Howie Kaplinsky wasn’t a cowboy. He was a kid from New York City. But he wanted to be a cowboy more than anything. With his boots and ten-gallon hat, he looked very different from other kids. They made fun of him and told him he could never be a real cowboy.
In his imagination, New York City looked like the Wild West! To Howie, tall buildings looked like the Grand Canyon. Street lights looked like giant cactuses. Even pigeons looked like eagles.
Thanksgiving morning, Howie’s father pointed at the TV. “Look, a coyote in Central Park! Maybe this is the Wild West.” Howie was so discombobulated, he almost blew milk and cereal out his nose.
Howie hopped on his BMX and raced through the apartment, twirling his lasso.
“YEEEEE HAAAAA!” he whooped.
“YEEEEE HAAAAA!” he whooped.
BOOM! BAM! SPLOOOSH! Howie smacked into a table that knocked over a lamp ....that fell into the fish bowl.... that crashed to the floor. Howie was all tangled up in his own lasso. A guppy flopped around his feet.
“MY FISH BOWL!” his mom yelled. “HOWARD KAPLINSKY! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NO MORE COWBOY BALONEY IN THE HOUSE?! IF YOU WANT TO RIDE THAT THING…GO OUTSIDE!”
“MY FISH BOWL!” his mom yelled. “HOWARD KAPLINSKY! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NO MORE COWBOY BALONEY IN THE HOUSE?! IF YOU WANT TO RIDE THAT THING…GO OUTSIDE!”
Riding down Broadway, Howie did a wheelie. His BMX became a wild pony.
Cats turned into mountain lions, dogs were wolves and a hose twisted across the sidewalk like a rattlesnake.
Cats turned into mountain lions, dogs were wolves and a hose twisted across the sidewalk like a rattlesnake.
Peddling around a corner, Howie ran smack dab into a grizzly bear. Roaring, the grizzly chased Howe up a totem pole.
It wasn’t a grizzly bear after all. It was his Aunt Esther in a fur coat. “Howie Kaplinsky,” she stamped her foot and yelled, “you get down from there before you break your neck!”
Howie was on top of the monument at Columbus Circle.
Howie was on top of the monument at Columbus Circle.
Howie heard music. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Marching bands and giant floats were coming down Broadway. A rope from a float caught Howie’s belt buckle and lifted him so high into the sky he got dizzy. “Whoooaaaa, Nellie!” Howie yelped. He felt like he was flying!
Huge balloons surrounded Howie like a crazy stampede of cartoon characters. As he soared over the city, the buildings around Central Park looked like the hoodoos and buttes in the Badlands.*
*A hoodoo is a tall, thin spire of rock. A butte is a small, steep hill. The Badlands is a 244,000 acre national park in South Dakota.
Drifting high above Central Park. Howie saw a critter that looked like the coyote on TV.
“Hot dang!” Howie hooted and threw his lasso.
“Hot dang!” Howie hooted and threw his lasso.
Howie got the coyote right around the neck.
But even though he pulled and pulled as hard as he could, the critter wouldn’t budge.
Clippety clop. Clippety clop. Galloping horses! It was the cavalry —coming to the rescue!
But even though he pulled and pulled as hard as he could, the critter wouldn’t budge.
Clippety clop. Clippety clop. Galloping horses! It was the cavalry —coming to the rescue!
Howie whooped and hollered. “I got the critter! I got the Central Park coyote!"
A man in a top hat looked down from his horse-drawn carriage.
"Sorry, buckeroo” he smiled, “but I’m afraid you just roped Balto ….the statue.
Howie blinked and looked again. The driver was right. It was the statue of Balto the famous sled dog. *
*In 1925, Balto was the lead sled dog in the team that took medicine to Nome, Alaska and saved the city from an epidemic. 10 months later, a statue of Balto was put in front of the Tisch Children’s Zoo in Central Park.
A man in a top hat looked down from his horse-drawn carriage.
"Sorry, buckeroo” he smiled, “but I’m afraid you just roped Balto ….the statue.
Howie blinked and looked again. The driver was right. It was the statue of Balto the famous sled dog. *
*In 1925, Balto was the lead sled dog in the team that took medicine to Nome, Alaska and saved the city from an epidemic. 10 months later, a statue of Balto was put in front of the Tisch Children’s Zoo in Central Park.
Then the driver grinned.
“But I saw the way you handled that lasso…you sure were brave to rope that big, ol’ critter all by your lonesome! Yessiree… mighty brave.”
“Thankee kindly.” Howie kicked the dirt with his toe
“Come on up here, cowpoke” the driver pulled Howie onto the carriage. “Whaddya say we go for a ride?”
“But I saw the way you handled that lasso…you sure were brave to rope that big, ol’ critter all by your lonesome! Yessiree… mighty brave.”
“Thankee kindly.” Howie kicked the dirt with his toe
“Come on up here, cowpoke” the driver pulled Howie onto the carriage. “Whaddya say we go for a ride?”
As they slowly rode into the West, Howie smiled and tipped his hat to the folks on the street.
Just the way real cowboys always have.
Just the way real cowboys always will.
Just the way real cowboys always have.
Just the way real cowboys always will.
Listen to the songs from "Cowboy Howie."
HOMEBOY ON THE RANGE. - Howie's theme song
BRONK BUSTIN' MAN. Memphis Slim, Howie’s friend and mentor, an old cowpoke who works at the Bronx Zoo.
10 GALLON HAT. Howie shows off his prized cowboy hat during Show ’N Tell at school.
THE BAD BOYZ. A neighborhood gang that picks on Howie, crushing his hat and his dreams.
A MOTHER'S LOVE. Howie’s mother comforts him after the Bad Boyz pick on him.
THE PRIZE. Howie's dad tells him to never give up or give in.
SHANIYA. A love song Howie sings to his classmate and girl of his dreams.
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. Howie's song of hope, persistence and victory.
ABOUT "COWBOY HOWIE."
The American cowboy is, of course, a cultural icon and part of our national mythology. What many people don’t know is that 40% of America’s cowboys and cowgirls were African-American, Hispanic and Native Americans. I think it’s important that this knowledge becomes part of a widespread historical appreciation and understanding — something Americans of every race, gender and ethnicity should know. It’s particularly important for inner city kids to know that the people who settled the West weren’t all “Marlboro men” …that indeed the pioneers of this country are part of their heritage. As a musician and storyteller I’ve presented a show on this subject at inner-city elementary schools and gotten a response which is astonishing. Hundreds of African-American kids, K-4, have sat totally rapt and quiet. Because the story involves bullying and the choice of whether to join a gang or not, it is, furthermore, a story with great pertinence to their daily lives. This is something I’m passionate about and would love to present to area schools and organizations. This is, importantly, a piece of our history every American should know.
The American cowboy is, of course, a cultural icon and part of our national mythology. What many people don’t know is that 40% of America’s cowboys and cowgirls were African-American, Hispanic and Native Americans. I think it’s important that this knowledge becomes part of a widespread historical appreciation and understanding — something Americans of every race, gender and ethnicity should know. It’s particularly important for inner city kids to know that the people who settled the West weren’t all “Marlboro men” …that indeed the pioneers of this country are part of their heritage. As a musician and storyteller I’ve presented a show on this subject at inner-city elementary schools and gotten a response which is astonishing. Hundreds of African-American kids, K-4, have sat totally rapt and quiet. Because the story involves bullying and the choice of whether to join a gang or not, it is, furthermore, a story with great pertinence to their daily lives. This is something I’m passionate about and would love to present to area schools and organizations. This is, importantly, a piece of our history every American should know.
