Employed 6 part 6 Army

lt turns out that Penny was not,that much, in to cowboys, except as they, or their female counterparts, appeared with HORSES. Yes, as a kid she had seen the work of all the western stars from Tom Mix to Gene Autry, but to her it was all about horses. She regularly attended horse races (thoroughbreds and trot-
ters), rodeos, dressage competitions and (another great event featuring horses) PARADES! Nevada was special to her,but not because of the cowboy population;
rather, the Mustang (wild horse) population residing there. ln fact, she had pick-
ed up the pieces of the cow-girl outfit at a St. Vincent de Paul for fun and to
"honor" the family's guest from Nevada. She wasn't disappointed when l told her
that l didn't own a pair of cowboy boots. (The fact of my not owning a single pair of Levi's, l kept to myself.) She was serious about visiting Nevada in her near future. Why? Mustangs! She and a couple of her friends were considering the purchase of a property in New Jersey, large enough to keep about a half-
dozen horses and they would get them in Nevada. They had, over the previous
year or so become aware of their plight and wanted to rescue a few of them.

l was starting to like the lady. ln a way consistent with the fact that she was about the same age as my mom. l've always admired people whose lives were
not limited to their quest for money and acclaim for themselves. Penny was well-enough off. Her home and surroundings and that of her parents, would  
definitely qualify as upper-middle class. They could afford to rescue  a score of horses. l was reminded of my benefactors in Reno, who not only taught me the
art of cold-call periodical sales, then helped me find the way to satisfy my mili-
tary obligation. Then gave me a ride to the train which would carry me to the
solution to a problem that l thought insoluble. Now l have an insoluble puzzle,
sixty years later:Where did those guys go?

During those years, anytime l was in Reno, l would make some effort to learn what had happened to them. For some months in 1980, l actually resided in 
Reno and spent considerable time, but accomplished little; a trip to the county 
recorder's office yielded the dates on which their houses had been sold over the
years, but nothing to shed any light on their current location. Since 1980 l have
visited Reno scores of times, but in recent years (except for this piece) l've tried
to put it out of my mind.