Under the Wire

Asking a man how many cattle he has is like asking someone what their net worth is or how much money they have in the bank. You just don't do it. If you should accidentally commit this blunder you put the cowman in the uncomfortable position of having to either ignore you or lie. It just isn’t polite.

Still, we all judge a cattleman's success by how many head he owns. We are curious about things like this. What should also be considered is to subtract out how much he owes before judging the man's worth in cattle.

"It's not what you have, but what you get to keep," is a saying that sums up the...