07/30/2026
THE DAY A 16-INCH COWBOY WENT MISSING
Things were unusually quiet at the shop.
The crew had gotten off work a little early, so Wade "Sparky" Thompson, Leroy "Wheelbarrow" Jenkins, and Pastor Caleb Whitaker were gathered around the CNC plasma table for what had become known as "The CNC Confessional."
Now, Pastor Caleb will tell you it isn't an official church service.
It's just a place where grown men confess things like...
"I measured from the wrong end of the tape."
"I blamed the plasma table, but it was unplugged."
"I told my wife the new tool was on sale."
Some burdens are heavier than others.
Just then, the shop phone rang.
It was Aunt Maybelle.
"Boys, I've got a customer waiting. I need that little cowboy brought over to the store."
Now this wasn't some giant ranch sign.
This cowboy was only 12 inches wide and about 16 inches tall.
Wade pointed at Leroy.
"You toss him in the back of my pickup while I grab the keys."
Leroy replied, "Done."
Those two words should've been everybody's first warning.
While Wade locked up the shop, Leroy got distracted explaining to Pastor Caleb how squirrels had been stealing zip ties again and were probably working with the same gang that chewed up the plasma table wiring.
By the time the story was over, both men climbed into Wade's pickup and headed toward the store...
Without the cowboy.
About halfway there, Wade remembered South Sagle Road was closed for construction.
"We'll just cut over Dufort," he said.
A few miles later Leroy suddenly smacked the dashboard.
"STOP!"
Standing in the field was one of the biggest bull elk they'd ever seen.
Now, if you've lived in North Idaho very long, you already know what happened next.
They pulled over.
The elk wandered into the trees.
Leroy said, "I bet he steps back out over the next hill."
So they followed.
One hill became another.
One dirt road became another.
Pretty soon they were so busy looking for the elk that they completely forgot they were supposed to be delivering a cowboy.
Meanwhile...
Back at the shop...
Dale "Pump Handle" Petersen walked outside, looked at Wade's parking spot...
..and there sat the cowboy.
Exactly where Leroy had promised to put him.
Dale shook his head.
"Bunch of professionals."
He picked up the cowboy, loaded him into his pickup, and headed for the store.
When he got there, Aunt Maybelle asked,
"Where are Wade and Leroy?"
"I figured they were already here."
She called Wade.
No answer.
Then she remembered...
Leroy still carried an old flip phone that was usually dead, forgotten, or buried somewhere under the truck seat.
Pastor Caleb finally answered Wade's phone.
"We're... uh... running a little behind."
"A little behind?" Aunt Maybelle asked.
"We may have accidentally followed a bull elk."
There was a long silence.
Then she quietly said,
"You boys are supposed to be delivering a cowboy... not tracking wildlife."
About that time Wade looked around and asked,
"Where exactly are we?"
Leroy confidently replied,
"I know where we are."
Pastor Caleb looked out the window and calmly said,
"If you did... we probably wouldn't still be driving."
Back at the store, Dale figured they must've broken down somewhere.
So he left—with the cowboy still in the back of his pickup—to go find them.
Now nobody knew where anybody was.
The cowboy had made it to the store...
Left the store...
And was riding around Bonner County again while two pickups searched for each other.
Nearly two hours later, both trucks pulled into the store parking lot at exactly the same time from opposite directions.
Aunt Maybelle walked outside, folded her arms, and looked at the little 16-inch cowboy.
Then she looked at four grown men.
"I asked you boys to deliver something that would've fit in a grocery sack..."
"...and somehow you turned it into a county-wide search party."
Pastor Caleb smiled.
"I think next week's CNC Confessional is already full."
Nobody argued.
Especially Leroy.
He was still wondering where that bull elk went.
🤠 Stop by Goff Family CNC Metal Works & Art on the Cedar Street Bridge and check out our little cowboy.
He may only be 12 inches wide and 16 inches tall...
..but he's already had more adventures than most full-size cowboys ever will.
