| Q.
A. |
When and where were
you born?
Brooklyn Naval
Hospital, NY in 1945 during WW II. My dad was in the Navy. Baxter's birthday is
the 2nd Friday of January every year. |
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| Q.
A. |
Where did you grow up?
Las Cruces,
NM. |
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| Q.
A. |
What were your interests and achievements in school?
FFA president and
reporter, senior class president, lettered in wrestling one
year. |
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| Q.
A. |
Did you rodeo at all?
I rode bulls in
high school and college. |
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| Q.
A. |
What made you decide to become a cowboy?
You either
are one, or you aren't. You never have to decide.
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| Q.
A. |
Where did you go to college?
New Mexico State
University and Colorado State University, graduated in
1969. |
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| Q.
A. |
What was your greatest struggle in college?
Passing calculus
and trigonometry which were required to apply for veterinary
school. |
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| Q.
A. |
How did education play a role in your life?
Education taught me
to read, and taught me how things worked. |
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| Q.
A. |
How did education have significance later in your life?
It allowed me to
practice veterinary medicine. |
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| Q.
A. |
What is the most unique animal you have looked at lately?
A cow that had been
snake bit on the tongue. |
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| Q.
A. |
What is the most thrilling call you had to make as a vet?
Looking at a cow
that might have been rabid or one that might have had
anthrax. |
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| Q.
A. |
Would you suggest becoming a veterinarian to someone just graduating
high school?
It depends on what
you find satisfying. |
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| Q.
A. |
How did you go from veterinarian to poet?
The last company
where I was working as a tech veterinarian changed hands and let me go. I was
doing "speaking" on the side and people just kept calling, so here I
am. |
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| Q.
A. |
What inspired you to become a poet?
Just sort of an
accident. I thought I was a song writer. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
When did you start writing poems?
In my
mid-thirties. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
When were you first published?
First column was
published in July 1980 in the Record Stockman, Denver,
Colorado. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
Who is your favorite poet? Favorite poem?
Of the "dead guys"
Australian poet A.B. "Banjo" Patterson who wrote "The Man from Snowy
River". |
| |
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| Q.
A. |
Who do you admire - who has inspired you?
My
mother. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
Who are some of the most influential people in your life?
My parents,
my Ag teacher (Rupert Mansell), my veterinary mentor Dr. Van Brimhall,
my best boss John Basabe, and my entertainment friend and counselor, Red
Steagall.
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|
|
| Q.
A. |
What would be your advise
to someone interested in writing?
Write about what
you know. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
What is your definition of a cowboy?
Someone who can
replace a uterine prolapse in a range cow in a three section pasture with
nothing but a horse and a rope. |
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| Q.
A. |
Are you married?
Yes. |
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| Q.
A. |
Do you have kids?
Yes. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
What are you currently doing?
I make a living
speaking at agricultural banquets, writing my column and selling my books and
tapes. |
|
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| Q.
A. |
Do you have any funny stories or events that have happened to
you?
Yes, my books are
full of them! |
|
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| Q.
A. |
Do you have any "quirks?"
I do not like
Italian food, brownies or bananas, and I do not accept
awards. |
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| Q.
A. |
What would you say are your top 3 accomplishments?
I haven't
accomplished them yet. |
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| Q.
A. |
How do you want to be remembered?
As someone who
didn't embarrass his friends. |
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