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Country muse
By MICHELE MILLER © St. Petersburg Times, published September 13, 2000 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ever since he was a youngster in Illinois, Les McDowell has been at the business of writing poems. And while some of the girls might have been smitten with his knack for writing verse, "back then it wasn't fashionable for the guys to be writing poetry," said the morning disc jockey for country radio station WQYK. Still, McDowell kept at it and these days figures everybody has a story about his or her life. If people can get it down on paper, McDowell said, maybe they're better for it, even if they have to put up with a little ribbing. Known as the "Cowboy Poet," McDowell has no problem reciting his poetry on Thursday mornings on WQYK. He has also recorded a few CDs, with benefits going to charities such as the Florida Youth Ranch and St. Jude's Hospital in Tennessee. Now he says he's willing to take his poetry out of the studio and on the road to let kids know that there's nothing wrong with looking tough on the outside while being a little soft-hearted. Last week McDowell took his show to students at Moon Lake Elementary School. He arrived in cowboy attire -- denim shirt, blue jeans, boots and a black cowboy hat -- and came equipped with a lasso, his words and the desire to inspire. McDowell writes mostly cowboy poetry and what he calls "mid American stuff." So, of course, the subject turned to horses when it came to reciting to the kids. There was another humorous ditty about the many uses of WD40 -- something he says he has learned he just can't live without. But his poetry also contained some tender verse, like a shared memory of a special "grampy" who "smells like a mixture of Ben Gay and Old Spice." "A lot of times you can write your poems when you're feeling real bad about things," McDowell told the students before sharing another poem he wrote when his daughter got married on what he calls the saddest day of his life. "I got a little sad, so you know what I did?" McDowell said. "I wrote me some poetry." McDowell's visit was a good culmination of the students' poetry writing unit, said teacher Lucy Jordan. She contacted McDowell after hearing him doing a storytelling presentation at a ranch last year around the winter holidays. "We've been studying poetry since Day One of school, and this is just a wonderful way to end it," said Jordan, who instructs students in the Polar Bear Pod along with teachers Susan Bakely, Lara Lopp and Richard Card. After performing a few rope and cowboy hat tricks, McDowell encouraged students to share the stage, calling them up to read poems they had written since school began. "Everybody has a story," said McDowell, repeating his favorite phrase, "and these kids are all stars." Schools interested in bringing the poetry program to their students may contact Les McDowell at WQYK, (727) 576-6055.
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