A Goot-One

Lord knows I got me a goot-one. No sir, they sure don’t make’em like Brooke anymore. Well, except maybe the fact that our three girls all take after their mama. I bet if it came down to it, they’d all be just as gritty.

But then again, I doubt they’d have put up with all that she has. I’m not joking when I tell people, “she probably should have left me a dozen times.”

There were years when she wasn’t allowed to ask me any “work questions” due to the Spousal Privilege Rule. It says that a spouse cannot be forced to testify in court against their husband. But it only works if the spouse can’t be incriminated also. Therefore, they can’t actually know what’s going on. Would any of you be okay with that?

Brooke was.

For years I’d leave my house every morning, headed to work, with no questions asked. I was in construction, as far as she or anyone else was concerned. Specifically, I worked as a contract worker with the mobile home industry. We’d come in and fix all the things that customers found wrong after the new home was delivered.

But in reality, I had a helluva green thumb. And I spent most of each day in an illicit grow house. Lots of nights too. And while Brooke might’ve raised a little hell on account of how much I wasn’t at home, she never questioned what I was up to. She’s an OG in the realest sense, y’all.

The thing is, she never had to worry about who I was doing what with, only what it was that I was doing. And she also knew that I was very careful about what that was. There’s never been a question of my being faithful. The sun rises and sets with Brooke. And it has since the first moment I laid eyes on her.

And her patience eventually paid off. Just because she didn’t ask and I didn’t say, doesn’t mean that she didn’t know. When she did decide to say something, I think she already knew I was done.

I’ve always been a fan of looking at the Risk vs Reward aspect, of any opportunity. She was quick to seize my own theory, and use it against me in a way that I could not deny.

“Is that trip really worth the risk, Hank? What happens to us if you get caught? It’s not like we’re getting rich here. Maybe it’s time to do something else.”

Brooke was right. It wasn’t worth it anymore. But she would have stood beside me, had I made either decision. That probably played a big part in my being able to accept her argument too.

You know, I’m a James McMurtry fan. He’s my kinda dude. So when MJ mentioned that this week’s song prompt was, Copper Canteen, I was like, hell yeah Dawg! Lemme at it. It kinda reminds me of that Jamey Johnson song, High Cost of Living.

That fella in that songs playin’ himself. If his gal is puttin’ up with all that, he’s got him a goot-one. So if he’s got any sense he’ll lean on in on that midnight feelin’, and forget about the whore under the bridge.

Drop a few coins in the Jukebox🫙

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Aug 11

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