What'cha Gonna Do With a Cowboy (Part Deaux)

By Chris Ledoux

(Garth Brooks)

I can see you got your eye on this old cowboy,

And I can tell you've never had one for your own,

Or you've never been around one,

Now you're thinkin that you've found one,

Well it might be kinda fun to take him home.

You giggle every time that I say yes ma'am

And I get this feelin if I held you tight,

You'd be seein' his and hers,

Buckles boots and spurs,

But that's a feelin' you'll get over overnight.

Cause whatcha gonna do with a cowboy

When that old rooster crows at dawn,

When he's lyin' there instead,

Of getttin out of bed

And puttin on his boots and gettin gone,

What you gonna do when he says honey

I've got half a mind to stay,

What you gonna do with a cowboy,

When he don't saddle up and ride away.

You can see it takes a special kinda woman

To put up with the life a cowboy leads,

Cause his boots are always muddy,

And his beer drinkin' buddies

Will camp out on your couch and never leave,

Don't even start to think you're gonna change him,

You'd be better off to try and rope the wind,

What you see is what he's got,

And he can't be what he's not

And honey you can't hide him from your friends.

That song pretty well sums up my courtship and marriage to my husband. He's a high school mathematics teacher and former Navy Top Gun graduate.

He was an F14 RIO (think "Goose" in Top Gun), Annapolis graduate, who retired after 10 years as a Lieutenant in the Navy to raise his son as a single parent. He hadn't exactly led a sheltered or boring life. Well, neither had I. Heh.

I digress.

My first Hooterville Holler was about Waldo The Wonder Horse. The late Waldo The Wonder Horse ... and a few little remarks about his former girlfriend who allegedly was shooting his .44 at his ranch and some of his friends had to run out there and disarm her before Paul could return home.

Obviously his taste in women ran to the wild side, or at least they did then.

Well, heck! I was a pretty good shot myself and my daddy was a retired Navy Chief (and Lt's KNOW that Chiefs run the Navy), so I was in good shape. Besides, my dad had known Paul for years before I met him and dad liked Paul.

So, armed with my first Hooterville Holler, I headed up to the desert for some dancing and hanging out with my dad, sister and the Outlaws, er, Outriders.

I got there first and showed my writings to my sister and Joe, the bartender. He shook his head and laughed and watched the door for Paul and his side-kick, Lloyd to arrive. Pretty soon, in they came. They stood at the bar and ordered Jack Daniels and Joe pointed to my table and told Paul I wanted to show him something. At that moment, I thought about tearing up my little story and going out the back door, but it was too late. He was walking to my table.

To be continued...