The Duke being John Wayne, of course, and The Cline Patsy Cline...But first, earlier in the day I had lunch at the Portal Cafe with Helen, her husband Noel, and two new friends who were spending the weekend at Cave Creek Ranch. They live in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix. The husband has been following my blog and Facebook posts on Portal and rural living, and through my blog was informing him about things that I previously had no knowledge of, having lived in the big city. For instance, a major consideration here is water -- and the condition of the water really depends on the location. The quality of the water, all drawn up by wells powered by electricity (so when the power goes out, you're "up the creek"), is variable, with iron and sediment mixed in (which is probably why Faranuf has not only the standard water filter, but also a sediment filter, and water softener with 2 tanks acting as more filters). There is a water test you can get, from a company in Tucson, that tells you the quality of the water and lists what's in it. Most of the properties, if they nothing else, have a well. The prime spots are in the riparian area, particularly those close to Cave Creek Canyon, or have wide-ranging views. (I lucked out in that Faranuf not only has great views both east and west, but is a great house.) Having read my blog, my 2 new friends are aware of such minor (to me) "inconveniences" living here such as having to go as far as Douglas to get groceries. Though that might change soon, as down Portal Road there is "Sky Island Grocery", which promises to open before the end of the year (but its previous opening dates have come and gone) and will have groceries, fresh, farm-grown produce, and a deli. On coming up Portal Road from Highway 80, my friends noticed the number of "For Sale" signs along the road which had houses with acreage. I explained that, due to being in "The Beyond", from which you can see "The Back Of", many people live here seasonally -- as was the case with the previous owners of Faranuf; this was their second home --, are retired, or have their own business. And there comes a point where they have to sell for personal reasons, such as needing to be closer to modern conveniences due to, say, present or future medical needs. Or they've come to realize they can't put up with, say, snakes or spiders. In my case I thought I'd have trouble coping with them, along with wasps, as the species in the urban sections of Los Angeles tend to be the more "benign" ones, but I found out I can live with them here, though I have yet to experience the really "buggy" months of the start of monsoon season -- but I'd hitch up the trailer during the time and head off somewhere where it isn't so bad. My friend's hates all spiders -- even Daddy Longlegs. Before Helen and Noel arrive, Shane comes in to the cafe; I point him out, explaining he's a "snake wrangler" who, if you'd rather not deal with a snake or other critter you've encountered, will do the job for you. So there are ways to handle the "negatives" of living here, as my friends are discovering. And take it from me, the positives outweigh by far any negatives..
Speaking of positives, Lori, her husband Mark, my neighbor Peg and I went to the Rodeo Tavern for Pizza Night, with money going to the Wounded Warriors. And the big attractions, besides the pizza, were "John Wayne' and "Patsy Cline"; both were celebrity impersonators who'd worked in Branson, Missouri. There was a good-sized crowd there (actually, it was packed), with a long table for the astronomers and astrophysicists at Sky Village, and smaller groups such as ours. After the pizza (it was delicious, Deb) it was time for the national anthem, sung by "Patsy Cline" --
Everyone placed their hand over their hearts and doffed their cowboy or baseball caps as she sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Well, everyone but me; I did the hand-over-the-heart part, but forgot to take off my baseball cap, which my friend Mark pointed out afterwards. Oops... "Patsy" sang a long set of songs made famous by "The Cline" (which the real Patsy called herself) -- "I Fall to Pieces", "Walkin' After Midnight", "Crazy" -- written by Willie Nelson ---, "She's Got You"; mostly the songs that Patsy characterized as singing "like I hurt inside" (which is a favorite them of country-western music, anyway). AND "Patsy" sang many of Patsy's early songs featuring her yodeling -- and "Patsy" was GOOD, sometimes accompanying herself with the guitar --
Or with taped background music --
And "John Wayne", aka The Duke, was making the rounds of the tables, getting his picture taken with attendees; here he is with my friends Lori, on the left, and Peg --
They may not have looked like the real Duke and Cline, but they had their spirit. Here we asked for "Duke" to draw his gun --
"John Wayne" pointed out a fellow sitting in the back who was wearing the actual silver belt buckle worn by The Duke in the classic Western "Red River" , the breakthrough move for Montgomery Clift. There was a cardboard figure of Wayne from that movie, so the man with the buckle posed beside beside it --
There was a spot that featured "Duke" reciting "Why I Love America", accompanied by "The Cline" --
Deb, the owner of the Tavern, brought in a birthday cake for an attendee --
"Duke" danced with some of the women --
We had a blast. It was totally in keeping with this part of "The Bootheel", and the small town of Rodeo, "The Most Western Town In New Mexico". And as you can see, the entertainment was wonderful.. Afterwards, we went out to a night full of stars, with the Milky Way stretching across the sky. Life Was Good --- once again...
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