Just when I thought my trip was starting to come to an end, that I had seen all there is to be seen (for now), trying to put myself in a head space ready for home, adventure pops its head once again. After sadly leaving Jackson, WY and missing out on the county fair, I drove for six hours to Laramie, WY to meet a friend I had met on the plane from Israel more than a year ago and found out that she was going to Israel for 10 months to live in Netanya. “Netanya?” I asked her trying to hide my personal mortification from the sound of the name, “WTF are you going to do there for 10 months??”, I think the fuck kinda gave away what I truly thought of Netanya. But she explained, and we talked for a while, and I explained Israel to the dissatisfaction of most Israeli’s, I would believe. “Israel is a little rough on the skin, almost abrasive” I tried to explain to her, semi understanding what she was getting herself into, coming from a small town, “most people in the States don’t even know where Wyoming is, let alone Laramie” she retaliated with a satisfactory explanation of the mentality of a small town in the west. We talked about culture, about kids in Israel and then about hiking trails and places she must see. “Once you introduce yourself as American, and speak with your American accent, the kids will fall at your feet” I reassured her, “don’t worry about that part”. I’m not sure if I did a good job on representing Israel properly, but I was aiming for her to be prepared and realistic, more than full of the shit her program had pumped her with. What can I say, when’s the last time you heard about a kid throwing a chair at a teacher in Netanya, well I think they stopped reporting about it in the news because it became so common…
From there to a quick stop in Cheyenne, WY for the biggest Rodeo in the world. Didn’t really think I’d go in until someone asked me if I wanted tickets for 10$ instead of 25$. Ok. Rodeo. Wow. At first I was making fun of them, the whole Cowboy shebang going on outside, putting on a show for the tourists. But I guess when you see a dude ride a bull, or even better a wild stallion without a saddle, for more than 8 seconds, I was truly impressed. Then I fell in love. Well, I fell in love with a new fantasy, but it was close enough. Sammy Joe, a cowgirl from Utopia, Texas, what more could I ask for in a girl?? Strong willed, redhead with freckles and beautiful features (or at least what I could see from 150 yards away) and the best part was that she could barrel race like a motherfucker. The truth is that I never knew what barrel racing was until Sammy Joe came out riding on her horse at full speed, charging the barrels and turning real fast. She had the best time of all the Cowgirls. Ahh, my Sammy Joe. My futile attempts to find her after the Rodeo were at first disappointing, but in hindsight I’m glad because now Sammy Joe can stay an image of perfection. I’m pretty sure that seeing her up close and talking to her would have to ruined it for me. I left Cheyenne, and thought about her all the way to Boulder, CO. (it’s not a long drive).
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