Riding off into the sunset

Two years ago, although it seems like more than that, the young, up and coming cowboys that I grew up with rode off into the sunset. 

As Mike and Jesse set off for the pro rodeo in Cave Creek, Arizona, they had no idea what awaited them.

It was Mike's first pro rodeo saddle bronc win, and Jesse's first taste of what life would be like as a pro rodeo cowboy, both living out their dreams.

They planned on leaving Arizona early Sunday morning so they could make it back to school on Monday...but they never returned. 

The day is one that stands out in my mind like a sore thumb. The memories never fade. The questions never seize. The fact that the boys were never going to walk through the front doors of Goddard High School ever again, was a feeling that can't be explained.

The amount of people that showed up at their house's the day the news hit astonished me. These boys touched so many lives. The memorial for the boys was one Roswell had never seen.

Close to a two thousand people showed up to show their respect. The stories that were told, the memories that were made, was all proof that these boys were great, inspirational individuals, whom people looked up too.

I remember Jesse's voice singing “I was sitting on the chutes talking to my mom. She teared up and I asked what was wrong. She said, ‘It’s about your friend and you’ll never see him again.’ I hit my knees and I began to cry, and asked the Lord, ‘Why, oh why, did he have to go, did he have to die?’ He didn’t get the chance to live his life,” over the loud speaker, and listening to the sobs of everyone in the room.

Mike and Jesse are heroes. But they are home now, in the sky, watching over everyone.

There's no doubt about it that I miss those boys every single day, but I know the good die and young, and the boys were definitely good ones.

Prayers for the family,

Dirt Road Daughter