The documentary movie called Buck

Last night, Tina and I watched the documentary called, “Buck,” about a cowboy horse whisperer named Buck Brannaman.

The movie was good. Tina loves horses. The story was fast and entertaining.

I can recommend it to you.

One thing that struck me was Buck’s background. His father was a violent drunk, and beat Buck and his older brother severely and often.

Buck used his past to determine his future. He made every effort to become a calm person with — not only the horses — but his family and the people with whom he worked. He made a strong case for remaining calm, firm with out sharpness, jovial without exaggeration.

I wished I would have seen it before I wrote this post on how out-of-control FOX News personalities and those on CNN are. They would do well to learn a thing or two from calm reporters and analysts rather than projecting impending apocalypse on every time the President blinks his eyes.

The movie also made a great case for adopted parents, and showing how awesome they are to kids like Buck. It made me want to buy a huge house and foster 10 kids.

Gosh, wouldn’t it be great if we could afford that. Wow.

One standout moment in the movie was when Buck’s adopted mom, really just his mom, told Buck’s favorite joke.

Below is the version closest to the one she told, but there are variations of it on the Internet.

Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the sea, this captain and his crew were always in danger of being boarded by pirates from a pirate ship. One day while they were sailing, they saw that a pirate ship had sent a boarding party to try and board their ship. The crew  became worried, but the Captain was calm. He bellowed to his First Mate, “Bring me my red shirt!” The First Mate quickly got the Captain’s red shirt, which the captain put on. Then he led his crew into battle against the mean pirates. Although there were some casualtiesamong the crew, the pirates were defeated. Later that day, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate vessels sending two boarding parties towards their ship. The crew was nervous, but the Captain,  calm as ever, bellowed, “Bring me my red shirt!” And once again the battle was on! The Captain and his crew fought off the boarding parties, though this time more casualties occurred. Weary from the battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day’s events when an  ensign looked at the Captain and asked, “Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?” The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, explained, “If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the blood, so you men will continue to fight unafraid.” The men sat in silence. They were amazed at the courage of such a man. As dawn came the next morning, the lookout screamed that there were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men became silent and looked to the Captain, their leader, for his usual command. The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, ‘Bring me my brown pants!!!’