MMTT4S - Square Pegs, Belts, and Tully Mars

Captain's log: 8 July 2019, Abilene, Texas

Back in the Lone Star State.

Texas is one of my most favorite places in the world. Lived here for a few years. Made some great friends here. Created some incredible memories here. Most importantly, I found my wife here. I can't argue with General Johnson when he and the Chairmen of the Board claim that Carolina girls are the best in the world. I must say, though, that I'm more partial to Pat Green and Lyle Lovett's opinion on the girls from Texas (they're just a little bit better).

When I arrived here back in 1992, I was a flip-flop-wearin', vinegar-based-pulled-pork-eatin', basketball-lovin' beach bum. Not all that common in the cowboy town of Abilene. I soon realized that not only was my choice of smoked meat, my drawl of an accent, and my sport of choice different than the local varieties, I also realized that I was a little different. Then again, that was neither unusual nor a big surprise. In fact, it's par for the course, no matter where I find myself.

I've learned that I'm atypical in most facets of life on this planet. I don't quite fit in.

Sometimes it's extremely slight, like the pair of Wranglers that require a belt to stay up or the straw Stetson that needs a sliver of foam hidden in the inside band to give a fit snug enough to prevent losing the hat to a West Texas gust. Both the jeans and hat "fit" - just not perfectly. Other times, I'm the mayor of the Island of Misfit Toys. In either case, I've learned to accept it, embrace it, and even use it to my advantage.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com

Not fitting in is the topic of today's Jimmy Buffett tune "Cowboy in the Jungle" from his album Son of a Son of a Sailor. Buffett creates a wonderful character in one of his short stories in his compilation of short stories called Tales From Margaritaville - Tully Mars. Tully is a cowboy with a restless soul in search of a different life than the one he knows well on a ranch in Wyoming. His journey to the tropics is pure entertainment with a touch of introspection. This same character appears again in Buffett's novel A Salty Piece of Land and is inspiration for a character in today's song. Like the title suggests, our main character is out of place, as a cowboy in the jungle would be. Still, he figures out how to "plow ahead come what may" by adapting to his different environments, relying on his hunches, and rolling with the punches.

Image courtesy of
Goodreads.com

Buffett is somewhat of a misfit himself. Take his music. Plug in "Jimmy Buffett" or one of your favorite Buffett songs into a music app like Pandora or Spotify or Apple Music and let it create a list of songs for you. You'll get a mix as varied as the Texas landscapes and climate. You'll hear country, folk, rock, reggae, zouk, beach, surf and more. Not many singer-songwriters have their own brand of shrimp, clothing, tequila, retirement community, casino, restaurant...you get the picture.

Jimmy Buffett is atypical. He doesn't quite fit in. It works, though. Obviously.

After we hear of this out-of-place cowboy's exploits, we get a glimpse of Buffett the Unique as the tune continues. He pokes fun at typical tourists "trying to cram lost years into five or six days," claims to abhor swimming in "roped-off seas," and waxes eloquent about our short stay on this planet amidst the constellations and satellites while sailing alone on a "midnight passage."

Just a little encouragement that not fitting in is ok.

So, while I'm not a cowboy in the jungle, I can relate to Tully Mars. I'm still a beach bum, but I now prefer brisket to pulled pork. I love my cowboy hat, though I may wear it with Vissla shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. My cowboy boots are well-worn (not with shorts - I do have a line) as are my Wranglers (with a belt). And even though I stole away with my wife back to South Carolina, her family still accepts me for who I am. They are the best. Lyle Lovett pegs me when he sings "That's right you're not from Texas. Texas wants you anyway." Thank goodness.

So if you consider yourself a kindred spirit of mine and have wondered why the beat of your drum is a different cadence than that which you hear most everywhere else, kick back to today's tune "A Cowboy in the Jungle" and remember intuition can sometimes make up for blind ambition. It's the square peg/round hole idiomatic expression. Or is it round peg/square hole? Kinda silly either way.

Aloha, amigos!