The Muse is Loose

Things are not always what we might imagine. Let me illustrate. Two Saturdays ago I was in Central Texas near the little town of Richland Springs. We were a couple of miles out of town on a deer lease. Our camp was beside the gravel road leading to various ranches. Lee Miller lives just down the road on the right. His wife works at one of the schools. Lee is a cowboy. No rhinestones. He is the real thing. Lee dropped by and invited us to his place that evening. There would be "goat and deer meat", as he put it. The four of us said we would come. We didn't know who else, if any, would be there. Just after dark we drove our four-wheelers down the road to Lee's place. There were trucks everywhere. Uh Oh! Not to worry, there were also kids everywhere! All but the six-month old baby had on cowboy boots....and us! The kids were running, making up games of "chase" and "tag". None had pocket games or cell phones. Womenfolks were all gathered in the huge shed where baked beans, potato salad, iced tea, and desserts were. There were grandmothers, mothers, and friends. (They all had on cowboy boots). The men were outside standing around a huge bar-b-cue pit on wheels. They all had on worn cowboy hats and boots. The aroma of that meat was out of this world. A huge fire was blazing inside a fire ring made from an old tractor tire rim. It was a great fire that had been burning for awhile. Big logs. Also, outside was a minature bull and lasso. This was not a rope from Wal Mart. This was a genuine cowboys riata, knotted properly for roping. Some of the kids would come by and rope the model bull like it was second nature to them. No one was any hurrry. All the men spoke and shook hands. Their talk was weather, grass, cattle, the market, and trucks. Ever once in a while Lee would bring a small piece of meat sliced. It was really GOOD! Finally, the kids were called in from their made-up games and we informally began to eat. I felt that night like I was back to my childhood days, in a way, without the boots and hats. It was a great evening that I will always remember and cherish. Now, the high school set weren't there. I guess they were out boot-scootin' or whatever they do. Let me tell you, "The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas".