The importance of a handshake

As I lay here tonight I can't help but look at my hands.  It's said that women can do whatever they wish to their face, breasts, stomachs, butts, lips and hair to make themselves look younger but the hands always give their age away.  I don't know if this is true for men, but when I look at mine, they appear to me to be much older than I am.  They're scarred, weathered, every finger has been broken, one finger is forever bent, callouses and wrinkles.  They're downright ugly, but they tell a lot of stories.  These hands have done many things and if I had to pick a body part to tell my life's stories it would be my hands.  They have helped bring life into this world, yet, they have been responsible for taking life away.   They have dug ditches, roped wild horses, branded cattle, ridden bulls and broncs, lifted weights, driven tractors, planted crops, and hunted game.  They have been in fights, broken glass, shattered jaws, opened whiskey bottles, and been involved in irreparable damage.  They have felt the smoothness of a babies bottom, the softness of a woman's skin and wiped tears away from women and children, as well as my own.  Everything that these hands have done, from shaking the hands of a president, professional athletes, rock and country stars, do not remotely compare to the shaking hands of a friend.  That simple gesture that seems to be fading among this generation is crucial in the development of a relationship.  I have stated this before but it seems fitting to state it again.  My Uncle Pudge, as strong a man as I have ever known, taught me many lessons in life, but none as important as this.  When you shake a man's hand, or woman's for that matter, give them a firm handshake and look them in the eye when you do.  Don't look away from their eyes and don't be the first one to let go of the handshake.  He taught me that a person's handshake was their signature.  If they look away from you or don't have a firm handshake, walk away from them for they are not to be trusted.  To this day, that simple gesture determines whether or not I will have much to do with a person.  Tonight, I met four young United States Marines, fellow bull riders in Norco before we headed over to Mira Loma for bull riding.  We met up in a parking lot at the Boot Barn.  When I pulled my rig into the parking lot they were already waiting for me.  We all exited our rigs, walked up to each other and shook hands.  Not one of us looked away.  Not one of us extended some dead fish for a hand.  Each one of us knows that through this simple gesture that we are not only friends, we are brothers in arms.  We have each others back at any time.  We all decided to go grab a quick burger before bull riding, sat and talked for a bit, and then headed out to the bull pen.  Maybe it's a cowboy thing, I don't really know, but every cowboy out there has the same handshake with the stare in the eyes.  When the night was over and the bulls were fed and put away, we all sat around our rigs talking about everything under the sun.  When it was time to go, we shook hands again to say goodbye.  What was touching about his evening however was one of the young marines shook my hand again and said thank you.  Neither one of us let go and neither one of us look away during this final conversation of the night.  He thanked me for all the help that I have given him, not only in bull riding, but life.  Wow!  He went on to say that I have taught him more than his own father.  What do you say to that?  I was at a loss for words.  I told him thank you for the kind words and guaranteed him that I would always be there for him.  I told him that he was like a son to me, just like the others, and there was nothing I wouldn't do for any of them.  Since we first met a while back, our relationships just keep growing and growing, becoming stronger and stronger.  Now I am not relaying this story because I am anything special, for I am not.  I am just a man whose hands have done so many things, bad and good, but it's nice to hear someone from this younger generation offer appreciation for what you have tried to teach them.  His last words tonight before we said goodbye were, "I am going to pass along what you have taught me to my children."  I was more than honored when he told me that.  It all started a while back when I rolled in early for bull riding and these four young men were there before anyone.  I had never seen them before, but I walked up with my rodeo gear and introduced myself to them.  They all shook my hand when introduced and it's because of that moment, that simple gesture, that five cowboys have bonded and friendships are being nurtured and impressions are being set.
Don't take a handshake for granted.  It is your signature.  What kind of signature do you have?  Is it valid?  Is is trustworthy?  Is it real?
Nothing to report on the health issues tonight.  Although I didn't ride bulls tonight, working them in the arena takes a lot out of you and tonight, they kicked my butt.  Going to hit the hay, rest my tired body and sleep.
Goodnight y'all.  May the rode rise up to meet you, the sun shine on your face and the wind at your back.