Even though I lived in Turlock for 7+ years, country music never really grew on me. I tried from time to time, but it never really took. It was too twangy, too whiny, too cowboy. Ok, too Turlock. I was in 4H, but I didn't raise livestock or animals of any sort. I was in Leadership, the Newsletter, Cooking, Mini Gardens, and Music. During awards season, everyone else was wearing white Wranglers and Roper boots....and I was in white slacks and sandals. Kind of dorky to tell the truth.
In high school, I started to notice that I actually lived in a "cow town" because a significant percentage of the kids at school wore boots and wranglers and even cowboy hats to school. One of my best friends sophomore year, Maline W (fondly known as Beany) was a real cowgirl. She lived on a farm and she raised horses. She wore the gear, walked the walk, talked the talk. Her favorite thing to do on the weekends was hang out at the Auction. To be clear, we're talking about a Livestock Auction. Not a black tie, cocktails, fancy paddles thing. A smelly, dirty, outdoor auction of pigs and sheep and cows. And lots and lots of cowboys, which was the real reason she liked going. I think I went with her all of ONCE and once was enough for me.
During this time, I was giving country another go because Garth Brooks was all the rage. I really liked him, just like everyone else did. He sang about country stuff and he was twangy, but man, was he popular. Whether he likes it or not, he was basically mainstream, appealing to the masses. Country music for people who don't like country. Everyone in school knew the words to Friends in Low Places and Rodeo. Rodeo reminds me of trying out the country thing for a while and when going to back to Turlock used to be more of a culture shock after being the Bay Area, I'd play it in the car to get in the mood.
