Cowboys and a Tiara

I had been thinking about getting a tiara for a long time.  Every time I would go to the craft store there they would be, all lined up in the bridal area. Sparkling like the sun shines on the water. They would look lovely on little girls when I took their picture, I told myself. Trying to justify the purchase in my mind. And I really wanted one. Every once in a while the craft store would have coupons for 40% off and there was one burning a hole in my pocket. I picked up each tiara and inspected it as if it were the crown jewels. Eventually, I settled for a small one with small clear crystal flowers. At 40% off the purchase wouldn't seem so extravagant. 

I brought it home and took it out of the package. It was lovely.  I placed it on my head and felt giddy with delight. My sweatpants, tee shirt and mismatched socks were a stark contrast to my head, but I didn't care. What mattered was that I felt beautiful. I looked in the mirror and smiled. You don't look so bad, I told myself. 

The next day, I was digging around in a wooden box for a piece of clothing and found a book that I had forgotten about.  It was oversized and didn't fit on my bookshelf.  So it ended up in the box. The book is called, The Tennesseans by Barry Parker and Robin Hood (seriously). The pages are full of beautiful photographs of the state of my birth. As I leafed through the book my eyes landed on three cowboys. They were fine specimens of the male gender, with their hats sitting low on their brow and thumbs tucked securely on each side of the belt buckle which snugly fit around each man's waist. Chaps donned their thighs and a couple men held ropes. I placed the book on my coffee table and thought that if I needed cheering up I would take a look at the cowboys and dream as I passed through the room. 

A friend came over for dinner the following evening.  Forgetting that I had left the book open on the table, I opened the door to let her in. Immediately, her eyes focused on the coffee table.

"So, you have been looking at cowboys?", She asked. I was a little embarrassed that she discovered my secret. 

"Why yes I have and they are in Williamson County, Tennessee," I said. "I didn't know there were cowboys in Tennessee. Maybe we need to go on a road trip. Aren't there cowboys in England?" I asked. (She is English)  

"No, but there are farmers and they can act tough, but they don't ride horses." She said, as she made her way to the kitchen table.  I had a hard time imagining that an Englishman could act tough and decided to talk about something else. Since she had caught me in one secret I thought that I might as well tell her about my other one." I bought a tiara." I said. 

My friend burst into laughter. " Now Jeannie, this Princess Diana complex has just got to stop. Why did you buy a tiara anyway?"

"For my photography," I said. " I thought that little girls would like it." 

She gave me a don't lie to me look and asked me if that was really why I bought the tiara.  "Okay,I really wanted one. I wore it for a long time the other night and I felt beautiful while I worked at the computer, even though I was wearing sweat pants and a tee shirt." 

"Do you wear the tiara while you are naked and walking around the house?" She asked. 

"Well, yeah! Please don't tell anyone because I don't want people to think that I am weird."