A Blog by Gail Cushman
I met the Cowboy about three years ago, through a dating site. Free. Facebook. I was researching a book (Flash of Time) because I had no inkling of how online dating worked. I registered, stuck an old photo (hat and sunglasses) on the registration page, wrote something, not sure what, and waited. Twenty minutes later, I had a half dozen people of the male persuasion trying to woo me. Mostly they had motorcycles and/or strings of fish, which didn’t do anything for me. Lots of hair on their faces, usually unkempt or uncombed. I don’t consider myself a snob or clean freak or intellectual elitist, but I do have some standards. That same night one of these guys, an orthopedic surgeon from Afghanistan asked me to marry him. In very clear, Gail-like terms, I said, “NO. Hell, NO” He got mad and said, “If you don’t want to get married, why are you on a dating site?” That about did me in, but then the Cowboy rode his white horse into the Facebook site and saved the day. My hero.
Well, romance blossomed, and here we are in Columbus, Montana, doing what we do, living and loving. We take care of each other, keep house, make improvements to our property, travel, boat, and have Friday night dates. We go on adventures; we are always looking for adventures. Cowboy sure knows how to turn the keys to a girl’s heart.
I’m writing books, the Maggie Monroe Series, about to publish book number three of five, Murder in the Brothel. He’s writing a book that might be called Sagebrush Vigilantes about an old cowboy/night calver who encounters the Venezuelan Mafia. Yikes! It’s coming together nicely and he’s about half way done and gaining new material every day. (Just watch the news.) He’s now a Cowboy Poet and we’ll be at the Lewistown Cowboy Poet event in August. He’s performing, I’m gonna sell a few books.
Last night we went on a date, ended up in Red Lodge, Mt, near Yellowstone Park, at a Songwriters’ Festival, listening to some young, new songwriters play their latest music. Loads of fun. We shared a Cubana Sandwich, which was yummy, enjoyed a liquid lollipop and headed back home. On the way, we stopped for another liquid lollipop at the Grizzly Bar, a local watering hole in Roscoe, Mt. It was filled with customers, conversation, and laughter. We were about to leave and a lady stopped by, “I think you are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” she said, mostly to the Cowboy. She was celebrating her 30th anniversary, out with her husband, having a few lollipops. She is from Bozeman.
We are both widowed, and those last years were hard for both of us, I in Boise, and he in Montana. When we met, we vowed that we would never let a minute be wasted. So far, so good.
We live in the beautiful Stillwater Valley, within sight of the Yellowstone River. We are surrounded by colors of the flowers, birds, and butterflies. Fields and farms. And cows. Each day we wake up, drink our coffee on the patio and watch the sun paint the Beartooths including Granite Peak, the tallest mountain in Montana, shine with its cap of snow. I break out my handy-dandy to-do list and the Cowboy says, “Put your list away. Let’s hitch the boat to the truck and go to Cooney reservoir, that clothesline will wait. And don’t forget your perfume.”
I’m not sure what the point of this blog is, maybe nothing, but I hope you enjoy it!
Gail is a freelance writer, writing books and Wrinkly Bits columns for Facebook and various newspapers.
Here is a list of her books: Cruise Time, Out of Time, Wasting Time, Flash of Time, Bits of Time, a romantic comedy series. Murder in the Parsonage, Murder Almost, Murder in the Brothel (coming in July), and two more before the end of the year. Murder in the Diocese and Murder on the Rez. Loving Again is a non-fiction about online dating, co-authored by Cowboy and me. It will make you laugh and cry at the same time! Available on Amazon or Gailcushman.com
