Just a short week from graduation and all the 'pomp and circumstance' but it was already fading into the distance, part of history. As of June 1, I had begun a new and rather different era.
June 6, 1962, Wed
Today we were all lazy. I didn’t get up until 8:00 am. I took off immediately after breakfast leading Prez. The herd was down so I didn’t have to go mule hunting. I fed the mules and horses and came home. No mail for me for three days straight. Nobody loves me anymore. Jose mio, donde esta usted? I put my mule up and came in out of the heat. We were talking more about our latest discovery. It sounds fabulous but I dare not get too excited about it. It might disappoint me and I simply can’t stand that again. We are all going to Phoenix tomorrow and then on over to Wickenburg to look at those two ranches near Castle Hot Springs. Then Friday or Saturday we’ll go up to Hackberry-Valentine . I went to town for Mom to mail some letters and cashed one of my checks and bought a pair of thongs and an ice for Charlie Mike. Earlier I was out tanning my legs and watching the kids bike when the Bastard and two buddies drive by. I can still read a lot from the way he was looking at me all the time. I rode Cinder out this evening. The herd was still down so no worry there. After supper I went up to visit Evelyn for a bit. It still doesn’t seem like summer, really. I guess I’ll fall into the routine pretty quickly though. I’m not sure now whether we’ll all go or not. Actually I don’t give a nothing. If we don’t, I’ll ride to Cottonwood and scare up a little excitement over there. I am man hunting for sure.
I was still adjusting to the new schedule--no more school and for awhile it felt like just another summer vacation. Through the summer I still had some vague ideas that I would go off to college come the fall but that did not happen and in September I realized with a shock there was no more school to return to.
I've mentioned the 'ranch hunt' stuff before. That went on and on. It was almost a carrot dangled in front of me at times--the dream we'd get a nice place and have room and good facilities to do the livestock business. I had not yet got totally cynical about the prospect, close but not totally!
I was still caught up in Jose as a favored pen pal. He was or at least seemed to be a fascinating character. Later I realized I had let myself become enamored with an imaginary vision, one that probably had little similarity to the real person behind the multi-colored incense scented letters I received and answered for close to two years. The Bastard was my final epithet for the guy who had almost gotten me into trouble and had haunted me as a nemesis for some time, actually since the summer of 1960. It kind of fit as he was really not a nice person and I had been far too naive and gullible to his blatant flirting and barely decently worded propositions for quite awhile. When I finally caught on I was furious at myself and at him and told him off.
I was always swapping mules back and forth. Prez was becoming a favorite mount along with Annie. Trixie and Cinder were smaller and also ones I liked. Going to the pasture daily, often twice, was one of the major 'chores' which were rapidly becoming a full time actual job that occupied me 12-15 hours a day for much of he next four years. Within another week or two I was fully into the cowboy girl routine and that absorbed most of my time, energy and attention for four years.
Two view of part of the pasture area--one shows the corrals and the other from the point directly across the river from Tuzigoot. The row of trees closest to the hills was in the pasture.
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