Marriage proposals

You do not have to live very long to find out that if you loan out a tool to a friend, they will use it until such time you go over and take it back.
The same held true back in the day when people had livestock. When a new baby was born, it was common for the new parents to borrow a milk cow. For the original owner, getting it back was always part of the problem.
But regardless of the situation it’s never a bad thing to have friends with lots of stuff as you never know when you will need it and mostly they never miss it anyway. And not having to buy it or own it yourself saves a lot of money, too.
My friend Bill recently showed up here in Colorful Colorado and in the midst of helping Ol’ Dutch package up elk steaks, Bill casually mentioned that he is getting married.
News like that isn’t something you just drop at a butchering party but it did explain why he had to rush home so quickly during the height of the aspen leaves turning.
Now Ol’ Dutch has been around weddings a long, long time since my father is a minister going on neigh 70 years. I attended many a ceremony of people unknown since we didn’t have a baby sitter and, consequently, it has force me to swear off weddings, baptisms and funerals except in dire situations.
I went to my own wedding and, as it turns out, I should have skipped that one, too. But, talking to Bill got me to thinking, which is always dangerous according to Miss Trixie.
You see Miss Trixie and I are going on six wonderful blissful years of cohabitation without the bother of ministerial guidance in the wedding department. Most of those preachers encouraging us to tie the knot are just wanting that ceremony fee that goes along with the words. And something about the phrase “tying the knot” reminds Ol’ Dutch of a necktie party in the Old West, aka a hanging. Not a good mental image to start a marriage but probably pretty realistic.
Ol’ Dutch is not without sentimental emotions however and I did have a weak moment at a romantic dinner at the local Dairy Queen when I slipped up and asked Miss Trixie to marry me.
I know, I know that story conjures up such romantic pictures in the women readers’ minds they can barely contain themselves but some women like Trixie are just lucky, I guess.
Seeing her chance to finally grab a handsome man or at least one with a pension she said yes but being the California girl she is, has refused to take that next step.  So we remain happy, committed and engaged.
There is something final about getting married that changes the entire game.
I overhead two pastors talking about marriage and they agreed that women generally want a house and men want sex. That’s about it I guess and the main reason guys are usually disappointed as they find themselves mainly shopping for home furnishings.
Ol’ Dutch knows that if you date a woman long enough, most will put up with the shenanigans of a long relationship but sooner or later if the man does not come through with a ring, she will finally force the issue and ask him.
It is at this point that a vital decision must be made by the male part in this partnership and if he says “no” he might as well figure his days are numbered. Because she is gonna take back her tools and her cow and be off to greener pastures.
So I figure Bill most likely reached the end of the loaner program with his intended and is now headed down the aisle of eternal bliss. When I asked him if he was coming back next summer he said he had to defer to her wishes and I knew then he had bought his own cow.
Best wishes to my friend in his new life with his new wife. As for me and Miss Trixie, God bless the California part of her that lets me borrow her tools and milk her cow.

Kevin Kirkpatrick and his Yorkie, Cooper, fish, hunt, ATV or hike daily. His email is [email protected]. Additional news can be found at www.troutrepublic.com or on Twitter at TroutRepublic.