When I first moved to the valley 14 years ago, I was a little scared, a little excited and a lot in love with Brady. I still am a lot in love with Brady, but I'm no longer scared. At the time, it was a whole new world for me over here on this side of the mountain. Eugene was the "big city!" The first place Brady and I lived was in a single-wide trailer on the property of one of Brady's dearest friends, Dugan Brewer. Dugan is actually more like a brother to Brady than a friend, and Dugan and I hit it off like ducks to water. I have so many fun memories of Dugan, they are too numerous to count! One of the best things about him is the way he is always helping Brady and I when we need something. He is one of the most generous souls you will ever meet, and was one of the best bull riders in the world during his prime. That's a true story!One night, shortly after moving to Eugene, I remember I was waiting for Brady to get home from work. He was working overtime, so it was late. The only furniture we had at this time was a hide-a-bed with a sleeping bag on it, and a teeny-tiny TV. I think the screen was 13 inches. No matter - we were thrilled to be together and happy as clams. On this particular night, as I was waiting, all of a sudden I noticed a man outside the trailer on top of the pump house roof. His hair was sticking straight up, and he looked a little crazy. This scared me a little, but just as I was about to call Brady on his cell phone, there was a knock at the door. I peeked through it and realized it was Dugan. He was the wild man I had just spied out the window on top of the pump house roof. Not only was his hair sticking straight up, it was full of shampoo. He had on a blue bath robe and his black cowboy boots with green tops. Let me tell you, he was a sight! Turns out the water had gone out during his shower, so he wanted to let me know. "What am I going to do?" he said, thinking out loud. I said, "I don't know..." I didn't laugh until Brady got home. Thankfully, Dugan figured out how to fix the water situation, and all was well. But I will never forget the sight of him with his hair, bathrobe and boots. Where I come from, men don't even have bathrobes - turns out Dugan didn't own one, either. It belonged to his wife, but I didn't know that at the time.
Over the years, Dugan has helped us so many times, I can't even count them all. If we have a problem or need help, Brady always calls Dugie, as we call him. Just last week, Dugan came to our rescue again and moved our "Pooh Pile" for us. With the winter weather moving in so early, our Pooh Pile didn't get moved, and it was a soggy mess, to say the least! At the first sign of dryness, Dugan was able to zip out here and get it cleared out. He even went the extra mile and spread some gravel for me and made a better road to my dumping site.
One of the best things about Dugan are his stories. When he and Brady get together, they tell about all the wild times they've had together, and it is such a treat to hear them. They are very entertaining! Sometimes I wonder how the two of them survived and became productive citizens, you know what I mean? To be honest, some of their buddies didn't. Dugan and Brady lived in a different time, though, than today's world, and they have always been good to their cores. They might be the toughest old bull riders you'll ever meet, but they have hearts of gold.
