First it would just be plan cool to be all around the world not to mention if you got picked and you were a Seagoing Cowboy you did not have to go to war. Not to mention you got to help out with nation getting back there food supplies back up. Plus you did get to do a lot of sight seeing when you are a Seagoing Cowboy

The cattle-boat trips were an unbelievable opportunity for a small- town boy," he says. "Beside helping people, I had the side benefit of seeing Europe and China. But seeing the Acropolis in Greece was special," he says. " So was taking a gondola ride in Venice,Italy, a city with street of water. "

Luke also toured an excavated castle in Crete and marveled at the Panama Canal on his way to China.

It is not all just fun and games for Luke. It took about two weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the eastern coast of the United States and a month to get to China. Caring for the animals during the crossings kept Luke busy.

They had to be fed and watered two or three times a day. Bales of hay and bags of oats had to be pulled up from the lower holds of the ship. Stalls had to be cleaned.

Helping out his aunt Katie's farm as a boy had prepared Luke for hard work, but not for the dangers at sea. On his second tripLuke served as night watchman. His job was to check on all the animals every hour. One rainy night, After making his hourly report to the captain, he slid down a slippery ladder on his backside. Luke's heart raced as he shot feet first towardan opening on the side of the ship. A small strip of metal along the edge stopped his slide, keeping him from flying overboard into the dark Atlantic. He was happyto be alive. But he couldn't work a couple of days because of cracked ribs.

But being a Seagoing Cowboy was much more than an adventure for Luke Bomberger. It opened up the world to him. "I'm grateful the opportunity."

he says.

"It made me more aware of people of countries and there needs." And that awareness stayed with him, leading his family to host a number of international students and exchange vistors for many years. One more think thought is that you need to be prepared you couldn't just walk in with no traing and say "Can I join you people."    