geodeticman.5
12-21-2009, 10:09 AM
Hi everbuddy who reads this ! Still on limited time on borrowed PC; I caught up with PM's and took Peter-Bro10's 'test' in ....uhh...testforum, and failed miserably. But - ... my spirits are up; I am going, with my mother in tow, down to where my daughter Mamie and my ....uhm.... <wince> 'Son-In-Law' moved to and took-up employment, on a ranch in Conejos,Co. More on that in a moment. Still thinking about the 'hard for both' father-in-law/son-in-law dynamics. I keep remembering my own father-in-law when I consider my own father-liness as-yet-to-develop deep respect for the young man, who couldn't find his hind-end with a six-man search party. Or, even better, I heard a funnier one last night on T.V. "He couldn't slap his [hind end] with both hands at once !" .
He's not the sharpest tool in the box; but it took quite a few decades to earn my father-in-law's respect myself; but then he went senile on me, and thought I was the 'Man From U.N.C.L.E' or something/enemy spy. Couldn't win. He, after that turn of events, refused to shake hands with me, I guess he thought I would implant a bar-code with the number of the beast or something when we shook, lol. Aww my son-in-law's OK.....<sigh>, I guess its because I only have one child in Mamie. I just remember myself at his age....working notably harder. Its surely all in my head.
The ranch...Mamie and Chuck are tackling shared management of a 24-stall barn, 12 wrangler,15 horse, cabins to-rent, and a great atmospheric main lodge Dude Ranch on the Conejos River. Any fly-fishermen out there that travel to well known dunks seem to speak highly of it. Its in the brochure, so it has to be true. Mamie, with her background in retail womens higher-end clothes-store management including a bridal shop, will run the conversion in the main lodge to a B & B repleat with fixtures for wedding receptions, etc. Also, they'll add steak-fry and breakfast rides to-boot in Colorado's 2-and-a-half-season trail ride-ability.
Chuck, my son-in-law, will manage the wranglers. That ought to be...interesting.... He's never ridden, knows nothing of horses or duct-tape and bailing-wire makeshift veterinary practice, or how to lasso-rope a horse... (I've only done it once, successfully, to a horse on the run). The reason that comes to mind for make-do ranch-handing is that they are in a valley with with a venturi-effect; not unlike Rawlins,Wyoming - same but famous problem there. The snow, when a mild breeze blows, snakes around and whips and whirls the snow into the choke entrance to the valley, and there's only one way out, unless you take climbing lessons - and my days of that are over lol.
Point being - the valley has proven true to the previous manager's admonishments to choke up with snow and close-in the valley. Not getting out for several days is not uncommon it is said. My wife and I experienced this in Rawlins on our way back home from our honeymoon in 1980. We'd gone to Jackson Hole, the Tetons, and the edge of Yellowstone. in later years we went several times to Yellowstone on summer vacation.
Anyway... coming back from an October wedding's honeymoon, the snow we were warned of did fall and immediately shut down I-80 I believe it was, right in the less-than-burgeoning town of Rawlins.
The folks ahead of us got the last room in town. We wound-up spending the night in the community center, along with maybe 100 other people. All that was OK for awhile; I'd brought sleeping bags and foam therma-rests. So, hoping no idiot would say something in poor taste or embarrasing to my blushing bride; we said nothing of being newly-weds. We forgot about the car being at about 1/2 mast of its 'just-married' start-of trip decorations, and midnight chivaree with pots-and-pans outside the Fort Collins Holiday Inn, right by the Stockyards back then. Bad smell, poor planning for our first night out on the road. Couldn't hear the chivaree, though ha ha. Well, Rawlins,Wyoming was our last night out to home.
So, naturally, a few drunk likely late Elk-season hunters must have seen our decorations. They staggered into the community hall, and at the door slurred "show hoo ishit that jusht got hitched ?" Marry pulled the covers up farther over her face,blushing pink; silent. I non-chalantly rested my head on my crossed arms, trying to look disinterested. The hunters inadvisably tried to walk around; looking at each couple paired off. They burped and hiccupped atmosphericly; I only wished I could be just like them at that moment. Could I possibly have provided a better last night on the road for my beautiful wife?
The hunters, by rather uncertain process of elimination, scanned around as older men just shook their heads and muttered semi-vile criticisms of the charming and most welcome additions to the hall. I guess I must have looked like the cat that drank the cream, or whatever that old folksy witicism is. The hunters yellowed and rather incoherent random eye movement's gaze landed squarely on Merry and I.
