I was once  a little kid.  I had hopes.  I had dreams. Well, I guess I still do.  Anyhow, yesterday was my birthday and my wife, being a kind and benevolent wife, sought to fulfill one of my childhood dreams.  I have wanted a pair of cowboy boots since I was in the 2nd grade.  I loved the pointy toes and the fancy stitching and I especially liked boots made out of exotic and wild creatures.  Boots were never terribly practical though, not being a cowboy.

Just so you don’t think I was deprived as a child, I’ll tell you another childhood dream that was fulfilled…I wanted calf-high green gumboots and by golly, I had green gumboots as a kid.  I wore them all day, every day in school.  But still, I longed for cowboy boots.

Fast forward 30-some years and we were driving around in Ripley, WV.  We saw a sign that said something like, “Warren, buy cowboy boots here”…something like that.  So, on one trip, Emily took me there to get me some boots for my birthday.  I searched and searched and found that they basically had size 8 boots…that’s about it…only size 8.  I wear size 10.  I thought my dreams were about to be crushed as we stumbled out into the parking lot.  I gazed across the valley and to what did my wondering eyes appear but a Tractor Supply store with a sign for John Deere.

Oh, I danced a little bit on the inside (as I never dance on the outside…not in public anyhow) and I skipped down the hill and across the highway to TSC. Well, not really, but in my bliss, I sort of forget the actual driving part.  I walked in the and the only thing I saw was the boot section…they had sizes other than size 8!  Emily claims I was as bad as shopping with a woman which is really pretty funny when you consider it.  I tried on many boots and finally decided on a pair.

And just when I thought my life was complete, I spotted a Carhartt jacket on sale.  Could my life get any better?  I think not!