Speaking of Betty, James and I then drove (with her leading the way in her new Prius) to Betty’s ranch. She now not only does her concert and theatre work, but she competes as a horse cutter. She rides a horse in a stadium with a bunch of cattle and tries to separate one cow from the herd. She showed us pictures of herself in the competition, and her face is so full of concentration, it’s amazing. You only have two-and-a-half minutes, and your goal is to separate up to three cows.

She’s been doing phenomenally well and said that the prize she won in her last competition paid for her new horse! She introduced us to her two horses, Scat Cat and Wild Bill. She offered us a chance to ride, and when I found out it wouldn’t be like the birthday party donkeys I remembered from my youth, I politely declined. Of course, James fell in love with Scat Cat and now wants a horse. I said “perhaps later, dear,” my signature condescending husband answer.

We slept in Betty’s fabulous guest house and bid her adieu. She was on her way to a riding lesson, and we were headed back to Houston. For those of you that are nervous she’s given up performing, rest assured because she has plenty of concerts coming up (Feinstein’s in February!), and she has a great role in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film. I read somewhere that he chose that name for himself. Why that? PS, which is worse; M. Night Shyamalan or M. Night Jaradoa? You decide.