Character Interview with Bailey Bennett ~ Julie Lence

Greetings, readers. I’m hanging out backstage at Ringo’s Casino with country music’s sweetheart, Bailey Bennett. She’s just finished the day’s rehearsals for her summer tour and has agreed to chat with me before a costume fitting. Following her into her dressing room, I expected to find numerous photos of Bailey hanging on the walls and many of her awards littering tables. But such is not the case. The only photograph on the cream-colored walls is a painting of cowboys galloping across a field, and except for a glass of tea, the two small tables flanking the plush sofa are bare. A wardrobe on wheels hugs the wall directly across from the sofa, the hangars holding various western shirts and denims. A makeup chair faces the lighted mirror on the back wall, the shelves below the mirror housing an array of makeup, brushes, and hair products. Bailey gestures for me to take a seat on the sofa, then sits next to me.           

Thank you for meeting with me this afternoon, Bailey. My readers are eager to know you better. “My pleasure.” She gestures to the small refrigerator in the front corner. “Would you like something to drink? I have iced tea or soda.”

 I decline the offer and get right to the questions.  

Tell us a bit about The Singer Ropes A Cowboy.  The Singer Ropes A Cowboy is the tale of how Chip and I met. He’s my better half, and my favorite person in the entire world. My twin sister, Barbie, is a close second. Chip and I met last fall in New York City. Barbie and I were in Manhattan to buy Bella Cosmetics, something she’s wanted for a long time. I was also in the city to look over a racehorse at Belmont Park. My sister-in-law said the filly loathed racing and was in need of a good home. Chip was working Belmont that day I went to see Potent Polly, and by his side was a mangy looking pinto. He explained someone had abused her and he was nursing her back to health. He also was quick to inform me Polly was enamored with the pinto and wouldn’t leave her side, hence if I purchased Polly and brought to the family ranch in Reno, the pinto would come, too.

In my initial meeting Chip, it was easy to see he had a way with horses. The abused pinto adored him and Polly did, too. To make the acclimation from Belmont to Reno as easy as possible for the horses, I hired Chip to come with us. Not only did I find his softness for the pair endearing, his dark eyes and muscles were irresistible. Looking back on those few days in the city, I have to say that even though Chip and I started off on the wrong foot, asking him to come to Reno with me was the best decision I’ve ever made. Life without him isn’t worth living.        

What did you think the 1^st time you saw Chip?  That morning at Belmont, she begins, running her fingers through her long dark hair, I was instantly attracted to his rugged handsomeness and his muscles. But then, he spoke, and something in his tone suggested he knew me… that he believed some or all of the gossip surrounding me. I tried to put him at ease, get him to smile, but he rebuked my efforts and made it clear there was nothing I could do or say to change his opinion of me. Funny thing is, even when he was glaring at me, I couldn’t seem to stop my stomach from somersaulting.    

What was your 2^nd thought?  That I should keep my distance, but then, keeping the two horses together was a concern, and with the pinto only trusting Chip, I thought it best to ask him to hire on with me… until I ran into him at a nightclub. His sneer for me and the cameras that night was worse than at the track, and something inside was sure him and I working together was most definitely not a good idea. I said my goodbyes and promised myself to steer clear of him. But those dark eyes… and those muscles…  (Bailey inhales sharply.)

Anyway, Chip needed the job I offered that night at club, to help his family, and wormed his way into my good graces. I still had reservations, but as Barbie was quick to point out, my attraction for Chip wasn’t going to fade any time soon, that he was the 1^st man I took an interest in since breaking off with John. She urged me to bring him to Reno, to give him a chance to prove there was more to him than brawn and a never-ending glare. And if not, I could always send him back to New York. I took her advice, and never regretted it.  

What do you like most about Chip? His honesty. His dedication to his family, and to me. Whether I’m at his side or thousands of miles away, I know he loves me. I feel his commitment to me deep in my bones.     

How would you describe Chip? Kind, caring, trustworthy. Patient with the world I live in. Protective, hard-working; a man who was born to take care of animals.       

How would Chip describe you? Hmmm… (She pauses for a sip of tea. From the glass I noticed on the table upon entering the room.)  Full of anxiety… impatient… unease. I think he understands it took many years for me realize the type of fame I have, to learn how to live within the realm of the entertainment industry while keeping as much of my personal life as I can out of the tabloids. I’m sure he would be quick to say I’m also dedicated to my family and my horses, but above all, he would say I love him with everything that I am.    

What is your biggest fear? At the moment, life is good. Beyond anything I imagined my teenage years. I have money, and a comfortable home. If I woke up tomorrow and found my voice was gone, I’d wouldn’t care, because I know in my heart that no matter what the future brings, Chip will always love me.    

How do you relax? I take a few weeks off in the fall from singing to unwind, usually at Bennett Ranch. Just recently, Chip and I vacationed in Italy over the new year. I’m thinking him and I in Hawaii to usher in the next new year.   

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Well… she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip for a long moment. You can’t tell Chip, but I see him and me married and living in our own home somewhere on Bennett Ranch. I’m still turning out albums and touring during the summer months. Our son accompanies me on the tour bus so Chip can finish his schooling while tackling the ins and outs of opening his own veterinary office.  

Thank you for talking with me this afternoon, Bailey. I’m sure my readers have a better understanding of who you are and look forward to reading your story.

