Midnight's Cowboy Boots
submitted by Dar on the fourth anniversary of His death
It was the week of Mid's last birthday and we made plans to go out of town for a few days and get away from Pinellas County. I was taking my very first vacation in years. Mid always told me, "YOU American woman...work too hard" in His Sacho Satram voice.
Mid was never one to be very materialistic but I asked Him what He wanted. He told me He always dreamed of having a pair of cowboy boots that had some kind of authentic, western logo on them. Ironically, one of Mid's songs has sort of a 'country sound' to it...as He sings about "silver spurs on my boots." Before we tried any of the high dollar stores, I suggested we go to the Goodwill and look around first. When we arrived at the Goodwill, I pointed to where the men's shoes were and told Him to go see what they have and I'd meet up with Him in a little while.
The Goodwill off Central Ave in St. Pete has always been one of my favourite places to shop because there are sooo many unimaginable bargains and good finds there, some with their original price tags still on them. No more than 10 minutes after we arrived, Mid came looking for me with a pair of leather tanned, pointed toe cowboy boots in His hands, with an original tag of $165.00 only selling for $12, the marked down price. (It's probably best to say that someone rec'd these as a gift and threw them out...comparable to the "old tie for Father's Day' stint)... They also had an aquamarine cactus logo imbedded on both sides and we tried to control our unstoppable laughing as we named them "the Florida cockroach killers".
HIS face was bubbling over with enjoyment like a little kid in a candy store, wondering if they would fit. I told Him to try them on...and lo'n behold… if He didn’t stand right there...to find that they fit perfectly! Talk about uncanny… but everything Mid did had some kind of special relevance to it. Afterwards, we went to the pajama isle and picked out a few comfortable pj tops since Mid's idea of a great life was spending each and every day in His jammies (I call it the Hugh Hefner syndrome and I have it too...lol) painting... playing scrabble... and singing and writing new songs...
He was such a baby at heart... everything excited Him… His passion for life was like no other. He was always grateful for any attention He received and surprised when anyone told Him how talented and gifted He was. Could you imagine something like this coming out of His mouth? One only has to listen to a single song He sang and wrote to know what a beautiful, heartfelt, loving man He was and anyone He came into contact with felt what a magical man
He truly was...He will always be loved...fiercely missed...and Never Forgotten!!!