Ropers.

Howdy, Cowboys and Cowgirls and Cowtheys.

I bought some boots in Denver. Cowboy boots. Relatively subtle ones.

I can’t remember when I stopped wearing that kind of boot. I definitely wore them when I was younger. Not because I thought I was a cowboy, it was just the style. I grew up in the southwest. It was more of a rock and roll thing. I think everyone had a pair of black cowboy boots to wear with their black Levi's. Didn’t they?

The first pair I ever had were required. When I was a kid, I went to a camp called Brush Ranch. I’m not sure how I ended up there but I was there for two or three summers. We had to have boots, a Stetson hat, and a fly-fishing rod. We tied flies, fished, shot .22s and shotguns, loaded shells and rode horses. We were all assigned a horse. Girls rode English, guys rode Western. My horse was called Mama and she bit me and hated me. She smelled my fear. Horses are way too big an animal for me to feel comfortable assuming control over.

A cowboy I was not.

Years later I became committed to black cowboy boots. I had a pair of those and a pair of lizard skin ones that I never quite committed to, for reasons that became obvious to me in an interaction I had with the salesman at the Lucchese store in Denver last Friday.

The store was directly next to the hotel I was staying at. I knew the brand was top of the line, handmade boots. I felt drawn to the store but didn’t go in for a day. I eventually went in. Had to. I was thinking if they had some basic black boots I might get them. It was time. Maybe I was being nostalgic. I don’t know. I was committed though. I went in. There was a pair of plain black western boots with a short staff. The salesman in a hat and western jacket told me they were ropers. They are different than the longer staff embroidered western boots. Less garish. More fashion practical to my eye. These were clearly designed for casual wear I believe. They were a soft Bison leather. Clean looking. I wore soft ropers as Sam Sylvia.

The fella that was showing me the boots was a western person. I don’t know if he rides or ropes or has ever worked on a ranch but he was western. It’s a cultural identification. I grew up around it. It’s authentic. It’s a thing.

I said I liked the ropers. I was looking at the other, more elaborate boots. Alligator, lizard, ostrich. Harder cow leather. I told him they were beautiful, real deal boots. Holding a lizard boot like the ones I had when I was younger I said, ‘I’m not trying to pretend I’m something I’m not.’

He said, ‘I appreciate that.’

I don’t think he was judging me. I think it was a moment of understanding. I think he actually appreciated that I was on to myself enough to know not to insult his culture by assuming I could pull off those boots. The ropers were my speed and closer to my style and signifying only a style. Not a way of life. We both had our place.

I bought them. I love them. Let’s see if they don’t hurt my feet. I think the problems I have with my feet are actually from wearing the real deal ones when I was younger. I paid for being a phony.

While in Denver I hung out with a guy I knew in junior high, Eric Tittman. We used to ride the bus together for a couple of years. He used to bring cassettes of music that he recorded from his dad’s records and we’d play them on the player I brought on the bus. He turned me on to Exile on Main St. and the live version of Midnight Rambler. Life changing.

As a birthday gift he brought me an album. ChangesOneBowie. I have it, obviously, but the copy he brought was mine. He had apparently borrowed it when we were kids. It has my name in my scrawl on the upper right-hand corner of the cover. It’s returned home.

Coincidentally, the first time I heard that album was at Brush Ranch. A cassette owned by either a counselor or one of the campers. I never became a cowboy but I definitely became a rock guy. I think Bowie would’ve liked these boots I bought.

Today I talk to Sigourney Weaver about her life and career. On Thursday I talk to Abigail Disney about being a Disney and her new doc The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales. Great talks.

Enjoy!

Boomer, Monkey and LaFonda live!

Love,
Maron