terrified and bewildered, the young elephant was transported to America to
be sold. There she met the person who was to change her life forever.
Bob Norris is a cowboy with an empathy for animals that overwhelms his other
emotions. He was raised with a pet bear and as a boy decided to become a
real cowboy. He saw his dream come true in Colorado on one of the larger
horse-and-cattle ranches in America. Handsome as a movie star, he became the
Marlboro Man and appeared on TV and on billboards around the world. But with
the passing of years, and with his own family grown up, he felt the need for
something that he could not name.
When she came into his life by happenstance, the hurt, vulnerable little
elephant tapped the fullness of Bob's empathy, and an incredible bond
between the most unlikely of friends was forged.
Bob adopted the baby orphan elephant -named Amy -and patiently set about
helping her recover from the trauma of her ordeal. He had never seen a real
African elephant up close, except in zoos. He was a horseman and breeder of
champion quarter horses. But through close observation, gentle training,
humor, and endless perseverance, Bob gradually coaxed Amy into overcoming
her mistrust of humans and, indeed, her fear of the world. The little
elephant became a "hand" on Bob's ranch, tending to simple chores, riding
the fences, and shadowing Bob on his horse. She developed a winning
personality, and a strong character, and became a beloved member of the
Norris family and partner to the rancher.
But Bob knew almost from the start that the ultimate goal was for Amy to
regain her confidence and her independence -even, if it was possible, to go
back to the savannas of Africa.
This is the true story of how Amy and Bob came together. No one who reads
The Cowboy and His Elephant can fail to be moved by such a simple tale of
unlikely love.
Malcolm MacPherson is,foremost,the
father of Molly and Fraser, ages eleven and nine, and the husband of
Charlie, with whom he lives in the countryside of Virginia. He writes books,
which include the novels In Cahoots and Deadlock, the Holocaust history The
Blood of His Servants, and a history of the atomic bomb, Time Bomb. He has
worked on the staffs of New York magazine and Premiere. For nearly fifteen
years he was a staff correspondent for Newsweek, based in the United States,
Europe, and then in Africa, where he took every opportunity to observe
elephants in the wild. He has contributed stories and articles to
publications from the New York Times to the Reader's Digest. Presently, he
and his family are traveling around the world for a year, until the summer
of 2001, and writing about their experiences for Newsweek Interactive.
Shelley L. Rhodes and Judson, guiding golden
juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Guide Dogs For the Blind Inc.
Graduate Advisory Council
www.guidedogs.com
The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to
stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs.
-- Vance Havner
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