Wear Your Welcome Thin

When I first moved to Wyoming, I took a picture of the welcome sign at one of the borders. With its picture of Devil's Tower and a cowboy riding a bucking bronco, it seemed a fitting introduction to Wyoming.

Then, on one drive to Colorado, I noticed that the Wyoming sign was missing. It looked like it had been chopped down and stolen. Since the Colorado welcome sign was still in place, I figured that it may have been a prank of football fans of the rival Colorado Rams, and expected that the sign would soon be replaced.


A year and a half later, I was still waiting. A large pile of dirt became the only thing marking the Wyoming border.

When friends came to visit, I made sure to point out the state-line dirtpile, which had, in my mind, come to represent the particular attitude of Wyomingites.

Part of the attitude is a feeling of "eh, good enough". This attitude is evident in such cases as a Laramie church, built almost two years ago, that still has the steeple sitting on the ground next to it. I guess no one quite had the energy to erect it after the rest of the building was finished. And you don't really need a steeple to hold a church service.


This Wyomingite attitude seems to hold that that doing nothing is easier that any kind of action. There's a kind of hope that things will work themselves out if they're just left alone for long enough. Most of the streets in Laramie aren't plowed in the wintertime, because the snow will eventually melt when enough people drive on it.

There's the also the widespread feeling that Wyoming is separate from the rest of the world, and special for being so. When discussing the issue of global warming, one Wyomingite said, "I'm not concerned. I'd like to see the sea level try to make it to 7200 feet."

One day, however, someone got their act together and a new sign appeared, redesigned to match the new licence plates which show the Grand Tetons instead of Devil's Tower.


I think it matches the dirtpile nicely.

I am really sick of that bucking bronco, though. It seems to be the official symbol of both the State of Wyoming and the University of Wyoming and is everywhere: on signs, building fronts, bumper stickers, and even stenciled onto the sidewalks around town.

The symbol, while overused, is not out of place. Rodeos are popular summer entertainment, and there are still working cowboys out here. The other day, driving home from a hike, I had to stop the car to wait for four cowboys to finish their cattle drive.


The cowboys were interesting to watch as they guided the cattle down the road and off into an adjoining pasture. They rode their horses well and looked the part with their traditional cowboy hats and boots.

When I was a kid, I heard George Strait sing a song in which he wore his welcome thin. I thought a Welcomethin was a kind of cowboy hat, because George Strait always wore one.

Laramie is a nice place to live, but I wonder if there might be certain signs that it's time for me to move again?

Ladybug Luck

Is finding a horseshoe in the wilderness a good omen? Horseshoes are supposed to bring good luck, but losing a shoe-in-the-mud sounds more like bad luck for the horse. Consider his uneven trudge home, stepping on sharp rocks with his naked hoof, cursing those lazy humans who forced him to haul their tent into the mountains. He may have become lame by the time he got home. How does his bad luck somehow translate into good luck for me?

I've also heard that for a horseshoe to be lucky, it must be placed like a "U" so that the luck doesn't run out. What kind of logic is that? Luck isn't tangible, yet it can be held in place by steel in the right formation? What if I hang my found horseshoe at an odd angle? What then, huh?

Some people consider ladybugs a sign of good luck, possibly because they can eat some garden pests. But if I see a swarm of any kind of bug, regardless of whether the bugs wear an attractive shade of red with cute black spots, I'd take it as an omen to hurry away from the area.

Finding a penny doesn't seem worth much, but is supposed to be lucky. My man, who scoffs at my blog topic and insists on their being no such thing as omens, refuses to pick up a penny unless it is heads-up. He "doesn't really believe it" but still flips over a tails-up coin anyway. I say, bring on the black cats. Or any color cats, really. Aren't kitties wonderful? They should stop making those worthless pennies, anyhow.

I read that pine cones can be considered a sign of good luck. That must be why I'm eager to hike in evergreen forests so often. I also read that mud is a sign of bad luck (especially for the horse that lost his shoe in it), and my hikes are often muddy from rain or snow melt or stream crossings. I guess the prevalence of mud counteracts the abundant pine cones, or else I would be winning all those lotteries that I don't even enter.

I haven't photographed the mud. Would a mud photograph be considered toting bad luck around, or would taking the picture counteract the bad luck? I just can't keep track of these things.

Weather omens are another tough subject. Initially, one might think that sudden dark clouds looming in the sky could be considered a bad omen, especially above timberline, where one's head is the most evident target to the approaching lightning. But, once back in the protective covering of friendly spruce trees (with cones, naturally, like those pictured...hang on, are my spruce cones not lucky? Is it only pine cones that bring good luck? (Yeah, tell that to all the pine trees dying from the recent beetle invasion. (No, not the Beatle invasion. I'm sure Paul McCartney does not want to ravage the pine forests of Western America. In fact, I bet seeing Paul McCartney would be a good omen (unless he was throwing things angrily in my direction because I put him in my blog without permission (but if he was throwing horseshoes, would that be lucky? Would it still be lucky if my windows got smashed in the process? What if my nose got smashed, too? I could perhaps (luckily) sue him for a large settlement that could pay for my reconstructive surgery as well as a few very nice vacations, and I would always have a good anecdote up my sleeve (Did I tell you about the time Paul McCartney broke my nose with a lucky horseshoe?)))))), the cloud-cover can be welcoming. The forthcoming cool breeze and raindrops chase off the swarms of mosquitoes and may eventually result in a beautiful rainbow: an undisputed good luck omen (unless you're a leprechaun whose gold is in danger of being stolen).

If a pronghorn crosses your path, you will have good luck. They don't wear shoes, either, so your nose should be safe.