Code of the West

Last weekend when I was in Wichita doing some show-shopping (as opposed to "show-stopping," which I am unfortunately quite familiar with due to my unbelievable awkwardness during dance recitals as a teenager), I found an old painted tile with a "code" written on it. It wasn't the tile itself, as much as the code that caught my eye. It said:

Code of the West

1. Live each day with courage

2. Take pride in your work

3. Always finish what you start

4. Do what has to be done

5. Be tough, but fair

6. When you make a promise, keep it

7. Ride for the brand

8. Talk less and say more

9. Remember that some things aren't for sale

10. Know where to draw the line

It caught my eye because these are the very rules that I grew up with. Some of these things I learned from my parents, and I know because of the stories I heard, they learned them from their parents as well.

I also learned some of them through mistakes made, or from friends or stories I heard. Like many people, I try very hard to live a good life, not make mistakes, do the best I can and for all intensive purposes, live by this code (although until that day I saw it in the store, I didn't know it existed).

So, I thought it might be fun (or at least fun-ny) over the next ten days I will post a story that goes with each of the items mentioned on this code. This might be a train wreck waiting to happen, or it might pan out to be something inspiring. I'm willing to bet the former more than the latter, but that's the fun thing about experiments. At least you have fun finding out!

See ya'll tomorrow, with the story of "Live each day with courage."

UPDATE: Since great minds think alike and Sydney suggested something I had tossed around in my own brain a bit, I'd like to invite any of my readers with blogs of their own to join in! Write your own story about one or more of the codes mentioned above. Be sure to leave a link in the comments so everyone can read them all!!