The Singer Ropes A Cowboy is available through Amazon in both E-book and paperback. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1J88PH 

 

  

Denver's Oldest Restaurant, The Buckhorn Exchange

                 

Located at 1000 Osage Street in Denver the restaurant opened its doors on November 1893 as a saloon called "The Rio Grande Exchange"  

 Now a National Historic Landmark, it had Colorado's first liquor license. The founder, Henry Zietz, was a colorful figure of the Old West, and in his younger years, was a scout with Buffalo Bill Cody.  During those years, the great Indian leader, Chief Sitting Bull, dubbed Zietz "Shorty Scout," in reference to his diminutive stature.

The restaurant was located directly across Osage street from the Rio Grande Railroad yards. The second-story of the building was the Buckhorn Lodge which house railroaders for the night. 

 Each Friday, the railroaders scrambled across Osage Street to exchange their paychecks for gold. In return, Zietz also handed each man a token good for free lunch and a beer figuring a railroad man wouldn't stop at just one beer. 

President Theodore Roosevelt visited in 1905, and purportedly asked Shorty Scout to hunt big game with him after dinner. Other presidents who dined there were Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Other visitors or diners included Bob Hope, Jimmy Cagney, astronauts Scott Carpenter, Jack Swigert, Royals Princess Anne, Garth Brooks, Von Miller:  Wayne Gretzky, and Dana White.

Not for the faint of heart, Buckhorn Exchange now is home to loads of historical artifacts and over 500 mounted animals.

The menu reflects the original offerings of long ago. Appetizers include: Rocky Mountain Oyster, Smoke Buffalo sausage, Grilled Duck breast, Fried alligator tail, boneless rattlesnake marinated in red chili and lime.  

Dinner includes beef, of course. The famous Big Steak, anywhere from 1 1/2 pounds to 3 1/2 pounds, will serve 2 to 5 guests. Buffalo served several ways is available, as is wild game including elk, Cornish game hen, quail, duck and salmon. There are combo platters for the adventurous. 

                     Buckhorn Exchange in Denver. Photo: Shelby L. Bell

Deserts are pretty basic with rocky road brownies, cheesecake, ice cream and sorbet, and Dutch Apple Pie. 

So if you are looking for something different food-wise, with great historical ambiance, try the Buckhorn Exchange 303-534-9505

My Stories: 

Western Romance: Break Heart Canyon * Undercover Outlaw * Cowboys, Cattle and Cutthroats * A Cowboy’s Fate*Special Delivery. 

Contemporary Romantic Thriller: Fatal Recall

Medieval Romance: The Dragon and The Rose * Iron Heart        *Promise Me Christmas. 

Victorian Romance: Lady Gallant * Victorian Dream 

Fantasy: The Fae Warriors Trilogy: Solace * Bliss * Portence 

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Did You Have a Favorite Teacher? by Reggi Allder

I did.

 Even after years, I remember a teacher who stood out in my school life. She was a pretty woman with a big smile, glasses, and red-painted nails. Mrs. Bennett, a science teacher, who, even when she was dissecting frogs, wore a large gold bracelet that her husband had given her. She always smelled of Formaldehyde. It was used on frogs and other small animals we dissected in the biology lab. However, it wasn’t the odor I recall. It was her kindness, patience, and understanding that not all her students would go on to have a career in science. She made sure those students, learned and enjoyed their experience in the classroom and laboratory and then came away with a basic knowledge of the subject.

This photo represents teachers and is not Mrs. Bennett  

Ten years, after I left that school, I was in a grocery store and a woman stood next to me and asked, “How are you doing?” It took me a second before I realized it was Mrs. Bennett. She was smiling at me and used my name. I was stunned that she remembered me and wanted to hear what I was doing. We had a pleasant conversation and Mrs. Bennett hugged me before she left. It was at that point, I understood how much teachers cared.

 Afterward, a memory of the day, my parents took me to visit a small museum came to me. It was a one-room schoolhouse. My dad explained how schools were back in the 1800s. The frontier school was generally a one-room building of sod or logs.

Sod School House 1882. Thank you, Denver Library

It had a wood or coal-burning stove in the center. Since they were often the only “public buildings” on the frontier, schoolhouses were often the center of homesteaders” social life. During the 1870s and 1880s, community-wide spelling bees became the rage at schoolhouses all over the West, and schoolhouses frequently played host to debates, traveling lecturers and theater troupes, literary societies, and charitable organizations.

As per a PBS website, one-room schoolteachers often taught grades one through eight in their one-room, with class sizes ranging from three or four students to as many as fifty. Classes were generally taught in 10- to 15-minute sessions to each grade level, and the curriculum tended to focus on the basics: reading, spelling, penmanship, arithmetic, and history.

Schoolhouse

        Even with the low wages for women, hundreds of young women came in the 1850s to teach in the West. Teacher training, or “normal schools” -- the predecessors of today’s state universities -- began to open in numerous eastern states. In 1853, historian J.L. McConley noted that “a competent number of women have been found willing to give up the comforts of home for the benefit of the barbarous West.”

Young Teacher

Married women were not permitted to teach. If they did marry, they had to resign from the job. As late as the 1930s, nearly 80% of American school districts employed only single women.

In 2001, approximately 250 one-room schools remained in the United States. Of these, over 70 were located in Montana. In Canada, a few one-room schoolhouses are still standing, but they are operated as museums or have been repurposed.

Many pioneer children learned to read and write thanks to the brave single women teachers who came West.

Please leave a comment below by clicking on comments. I'd love to hear about your favorite teacher or other topic. 

      Need a feel-good read to take you away? 

 Start with Her Country Heart Sierra Creek Series by Reggi Allder. The books concern new beginnings, second chances, rural life, and love. There are four books in the series. The last book My Country Heart is dedicated to the firefighters who save our homes while we flee from danger. 

My Country Heart Sierra Creek Book 4

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