THORNEE INN

Moments like this were like Gold to EuEarl .
   They'd started taking their usual Sunday drives again, now that the Oil Embargo was over, and had decided to visit Wise County. The old Thornee Inn, which had been operating since the late 30's, had been closed & everything was on sale.
"Might find us some nice, cheap furnishin's !", KC had said.
"Nice maybe," EuEarl had responded, smiling."But hardly cheap. That's Runaway Bay Country !!"
The Thornee Inn had been a popular , though small, hotel for years & was still in very good condition .If not a 4 star establishment, it had certainly ranked above a 2 for most of it's existence ! But the opening of the new highway, plus DFW Airport, had sent reservations plummeting in the past year or so.
There hadn't been a lot of "furnishin's" left to choose from, by the time they'd got there, as the sale had started the previous Friday, but KC was thrilled just to walk through the building. EuEarl smiled inwardly at how impressed KC was with the place. "I loved pret' near everythang 'bout rodeoin',", KC said, "But I'd'a liked, just once, stayin' in a place like this 'stead my lil ol' Teardrop Camper !" .
  But what had really charmed KC & brought forward his inner kid, was an alcove, off the main hallway, where several milk crates  filled with old LPs had been stored ! Like a child on Christmas morning, KC had swooped down on them & tore through the various crates !
"Look'a these, EuEarl ! Sarah Vaughan, Frankie Lane, Rosemary Clooney, the Four Aces ! Here's a Nat 'King' Cole ! Don Cornell &....Lookit this'n ! GOGI GRANT !! I near 'bouts f'got about her ! They us'ta play "WAYWARD WIND" on the radio all'a time back when I first started cowboyin' ! And lookey here. They's only $5 a crate !!" "
"Those have gotta be over twenty years old, babe ! They're probably pretty scratched up !"
KC was undaunted. "That don't matter. We'll have the covers, at least !"
EuEarl rifled through his wallet for a bit, then, assured they could cover it, said," I didn't know you liked Classic Pop, KC. You're usually tuned to Porter Wagoner, Kitty Wells & those Grand Old Op'ry kinda stations." KC had stacked three crates atop one another & was attempting to lift them. EuEarl tapped him on the shoulder, shook his head & lifted the top two crates himself. " Don'cha like Country/Western no more ?"
"Sure I do ! But I ain't just likin'one thang all'a time !"
That was the Gold Moment ! That Pure KC way his Cowboy Man had of expressing himself & the joy he could find in so many things that EuEarl himself , somewhat cynically, often took in his stride.And he'd be reminded, as if he ever needed reminding, just why he was so in Love with his guy !
It made for a Perfect Day ! And to think, initially, EuEarl hadn't even wanted to go down Thornee road...
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"Sometimes, inappropriate fun is the MOST FUN!..."
BRAVE MEN DO now available in ebook or softcover form. Order yours today !! .

Racing The Clock

"NO TIME !!!"
At least that's what the wall clock seemed to be yelling out at him !
"Y'know, for once, it'd be nice to get someplace on time, for a change !", EuEarl said exasperatedly, as he set up the ironing board ! Usually Patience itself, at the moment EuEarl was struggling to tamp down his growing agitation ! Their nephew Q-Bubba had given them two tickets he'd gotten to the Allenvale University Theater for the 25th Anniversary screening of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Thursday night! Georges Guetary himself was scheduled to be there !  In Person !! Now, the only thing EuEarl loved more than his hair or KC was Golden Era Hollywood films !! However, the screening was set to begin at 7:30 that evening & as Fate would have it, they'd gotten off work late.
Typically, their Thursday route, Euwalla- Allenvale-Eustace/Gun Barrel then back, would've been over & done by 5pm ! But, this morning, when they'd arrived at R.Tex Butane, their usual tanker truck wouldn't start & they'd had to sign out a standby & wait for it's tank to be filled. Then, once they were finally on the road, about a mile or so south of Kemp, they discovered that a 5 mile stretch of Hwy175 was shut down to single lanes, both ways !
EuEarl's "G'DAMMIT !!!" could've been heard all the way to Athens !
By the time they'd finally gotten back to the RTex depot, it was a quarter after six !
EuEarl had floor'd the pedal all the way home, practically jumping out of the truck before even shifting it into Park !
 KC couldn't help but be amused ! While EuEarl had sprinted through a shower, shave & brushing  his teeth, ( Even spending less than 5 minutes on his hair !! ) KC himself had done those exact same things over the sink, as he'd done a million times or more back in his rodeo days, and was now spic, span & ready to go ! As he stood watching EuEarl's fevered ironing, KC realized he was hungry ! He walked over to the cupboard.,opened it & took out a couple of plastic zip-top sandwich bags. Then, opening the adjoining cupboard, he filled both bags from the box of Sugar Crispies cereal there. They'd make a nice lil quick snack, 'cause, "Ain't gon' be stopping at no Dairy Queen's fer supper beforehand, that's fer sure !" , he thought to himself . For while it would only take them 15 minutes to drive over to Allenvale U., especially if EuEarl drove ( It wasn't even 7pm, yet. ), having also seen how lovingly sweet EuEarl's slacks encased his butt cheeks, KC had divined that they were about to lose at least another 10 minutes !!
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"Sometimes, inappropriate fun is the MOST FUN!..."
BRAVE MEN DO now available in ebook or softcover form. Order yours today !!