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Redneck Valentine

It just doesn't get better than Redneck Romance.  Nine years ago, El Hubbo was known more affectionately as the Romantic Hispanic.  We were young(-ish) and newly in LUV, and he displayed the typical lack of sense common to most males who are trying to impress a female.  I worked at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.  Spring for those involved in stock shows is a very busy time.  I was putting in 20+ hour days getting ready for that little 20 day event, and El Hubbo was busy hauling animals and kids from show to show.  Needless to say, there was little time for courtship.

Valentine's Day was just something that went basically un-celebrated for me.  I was busy working and by this point pre-show was doing good to know what day of the week it was - there simply was no time for holiday celebrations.  But, late in the evening on Valentine's Day 2003, I got a phone call from the Romantic Hispanic:

"Hey!  What are you doing?", he said.

"Uh, working," I replied. 

"Want to meet me for dinner?" 

"Um, aren't you in San Antonio?"

"Actually, I'm halfway between San Antonio and Houston."

"Well, I guess I better cancel my other date."  (I liked to keep him on his toes.) 

I sweet-talked my boss into letting me leave for a few hours, and El Hubbo and I agreed to meet at a restaurant on the far west side of Houston.

Here's where the redneck part of the story begins.  We decided to meet at the Valentine Restaurant of Choice:  Cracker Barrel.  He smelled faintly of hogs, I was dressed up and looking fine in my jeans, t-shirt and best baseball cap.  We lucked out and didn't have to wait on a table.  Following dinner, we decided to check out the recently opened Bass Pro Shops.  Now, tell me ladies, how do you not fall in love with a man who treats you to Cracker Barrel and Bass Pro?

There haven't been any Valentine dinner dates since that night.  El Hubbo is usually in San Antonio, and I woman the fort by myself.  That is, until this year.  As he did not go to the San Antonio show, we actually got to have a date.  In true redneck romance fashion, however, our date included the two mini-rednecks.  We didn't even have to think about our plans - we went to the Lubbock Cracker Barrel and sat down right amongst the over-60 crowd.  Lubbock does not have a Bass Pro, so we went to the next best place:  Gander Mountain and checked out camping stuff, dog-training equipment, and handguns. 

The first Redneck Valentine date was among my favorite dates of all time with the Romantic Hispanic, and the second with him and my mini-rednecks was just as special to me.  I hope all of you had a blessed Valentine Day and celebrated it in whatever way lets you laugh and smile with the one(s) you love. 

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