Jerry Kilgore’s soft, lispy speaking style was the elephant in the middle of his personality living room, to abuse a metaphor. Sen. Allen’s peculiar habit of playing cowboy is, to a lesser extent, his elephant. There are no cowboys in Virginia — bolos and ten-gallon hats are head-turningly, giggle-inducingly unusual. I couldn’t help but notice the over-the-top Western theme at his Saturday fundraiser in Goochland. Mike Shear explored the topic in yesterday’s Post.
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Go to the Virginia State Fair one of these days. Cowboy boots and hats might be unusual in haughty Charlottesville or super-snobby Alexandria, but not so odd in many other parts of the state. And amazing as it may seem to come city folk, those people don’t just dress up in a costume for spectators at the fair. They actually dress that way on the job.
Then again, maybe some people do giggle like a schoolgirl when they see working men & women dressed that way at the fair, or elsewhere. I don’t know such silly people, so I can’t really say.
Sam, I guess you don’t particularly know me, but I’m no stranger to the bulk of the rural portions of the state state and spend as little time as possible in the urban areas. I’ve been to Alexandria just once. Though you mention cowboy boots, I didn’t; I wear a pair of them most days.
But cowboy hats and bolos? They’re bizarre. Cowboy hats aren’t seen on the heads of anything other than people playing dress-up or just being goofy. That’s because there are no cowboys in Virginia. There’s no range to ride. Roping is done only for sport. Pretending you’re a cowboy is just goofy.
I encourage anybody who thinks that Allen’s dress-up isn’t weird to envision Jim Webb in a ten-gallon hat and a bolo, riding a horse.
I’d rather see George Allen riding a broomstick horsie with a spitoon attached.
I know several people who wear bolos and a couple who wear cowboy hats
I used to know a guy who wore a pair of angel wings and a rainbow wig, but he still looked like a fool, and he damned well wasn’t running for U.S. Senate.
let me clarify, they are people who don’t play at being cowboy. I know that doesn’t count for much on the Mean Streets of downtown Charlottesville, but there are people out there who do wear those things, and they also have horses and some of them even farm full time or part time… why do you hate these Virginians?
When did you stop beating your wife?
(We are just taking turns asking each other stupid questions now, aren’t we?)
I believe those were butterfly wings, actually…