On A Quest to Find Cowboy Ground Zero

April 6, 2013
  My wife of 33 years, Kathy Radina, dragged me to Spain against my will and against all that I find interesting—or fun. Or, so I thought.

  In the end, she makes me realize how fortunate I am to know her. She makes me lie down in Extremadura pastures where the very first threads of Cowboy life began. She books me into paradors I don't care to stay in, but once I'm there i'm enthralled beyond belief. She doesn't force me to drink the local wine, but I do that on my own. All this makes me think of Waylon Jennings. Why?

"The devil made me do it the first time. The second time I did it on my own."
—Waylon Jennings

Kathy and I left Sevilla, Spain this afternoon, heading north. I am on a quest to find Ground Zero of Cowboy Culture. I'm at Zafra, staying in a Parador, which I sense is close, but we'll see tomorrow.

"Your proposed project is 'vain, impracticable, and resting on grounds too weak to merit the support of the government.'"
—The Spanish government responding to Christopher Columbus's proposed mission to find a route to India via the Atlantic Ocean