Tony Said Not A Word!

Today has been a great day. This morning I got up really early and fed the dogs, walked four miles, and had breakfast ready when Tony came home from the Old Timer. After I cleaned up the breakfast dishes I decided that I wanted to go for a five mile bike ride before it got too hot.

"Tony!" I half-hollered down the hall. "Nellybelle and I are going for a ride. We will be back in a little while. Bye!"

"Wait, Nance," T. said, as he walked down the hallway toward the big room. "Where are y'all going?"

"We're going down the road to 16 then turn around and come back. It's only five miles."

"Will you take a walkie talkie with you, so I won't worry?" Tony asked. I nodded yes and then he went into my office where we keep our walkie talkies. When he came back into the big room I was plugging my earphones into my iPod. "They're dead," he declared. "I just plugged them in to recharge. Please be careful," he said, as we walked out of the trailer. When we reached the front yard gate he went to get Nellybelle for me out of the barn, as I selected my "walking playlist," which is loaded with real up tempo music.

When he and Nell-belle arrived, he had put a bottle of water in the cup holder for me. Then he helped me put my camera in my leather handlebar bag and kissed me on the forehead. When we took off I turned on my iPod and "Magic Bus" by the Who began playing loudly in my ears. As I pedaled past the dog pens I could barely hear the dogs barking at us.

I didn't pedal far, because I had to stop at the Echo Hill Ranch cattle guard to walk Nelly over it. A half mile down the road, as Sister Sledge began singing, "We Are Family" a little fox crossed the road about five hundred feet ahead of us. Then I saw some young deer chasing after each other in our neighbor's pasture. Then I had to stop and push Nellybelle up a steep hill, because I was out of breath.

Before taking off, again I drank some water. The rest of the journey was uneventful, but fun. When we returned to the rescue ranch T. whistled loudly at me as we zoomed past Hank's and Nellybelle's pen, so I stopped Nelly. "How far did you go?" Tony asked.

"All the way to 16. We're talkin' five miles. I really love Nellybelle, Tony." After I told him about seeing the fox and the deer I pedaled down to the trailer and put her kick stand down and then I came into the trailer.

After I had cooled off and drank some water I decided to walk two more miles with Leslie. Five minutes before I was done T. walked inside the trailer and shook his head. "Nance, don't overdo it, now."

"I'm not. I'm finishing up two miles to make my daily total of six miles. Then I will fix us lunch."

At one forty-five we took off for KVHC in Kerrville with Toby Keith sitting in the back seat. When we arrived at the television station Brian and Kim Williamson came outside and greeted us and then they invited us inside the station. As the camera crew was setting up the cameras Kim asked me to tell her Toby Keith's story.

"It's a sad one, Kim. A little over two years ago this really nice woman came out to our ranch for a tour and she brought her two dogs, Toby and Baby, a merle colored Sheltie, with her for us to meet. After a nice visit with the lady, she told us that she was putting our rescue ranch in her will and leaving her entire estate to us if we would take Baby and Toby and find them good homes in the event of her death."

"Well, a couple of weeks later this attorney calls to tell me that this sweet woman, who I had really liked, had taken her own life ten days earlier and they had just found her body, and the lawyer wanted to know if we would take her dogs. Two days later, Tony and I picked up Toby and Baby from a vet clinic in Junction, Texas and brought them home to the rescue ranch."

"Three or four months later a young couple came out with their young children and adopted Baby and Toby after hearing their sad story. But, before they adopted Toby and Baby they told us that they would adopt the two dogs on one condition—that we would board them for four days during the Christmas holidays, so they could go out of town to visit family. We told them that we would and they drove off with Baby and Toby."

"During the holidays when they called to tell us they were bringing the dogs out to be boarded, Tony and I moved the dogs that were in Baby's and Toby's old pen to another pen, so Toby and Baby would feel more at home."

"When the family arrived in their big pickup Baby and Toby jumped out of the windows before they could park the truck and the dogs ran into their old pen! It was hilarious! The minute they were inside the pen they started rolling in the dirt and sniffing the trees and seemed really happy to be back home."

"I'm almost finished with the story, Kim. I promise. Well, a year or so later the man called to tell me that because of the economy he and his family had lost their house and they were moving to East Texas where they had found jobs. Then he asks me if we can take Toby back, because they couldn't afford to keep him. After I tell him yes, I asked him if he could meet us somewhere between Medina and Kerrville to get Toby and he tells me that he can't, because they had left Kerrville and were nearly to their destination! Then he tells me that we can go by their house and pick Toby up."

"I asked him if he was in their backyard and the man tells me no. He told me they left Toby sitting on the front porch steps and then he gives me the direction to their house. Tony and I then jumped into Buttermilk and took off to get Toby."

"When we got to the vacant house—Toby was sitting on the porch all alone and he looked sad. Tony then gets out of Buttermilk and says, 'Come on, Toby. Load up.' And Toby came running and jumped into Buttermilk!"

"Kim, Toby Keith is one fine dog. He is about four or five years old, great with children, dogs and cats and is extremely well trained. We really love this dog and he deserves to have one of the best forever homes..." Kim looked exhausted when I had finished talking and she went to get us and Toby some water.

When the camera crew was ready to shoot us, Kim sat down in her chair and then I sat down on the couch with Mr. Toby Keith resting his head on my leg. "Tony," Kim said, "why don't you do the show with us?" Tony shook his head no.

"No," T. said. "Nancy is good in front of a camera and I'm not good at talking."

"Oh, come on Tone," I said. "It will be fun and you won't have to say a thing. Please?" Tony looked trapped and then he walked over to the couch and sat down beside Toby and me. "Tony, please smile—you look miserable," I said.

As Kim put a wire on me she asked Tony if he wanted to be wired too, with a mike—T. shook his head sideways. Then the sound man told me that my necklace (The beautiful one that Karen Cares made for me a few years ago. The turquoise one with the cowboy hat—that I love and had worn for luck.) was interfering with the sound on my mike, so I reluctantly took it off and took a deep breath and said a silent prayer, before the lights came on and the cameras started rolling.

Thirty minutes later the show was over and I had a blast. Even T. told me on our way home that he enjoyed doing it, too, even though Tony said not a word. Kim and I talked about Toby Keith, David Beckham the soccer playing wild hog who was adopted and now lives at Trails End Guest House, and then I read a short story from my new book.

Before leaving the station Brian and Kim told me that the show will air tomorrow morning at 7:30 and my interview will be in the last thirty minutes of the hour long show. And it will air a few more times tomorrow and can be seen on the internet at  www.kvhc.com.

"Just log onto KVHC and go to the little tv near the bottom of the page that says, 'Watch Me' " Kim said.
"We will send you the video clips of the show so you can upload them to YouTube."

If y'all know anyone that might be interested in adopting Toby Keith please ask them to call us, because he is one super, great dog! We love you, Toby Keith!

Y'all have a great evening!