A Blog by Cowboy Bob
Well, my Idaho gal landed a haymaker on this old cowboy’s heart, and I like it. This is a love affair, and I love her. The last few years have been a rugged trail for both of us, but thanks to a nod from God and that fancy Internet, we found each other and have now passed from grieving and lonely to laughing and loving again.
We have been seeing each other for over a year or in cowboy terms since last harvest. We have traveled the world, wowed fellow passengers on cruise lines with our dance moves, had our “job interviews” with each other’s family. They would ask, how long have you known this woman? Well, that depends on what you mean by “know.” In the Bible some of those old men “knew” a woman and I always assumed that meant drinking wine and playing checkers, so, in that Biblical sense, I have known her for year, teaching her chess instead of checkers. We also traveled to Alaska, Texas, The Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, North Africa, Corsica and Italy, not to mention seeing a Hank Williams, Jr. concert. And in our spare time, we wrote a book, Widows and Widowers: Dancing with a New Partner, which will be available later this year. We have tested each other’s mettle and decided to keep going.
So, when she agreed to partnering up, combining these two outfits, by golly, I was struck speechless. And when she said, “Yes, I’ll go to Montana, but there are stipulations,” I figured I was done for, but they weren’t so bad. 1. We spend two months in the winter, way south and way warm. 2. I had to clean out my shop for her little car. 3. She needed an office view where she could write and watch deer. And 4. we have to continue having adventures until we can’t anymore. I quickly agreed, although I thought about it later and added my own stipulation, “You have to wear perfume.” She laughed out loud as that is a reach for her, she is a German by birth, went to an all-woman’s college, is a Marine, a teacher, a principal, and worked in the prison system as head of education, and let me tell you, none of those vocations lend themselves to “Wild Night in Paris Eau de Cologne,” but after a little gentle persuasion, she agreed to my stipulation. Wahoo!
So, these two old fools are headed for adventures, come hell or high water, although she added no ice climbing, snowshoe camping, or naked sky diving. No ladders, no driving over triple digits, and a few more. Well, a man has to give a little, and she is doggone sure worth giving up one or two of those, and I had to agree about the ladder thing, but the rest, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.
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