Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Cowboy

Sometimes of an evening when the work day is done and when the foot traffic between the several bars in my neighborhood is at its peak, filled with Happy Hour revelers, I will pour a mug of coffee, pull up a chair and watch the comings and goings on my street.  It is a great time for people watching.

This particular evening found me watching the groups of ladies, having been released from their office cubicles, strolling down the street in a cloud of perfume and giggles.

Along came the office girl's counterparts, having ditched the suit coats but retaining white shirts and ties, trying to impress each other with the deals they had put together at work that day.

The construction workers, retail sales people and fast food workers came in, all in good moods, happy to be released from whatever jobs they held.  Many had husbands / wives / boyfriends / girlfriends in tow, all determined to create a memorable 'partay.'

Half a dozen Harleys lined up at the curb across the street.  Their riders were all decked out in leather and dew rags.  They looked tough.  They looked mean.  And because I recognized a couple of them, I knew they would go back to their jobs at the local grocery or accounting firm in the morning.

And then I saw him.  Strolling down the alley across the street, headed for the bar next door.  He wore starched Levis, a plaid western style shirt and what looked like brand spanking new cowboy boots.  I'm not sure he was quite used to walking in boots with heels, for he sort of listed a bit to the left every now and then.

But the hat.  That magnificent white cowboy hat.  The hat that had been worked and manipulated to create just the right effect.  The hat that sat at a rakish angle on his head.  The hat that was bigger than the one worn by Hoss Cartwright in 'Bonanza.'

Keep in mind that there are no working ranches within several hundred miles in any direction.  This is farm country with Holstein milk cows and fields of corn and soybeans.  We have horses, but they are either used as kiddie rides at the apple orchards locally or they are the subject of bets placed at the track on the other side of town.

And yet, there he was  Doing his best impression of a cowboy.  And all I could think of was...

All hat - no cattle.

17 comments:

  1. {gigglesnort!} Nicely done, ma'am. :)

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    1. Thank you, Rev. Paul. Sometimes my neighborhood is more fun than the local zoo.

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  2. Hahaa!! That sounds like some excellent people watching entertainment!

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    1. There are some wonderful people watching opportunities, what with 5 bars within a two block area. Luckily, the bars are more the hometown pub variety so fights and such are rare.

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    1. Realist, Gorges. That poor guy likely wouldn't know how to ride, rope or shoot, but if the opportunity ever presented itself, he was ready!

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  4. Nice writing - I can picture the people.

    My Dad loved to people watch. His favorite spot was at the airport. We'd sit together and makeup stories about the people we were watching.

    Just in from the garden. Harvested my garlic (10 heads) and did some weeding. It's supposed to be record breaking heat for us today - in the 90s with some humidity. Both the heat and humidity are rare here. The smoke from the forest fires here and in WA State has settled in as well. I was at the garden early in the morning and am tucked inside my apartment for the rest of the day. Cheers, SJ

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    1. SJ...People watching is one of my favorite pastimes. Like you and your Dad, I love to let my imagination run wild and make up stories for the people I see...especially those who look a bit eccentric. It is pretty quiet here in my neighborhood during the week, but on the weekends I have a front row balcony seat for the show.

      Tucked inside our apartments is a good place to be on these hot and humid days The weather guessers tell us that we should expect cooler weather the rest of the week. Works for me. :)

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  5. Maybe he's making up for short comings

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    1. Or maybe he just always wanted to be a cowboy. :)

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  6. Hysterically funny and great writing as well! Being from farm country, we have used the phrase 'big hat, no cattle' for years. I guess I didn't realize others did as well. So glad you have returned! CWfromIowa

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    1. Thanks CW...Sometimes a person sees something that makes the writing easy. This guy was one of those.

      I have heard the phrase 'all hat - no cattle' before, but here the phrases 'all talk - no action' and 'all foam - no beer' are more common.

      My mini vacation was good, but it is nice to be back chatting with friends.

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  7. Replies
    1. Thank you, BW...Your opinion means alot to me.

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    2. I struggle to write like this. Feel free to post more like this.

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    3. BW...Writing is sometimes a struggle for me, too. Once in awhile I see something like that cowboy and then it pretty much writes itself.

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  8. I love that description of the street - it's for all the world like the description of a Sunday afternoon people-watching from a balcony by Alvert Camus in "The Outsider". Great stuff!

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