A long time before that song about the cowboy what fell in love with a Mexican gurl in Rosa�s El Paso cantina was written, I met a sweet little thang in El Paso. Sweet Thang was from some place name of Silver City, New Mexico and just happened to be visiting the same folks that I was. We both were 17; I had access to a ragged top convertible (but no driver�s license) and for a few days we were constant (almost) companions. I wonder if that convertible had anything to do with it?
I didn�t know much about gurls, but 17 yr. old boys have lots of raging hormones and we kissed a few times (that�s ALL!) and I felt madly in love! At the time I lived in Big Spring (pronounced Sprang), Texas and a few weeks later I had to come back to El Paso, Texas at the request of Uncle Sam, to get one of them pre-induction physical examinations.
After I got poked, prodded and otherwise thoroughly embarrassed they told me to go home and they would be in touch. (Sure enough, they did and it didn�t take them long to say they would like for me to join up with them.) After I escaped from the poking and prodding I took me a bus to Silver City, New Mexico to pay Sweet Thang a surprise visit before I was gonna go off to help win the war.
Well, I got to Silver City OK and it sure was a surprise to Sweet Thang because she almost swooned when she saw me at her door. She wasn�t about to swoon because she was so happy to see me, she was about to give up the ghost because she had a very steady boy friend (a 200 lb. football player) and she was scairt that he was gonna find out she had been foolin around in El Paso!
When she gave me the sad news I realized I had stumbled into a hornets nest and the best thing for me was to get outta town�.in a hurry. Since at the time I weighed every bit of 134 lbs. I sure didn�t want to meet up with no 200 lb. jealous football player anyhow. Well, I bid her adieu and happy football games, then hustled on down to the bus station where I found out the next bus going out of town was the next day!
Silver City at the time (and probably still is) a very small place so it didn�t take me but a few minutes to walk plum out of town and start hitchhiking. After an hour or so (and me lookin out for 200 lb. jealous football players), a grizzled old man in a beat up pick-up truck gave me a ride. He didn�t ask me where I was going and I didn�t care as long as I got out of danger. About 50 miles later he said, �Well, this is where I turn off.� I looked in all directions and there wasn�t anything anywhere except desert, but when he stopped I got out and he headed west into the sunset. I could see him for miles and miles as he left a trail of dust. Finally about dark that old sucker plum disappeared.
If you ain�t never been in the New Mexico wilderness desert in the dark with no moon, I can tell you it gets colder than a well digger�s bottom in the Klondike! And a car coming up or down the road is about as often as the star in the east! After several hours of listening to coyotes and wolves and no telling what else, screaming all around me there had been at least three cars going by and they all just sped up when they saw me. And the only weapon I had was my trusty Boy Scout knife. Finally, finally a car came by and then stopped about a quarter of a mile, backed up and asked me if I wanted a ride�I reckon they must have seen me down on my knees a praying!
Well that sure enough was a miracle because it was a man, his wife and a little child. I have believed in prayer ever since! Those kind folks took me on into Las Cruces, New Mexico where I caught me a bus back to Big Sprang, Texas and I never hitch hiked again until about two years later. And that hitchhiking trip is my next story!