HOM:Bob, again

Bob Hoodenpyle, the old cowboy, quit the airport and moved to Utah, probably in 1984. Don went up and helped him move, which involved pulling Bob's house back down to Utah as well as moving the contents of his workshop and and an extra vehicle or two. It was a family affair. It was a slow process, and the extra stress didn't help Bob's perennial headache. They had to stop and layover a few times so he could recover a bit. He put his trailer next to Don's house in what is now called Big Water, built an addition to it and put up a nice shop where he hung out his shingle as a gunsmith. (Bob designed the shop. This meant a lot of years of experience and analysis went into the design, Bob was a perfectionist.) ----- On one of the last trips I took with Lyn we stayed at Don's, and since Sandy & Don were working we took Lorena and Bob and drove down to Flagstaff. Lyn & Lorena went off to do girl stuff together while Bob & I wandered through the book stores. We hit one little out-of-the-way store and went in. It took me about thirty seconds to realize that I was in one of the most radically ultra-feminist new-age stores I'd ever seen but I decided to give it a once over anyway, as sometimes I found treasures in such odd places. I was digging through a tiny reference section when I heard Bob making odd noises and looked up to see him in front of the Les-Bi-Gay section. He was reacting like an old herd stallion when the wolves came circling in -- almost prancing around as he took in the rest of the store, wall-eyed and nostrils flaring, fists bunched and muscles tensed. Growling. I saw one misplaced hunting book I wanted, so I grabbed it, paid for it, and got him out of there before he had a stroke. As soon as he got out the door, he exploded. "DID YOU SEE WHAT KIND OF STORE THAT WAS!!" Since Bob even had trouble dealing with feminine equality sometimes, a place promoting feminine superiority and other New Age standards as gospel truths was a little too much for him to process. He was still mumbling about that store when he was back in his shop the next day. TBC (Me) (Blacktail Books)