Destiny in a Cow Suit

My cow suits, although roomy and loose, push the boundaries of comfort.“I totally made out with that guy and he just saw me in a cow suit!” shrieked Destiny in her debut Cow Suit Saturday while walking through the Portneuf Valley Farmer’s Market. 

I met Destiny a few years ago through the Pocatello Co Op. I invented her life history of being raised by hippies simply after hearing her first name. She’s become one of the things I love about Pocatello when I run into her each weekend. Easy to talk to. Not judgmental. Laughs at my jokes. Always good for some insight and opinions. I HAD to cow with her.

We began the day as color-throwing cows at the Greenway Grind Color Run.  Color Runs have likely been going on in the country for the last decade and have just hit Idaho this year. They are usually 5-10K runs where volunteers are stationed along the route with buckets of dyed corn starch and scoops to simply throw color at you as you run by. You’re encouraged to wear white so at the end you are a sweaty, smiley endorphin-laced rainbow. (Wait a minute. This sounds like a conspiracy among gay rights activists to produce unwitting walking pride flags in communities everywhere!)

We were throwing yellow, and these ladies doused us with a bit of purple and orange. Destiny looked like she got stuck in a Cheetos bag, and as a devout employee of the natural foods co-op, she was mortified when I teased her about it.

After the fun run and a swifter-than-planned walk through the Farmer’s Market, we decided on an impromptu “Happy Birthday” at Elmer’s Café for my 13 year old pal, Rian. As we drove to my house to get my trombone, we talked extensively about what two cows singing and playing a trombone could do to/for a 13 year old girl. Destiny was in the “to” camp. I was in the “for” camp. 

We went for it.

One of the things I love about cowing is that it shows kids (and adults) it’s great to be confident, different and able to laugh at yourself. At 13 years old, Rian can’t hear that message too much. She and all the patrons at Elmer’s heard it last Saturday, and someone even asked if we were available for hire. Ha!

I remember when learning about foreshadowing in literature wondering if it exists in our lives. Is it life that follows fiction or the other way around? Would I have ever imagined myself as a 40 year old woman who loves traipsing around in a cow suit? Um.  No. I thought I’d be President by now and there’d be Galapagos turtles roaming the White House lawn.  So close. But alas, not my destiny*. 

* Come on! How could I not play on the meaning in her name in this blog? Sorry, Destiny, but at least I’m not a creep in a bar throwing you cheesy pick-up lines, “Hey Baby, are you my Destiny?”

I was writing an editorial for the Idaho State Journal last week about the best day of my life. It was the day my high school volleyball team won the state championship in 1990. The Dairymen of Idaho have sponsored countless high school athletic events for years, and I distinctly remember the coolers of milk in the locker rooms. I had10-15 little white and chocolate milks that day. Like the spider that bit Peter Parker, that was it!

Two years ago when going to the Ellen Show, I wanted someone to make me a cow print vest.  Destiny volunteered. It’s reversible so I can wear the purple glittery side out for formal occasions and the cow side out for pseudo-formal. (Because Pocatello has a lot of occasions for a woman to wear a vest…)

I love the thing and although I don’t wear it often, I keep it in my closet where I can see it. It wasn’t a random act of kindness on Destiny’s part; it was a much focused offering of her time and talents for something silly and ridiculous that brings her friend joy. I LOVE THE SILLY AND RIDICULOUS THAT BRINGS JOY!  Alas, until the next Cow Suit Saturday…