I heard Merry quietly whisper "oh please, God, noooo". Perhaps I even looked proud of myself or something; who knows. The one in the Cabella's-style orange vest, field-worn dusty clothing with camo everything and rather battered and mashed-up pork-pie hat, instantly identifying him in sum total as a man of discerning sartorial splendor, and when he took his hat off while staring first at me, then Merry, displayed his slightly unsteady-self in a bow to Merry such as a Royal Court Page would introduce himself with a swoosh of the hat that spoke of inimitable charm and unparallelled good taste. His hair looked to be about, oh I don't know, maybe a year since he washed it. one expects such things coming out of the bush, but not when performing such a bow to Merry as he was; his hair was a dashing rat's-nest of tonsourial elegance, and rakish good looks with the natural part clearly 1" above one ear and combed over to the other.
I knew it was coming, as did Merry; "Sho... you two musht be the NEWLY-WED COUPLE from the decorated Wagoneer outside, aren't ya, a-hee-hee-hee-haw..." (could he have said ANY louder ?) then he looked more puzzled than I suspect he normally did and added to polish it off: "shay! what are you two? - twelve or , noooo - thirteen, huh?". Merry slid under the covers at the tentative laughter here and there around the hall. I didn't know whether to take his gun away from him and shoot him , or myself for ruining our honeymoon, or so I thought.
Then his slightly less eloquent companion said in conspiratorial fashion "now you two be good-uns, allrighty ?" His eyes, full of myrth, merriment, gunpowder and beer twinkled, remembering back when...well, nevermind.
They walked away when various comments such as "shut up and lie down", and "give 'em a break, will ya?" "We all know who they were before you two geniuses came in anyway, so go to sleep !" Merry totally disappeared in the sleeping bag at this, while I raised my arms and flexed my biceps, since Merry couldn't see I figured, brandishing my alpha-male conquest. Merry wapped me in my side. Just as we were settling in to actualy go to sleep, the elderly couple of, perhaps, late-70's beside us piped-up with the cap on the evening's embarrassment "don't you two young people do anything we wouldn't do" tee hee hee..... now that was funny.. What a trip lol. The fondest of memories, in truth....
OK so I'm looking forward immensely to the Colorado Ranch-style Christmas in the Western-slope deep snow. I sorta hope we get snowed in, except I'd be tethered to the stationary oxygen concentrator machine until we left....
Should be a great time all-in-all, and one for the books. I only wish Merry could be there and see it all.
I hope you all have the very Merriest of Christmases, and Happiest of Holidays
I'll try and sit down to this computer before New Year's.
So, I miss y'all, and look forward to being fully back on line when life gets less complicated. I've read various accounts of several corfidites battling any number of things, I surely know I am not alone, and in many ways I am certainly fortunate. You guys take care; and I hope you enjoyed the Rawlin's story for laughs.
Warmest regards for the Holidays,
He's not the sharpest tool in the box; but it took quite a few decades to earn my father-in-law's respect myself; but then he went senile on me, and thought I was the 'Man From U.N.C.L.E' or something/enemy spy. Couldn't win. He, after that turn of events, refused to shake hands with me, I guess he thought I would implant a bar-code with the number of the beast or something when we shook, lol. Aww my son-in-law's OK.....<sigh>, I guess its because I only have one child in Mamie. I just remember myself at his age....working notably harder. Its surely all in my head.
The ranch...Mamie and Chuck are tackling shared management of a 24-stall barn, 12 wrangler,15 horse, cabins to-rent, and a great atmospheric main lodge Dude Ranch on the Conejos River. Any fly-fishermen out there that travel to well known dunks seem to speak highly of it. Its in the brochure, so it has to be true. Mamie, with her background in retail womens higher-end clothes-store management including a bridal shop, will run the conversion in the main lodge to a B & B repleat with fixtures for wedding receptions, etc. Also, they'll add steak-fry and breakfast rides to-boot in Colorado's 2-and-a-half-season trail ride-ability.
Chuck, my son-in-law, will manage the wranglers. That ought to be...interesting.... He's never ridden, knows nothing of horses or duct-tape and bailing-wire makeshift veterinary practice, or how to lasso-rope a horse... (I've only done it once, successfully, to a horse on the run). The reason that comes to mind for make-do ranch-handing is that they are in a valley with with a venturi-effect; not unlike Rawlins,Wyoming - same but famous problem there. The snow, when a mild breeze blows, snakes around and whips and whirls the snow into the choke entrance to the valley, and there's only one way out, unless you take climbing lessons - and my days of that are over lol.
Point being - the valley has proven true to the previous manager's admonishments to choke up with snow and close-in the valley. Not getting out for several days is not uncommon it is said. My wife and I experienced this in Rawlins on our way back home from our honeymoon in 1980. We'd gone to Jackson Hole, the Tetons, and the edge of Yellowstone. in later years we went several times to Yellowstone on summer vacation.
