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A Son's Tribute To His Dad






On this page, you will find some poetry written
by my son, Shawn,( his Native American name
means Black Wolf in Sioux) for his Dad.

His Father, Fred Joseph Lafley was born in June of 1926
and died December 1999.
He was an enrolled member of the Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribe of Montana.
Fred was also a Rodeo Cowboy
until he was forced to retire because of age and injuries.
Shawn wrote several poems for his father.
My favorite one is the first one you see here.
I believe it is one Fathers everywhere
will enjoy and relate to.

I hope you enjoy this page as much as I enjoyed
finally putting it together for Shawn.





There's Something I Must Say
By Shawn Lafley for my DAD

There is someone I appreciate
that has made my world new
He is someone very special
and DAD that someone is you
I'm proud that you're my DAD
you make me feel alive
these are my true feelings
that I express from deep inside
You've given me many things
things only you can give
They're very special feelings
that help my will to live

I feel like I am becoming a man
I say with pride and joy
But I know within your head,
I'm still your baby boy
I know I let you down in many ways
We both know this is true
But now I planned a worthy future
and this I will show you soon
Yes, I know I hurt you many times
and I know I caused you pain
But even though that's the past
I'll remember that with shame
I have these special feelings
They come from deep inside
It's knowing that you're my DAD
and it's filling me with pride
These things I have said
please believe they are true
I would like you to remember
and believe that I LOVE YOU






The next poem is one Shawn actually had published
The picture is one of Fred




THE RODEO

By Shawn C. Lafley

Sitting at the bar crying in my shot of jack,
wondering if my wife's ever coming back.
Yelling about not enough love
for her as she goes out the door,
Saying I could never love anyone
because I'm rodeo to the core.
Traveling miles and never being home at night
, busted up, drunk, and always in a fight.
There's things about the rodeo she'll
never understand or just don't know.
It's in the blood,just another way of life.
If I ever stop the rodeo,
it'd be like cutting my heart out with a knife.
It's the cowboys,
the blood and the dirt,
the wonderful feelings of winning
and when losing, the feelings of hurt.
Driving endless miles of road
and the pride of the Cowboy Code.
The sun burning on my back
and the rain dripping from my cowboy hat.
She'll never understand,
now that she's gone,
But all I can do is get drunk
and start for the next rodeo
to get on a wild ol' bull.
You may call me a damn ol' fool,
'cause my wife's gone,
but the Rodeo must go on.




Even as youngster, Shawn wanted to be like his Dad.




The Ride
By Shawn Lafley

He bellows and snorts as I climb on his back
bucks and kicks as I tie in
The chute opens with the nod of my hat
and that bull begins his attack
lunging right and left
hanging on with all my might
as he goes into a wild spin.
The horn blares
so I go to unwrap but fell to the left
and catch a horn in the side
lifted from the arena,then
the judge says the Bull I did slap!
The other cowboys say,
as I go to the hospital
"It was a Hell of a Ride!"
I may not have won the money
or buckle on that 'ole Bull
but I still got my pride and respect
and one Hell of a scar.
Some people say
I'm a Hell of a fool
but to the kids and the women,
I'm a big star
or, maybe, I'm just hooked on a
8 SECOND RIDE!




The Banker
By Shawn Lafley

A banker wearing boots
saying howdy to a pal
was asked one day
to put the cattle
North of the South corral
The banker grabbed a horse
Screwed on tight
his borrowed hat
Climbed upon his trusty steed
And once on top,he spat
saying to the top hand
as he took the leather rein
"If this here thing starts to jump
will it cause much pain?"
The top hand slowly answered,
"If she does,Boy,just yell HELP!
But that, my friend,
is the final thing
you'll have to learn yourself."
As the banker climbed down slowly,
with chaps twisted to the side,
He says in a high squeaky voice,
"I'd like to see YOU try."

The moral of this story is rather hard to hide,
'You don't judge 'em by the way they dress,
rather by the way they Ride.'




The following is not something Shawn or I wrote but appropriate for this page

MY COWBOY PRAYER

Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow.
I love creation better as it stood
That day You finished it so long ago
And looked upon Your work and called it good.
I know that others find You in the light
That's sifted down through tinted window panes,
and yet I seem to feel You near tonight
In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.
I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well,
That You have made my freedom so complete;
That I'm no slave of whistle, clock or bell,
Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street.
Just let me live my life as I've begun
And give me work that's open to the sky;
Make me a pardner of the wind and sun,
And I won't ask a life that's soft or high.

Let me be easy on the man that's down;
Let me be square and generous with all.
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town,
But never let'em say i'm mean or small!
Make me as big and open as the plains,
As honest as the hoss between my knees,
Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains,
Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze!
Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget.
You know about the reasons that are hid.
You understand the things that gall and fret;
You know me better than my mother did.
Just keep an eye on all that's done and said
And right me, sometimes, when I turn aside,
And guide me on the long, dim trail ahead
That stretches upward the Great Divide.

by: Badger Clark






This final entry is something written after
Fred passed on to his final reward.
Although not written by Shawn,
I feel this is a fitting place for it


FRED - THE COWBOY

Back then,I was young and strong,
I rode bareback all wrong.
I am a cowboy none-the-less,
for I have rode the best.
When I rode bulls there were no rules.
That bull gored me plenty,
I acted like I was twenty.

I was medium height and handsome,
the girls loved me some.
I never spurned their advances,
I liked my chances.

I liked drinking beer,
and having my buddies near.
sometimes I'd drink whiskey,
but it made me too frisky.

I danced up a storm,
the ladies said it was the norm.
Young or old;
they never refused me,
they never knew I was fifty-three.

I'd get the wanderlust,
four times a year was a must.
I'd pack up my trunk,
and go on a running drunk.
I caroused, partied and was wild,
the good times were never mild.

My party days are done,
I've partied till I'm the only one.
As I lay on my death bed,
no eulogies are to be read.
With my arms raised to my mother's waiting hand,
I depart this earthly land.......

~~~~Author~~~~
Kenneth Haugen
Brother-in-Law
December 30,1999






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