It was the late 70s. I was in college and not old enough to drink legally, but looked old enough so that my ID was rarely checked. I worked as a cook in a steak house and my asshole manager, Newman, stalked into the kitchen after closing time and barked "There is some cunt asking about you in the bar. The only reason I didn't throw her out is because she is spending money. Go get rid of her and get your ass back here to clean up."
"Fuck you" I mumbled as I took off my grungy apron and went up to the bar. The "cunt" Newman was bitching about was the most fun person I know: my aunt Rhoda. She had the craziest laugh I ever heard and a throaty voice that was so gravelly it seemed phony. Her laugh was not a chuckle, but a bellow, and she made everyone around her laugh as well.
Rhoda was named for a famous nymph in Greek mythology and she took pride in knowing only part of the legend, that is, that nymphs were so sexual that they scared mortal men. They were so sexually free (not ideal for women of that time) that ancient Greek men figured they were evil at their core. Actually, they were female fairies that embodied that Cyndi Lauper hit, "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." And my Aunt Rhoda embodied that spirit. She was married, to a huge Cajun that loved to cook and sing and had a mean streak, but on a regular basis she drove up to Kansas City from Port Arthur, Texas to visit her favorite sister and go to cowboy bars on the east side of town to find a cowboy to party with for a day or two. Mom hated Rhoda's loose morals, but loved her laugh and her company, so she overlooked the sexual dalliances and Rhoda stayed with us when she visited.
I was in college in a large college town called Springfield when Rhoda was calling for me in the bar. The assistant manager, the bartender and a group of regulars were laughing so hard that they were wiping tears from their eyes when I walked into the bar. She saw me, jumped up out of the barstool and yelled across the bar: "Come here and hug me, you sexy thing!!" She crushed herself against me and hugged me so hard I could barely breathe.
"Rhoda, what are you doing here?"
"I am on my way back to visit Grandma and Grandpa and came through Springfield to see my favorite nephew!" All the guys guffawed when they could see the embarrassment on my face. I was used to her antics, and I knew her heart was in the right place, but the donkeys in the bar brayed about what they thought was taboo sexuality.
"How long will you be in Springfield?"
"I am leaving late tomorrow morning but I am going out tonight with a friend of mine and wanted to invite you to meet us. We are going to the Hitchin' Post to see if we can get lucky with a cowboy, and I thought I should buy you a beer."
"The Hunchin' Post," I thought to myself. It was a notorious pick-up joint for the drunk rednecks that lived here. Unlike the bars on the east side in KC, these were no weekend cowboys caught up in the fever of "Urban Cowboy." They were the real deal: beat up pick-up trucks, beat up girlfriends and beat up best friends if someone got their nose out of joint. "OK," I agreed, "but I can only stay for one or two, I have class tomorrow. Look for me in about an hour, I have to finish up here and shower and change clothes."
She grabbed my face in both of her hands and gave me a huge smacker on the lips. "Don't be too late, it isn't polite to leave a lady waiting."
More grunts, oinks and guffaws from the guys in the bar. I went back to the kitchen and asked Tony Zito if he would finish up for me. He agreed, and I clocked out. Newman was on his ass in the office and yelled as I walked by to hit the back door "Jack! You cocksucker! Get your ass back here, or you're fired!" He continued to rant as I left.
"Fuck you, Newman" was all I could think as I jogged to the '71 Gremlin that I called my ride. It was a piece of shit, but all I could afford. I drove home, jumped into the shower and tried to soap the scuzz away. My roommate, Jimbo, poked his head in the bathroom and asked if I was going out. When he heard I was meeting my aunt at the Hunchin' Post, he cackled his ass off and started singing in a twangy voice, "Stand by yer manβ¦"
It trailed away and then it hit me. I was not a cowboy. I had not idea how to dress or how to act, and I was asking for trouble.
As I dried off, I caught the clock out of the corner of my eye, and I was still ahead of schedule. I might actually catch her there. I was concerned that even if I risked life and limb to go into a honky-tonk, she would have already found her cowboy
du jour
and left for the night. I thought, "fuck it" and put on my usual going-out garb: sandals, corduroys and an un-ironed cotton dress shirt. I did grab my roomie's cowboy hat on the way out and drove the Gremlin POS to the Hitchin' Post.
God. Even on a Wednesday night the place was packed. I had to park on a spit of dirt and gravel in the back of the joint and fight my way into the crowded front door. There must have been two hundred cowboy hats and two hundred blonde beehive hairdos. I heard the live band pumping out "Redneck Mother" and figured it might not be all bad. I got a beer and leaned against a post in the middle of the bar and started looking for Rhoda. No dice. I couldn't find her anywhere. A bouncer walked closely by and I touched his arm and yelled above the music, "Hey, can you tell me if you have seen an older redhead wearing a bright yellow vest?"
He looked at the hand on his arm, sneered at me and asked, "You're kidding, right?"