Anyway... coming back from an October wedding's honeymoon, the snow we were warned of did fall and immediately shut down I-80 I believe it was, right in the less-than-burgeoning town of Rawlins.
The folks ahead of us got the last room in town. We wound-up spending the night in the community center, along with maybe 100 other people. All that was OK for awhile; I'd brought sleeping bags and foam therma-rests. So, hoping no idiot would say something in poor taste or embarrasing to my blushing bride; we said nothing of being newly-weds. We forgot about the car being at about 1/2 mast of its 'just-married' start-of trip decorations, and midnight chivaree with pots-and-pans outside the Fort Collins Holiday Inn, right by the Stockyards back then. Bad smell, poor planning for our first night out on the road. Couldn't hear the chivaree, though ha ha. Well, Rawlins,Wyoming was our last night out to home.
So, naturally, a few drunk likely late Elk-season hunters must have seen our decorations. They staggered into the community hall, and at the door slurred "show hoo ishit that jusht got hitched ?" Marry pulled the covers up farther over her face,blushing pink; silent. I non-chalantly rested my head on my crossed arms, trying to look disinterested. The hunters inadvisably tried to walk around; looking at each couple paired off. They burped and hiccupped atmosphericly; I only wished I could be just like them at that moment. Could I possibly have provided a better last night on the road for my beautiful wife?
The hunters, by rather uncertain process of elimination, scanned around as older men just shook their heads and muttered semi-vile criticisms of the charming and most welcome additions to the hall. I guess I must have looked like the cat that drank the cream, or whatever that old folksy witicism is. The hunters yellowed and rather incoherent random eye movement's gaze landed squarely on Merry and I.
I heard Merry quietly whisper "oh please, God, noooo". Perhaps I even looked proud of myself or something; who knows. The one in the Cabella's-style orange vest, field-worn dusty clothing with camo everything and rather battered and mashed-up pork-pie hat, instantly identifying him in sum total as a man of discerning sartorial splendor, and when he took his hat off while staring first at me, then Merry, displayed his slightly unsteady-self in a bow to Merry such as a Royal Court Page would introduce himself with a swoosh of the hat that spoke of inimitable charm and unparallelled good taste. His hair looked to be about, oh I don't know, maybe a year since he washed it. one expects such things coming out of the bush, but not when performing such a bow to Merry as he was; his hair was a dashing rat's-nest of tonsourial elegance, and rakish good looks with the natural part clearly 1" above one ear and combed over to the other.
I knew it was coming, as did Merry; "Sho... you two musht be the NEWLY-WED COUPLE from the decorated Wagoneer outside, aren't ya, a-hee-hee-hee-haw..." (could he have said ANY louder ?) then he looked more puzzled than I suspect he normally did and added to polish it off: "shay! what are you two? - twelve or , noooo - thirteen, huh?". Merry slid under the covers at the tentative laughter here and there around the hall. I didn't know whether to take his gun away from him and shoot him , or myself for ruining our honeymoon, or so I thought.
Then his slightly less eloquent companion said in conspiratorial fashion "now you two be good-uns, allrighty ?" His eyes, full of myrth, merriment, gunpowder and beer twinkled, remembering back when...well, nevermind.
They walked away when various comments such as "shut up and lie down", and "give 'em a break, will ya?" "We all know who they were before you two geniuses came in anyway, so go to sleep !" Merry totally disappeared in the sleeping bag at this, while I raised my arms and flexed my biceps, since Merry couldn't see I figured, brandishing my alpha-male conquest. Merry wapped me in my side. Just as we were settling in to actualy go to sleep, the elderly couple of, perhaps, late-70's beside us piped-up with the cap on the evening's embarrassment "don't you two young people do anything we wouldn't do" tee hee hee..... now that was funny.. What a trip lol. The fondest of memories, in truth....
OK so I'm looking forward immensely to the Colorado Ranch-style Christmas in the Western-slope deep snow. I sorta hope we get snowed in, except I'd be tethered to the stationary oxygen concentrator machine until we left....
Should be a great time all-in-all, and one for the books. I only wish Merry could be there and see it all.
I hope you all have the very Merriest of Christmases, and Happiest of Holidays
I'll try and sit down to this computer before New Year's.
So, I miss y'all, and look forward to being fully back on line when life gets less complicated. I've read various accounts of several corfidites battling any number of things, I surely know I am not alone, and in many ways I am certainly fortunate. You guys take care; and I hope you enjoyed the Rawlin's story for laughs.
Warmest regards for the Holidays,