Crazy Cowgirls

Howdy Cowboys and Cowgals,

Sorry about the hiatus... I was at a li'l old wedding down in Crawford, Texas this past weekend. I'd tell you more but the press has put a gag order on me... you figure it out. Here's a clue... I did get to arrive via Airforce One!!

So last I left off regaling you with tales of my western adventure I told you all about Bruce Walker, father of the bride and ex secretary of state. Bruce is quite the character if you can recall but I'll tell ya... his daughter, Daisy, is just as loony. I mean, I just didn't see the connection between Randy and Daisy in the beginning. Randy was a quiet, sweet Walmart manager whose true passion was dancing and Daisy was a true western "spitfire", at least that's what Tony, the chauffeur, told me. Among other things Tony told me was that Daisy used to have a thing with Luke Cassidy, great grandkid of Butch and a certified badass, not to mention outlaw. Luke got caught throwing rodeos and is now biding his time in the state penitentiary where, it is rumored, Daisy has been known to show up riding Spitfire, her horse. I told you cowboys really exist.

Anyway, suffice it to say that I wasn't seeing the draw of Daisy to Randy. Daisy liked to drink beer, belch in publc and take off for days at a time, unannounced, on Spitfire, to go pick flowers by the Rio Grande. And as far as I could see, the only thing Randy liked to do was to dance and stare at Daisy with a dreamy, whimsical look in his eye like he was a lovesick puppy. Randy was a super nice guy but, even though I hate to say it, he looked like sort of a wuss next to Daisy. Daisy exuded energy, not to mention a touch of mental instability, but in the end it turned out to be Daisy who taught me a thing or two about love. I can rant on and on at weddings about what makes a marriage tick, about what the secrets to sustaining love are, on the unique details of a relationship, but the truth of the matter is I don't practice what I preach. I don't swallow my own medicine. I don't listen to what I say... I merely craft the words. Well, Daisy changed all that for me. Even though Daisy was as different as night is to day from Randy, and even though she didn't love him exactly in the same way that he loved her, she did love him. As Daisy put it, "I might take off for three days on Spitfire but I'd always come back, eventually. I'd always come back. Now, aint that love?" And I have to ask, isn't it? It might be of an unconventional nature, it might require Randy to make more of a compromise or effort in the relationship than Daisy, but if it worked for them then who was I to argue?

And then I thought of Jack. My Jack. And I realized that I was nothing more than a coward. Daisy still retained who she was but still lived up to her honor and obligation... not that she owed anyone anything but she did love Randy, whereas I had runaway, literally, at the alter because I didn't want to risk anything for love. But that's just the thing I've learned, in matters of love, it is not only recommended but necessary to risk things, and that's what makes it all the sweeter in the end. As the saying goes, "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and I've come to learn firsthand that it's true.

Anyway, that's it for my western adventure in Jackson Hole. It still remains one of my top travel destinations and every time I go, I can't help but do a two step or twirl out on the dance floor. I must have a little cowgirl in me afterall, among other things. Oh, and you'll be happy to know that I earned a pair of spurs myself. Turns out I made quite an impression on Bruce Walker afterall. I mean, he is the one who hooked me up with the White House in the first place. That's it for now. To discover how else my feelings for Jack changed since JH, stay tuned. Although I can't promise when I'll write again, I can promise that I will (at some point). Until then... cheers.