Beakfast and Branding

I just got back from a fundraiser out on Pyramid Hwy. It was $15 for lousy eggs and mediocre hash browns, but the bacon and orange juice were good. They had a good string band there called Branding Iron that played in between candidate speeches. Most of the candidates were running for assembly or judgeship's. At one point, I found myself standing next to James Smack, a long shot candidate for Congress. He's not as nuts as his website might suggest. He's never run for anything before, but he graduated from Amherst and now owns a pawnshop in Fallon. He's kind of a good ol' boy, but soft spoken and serious. The incumbent, Dean Heller, wasn't there. I'm leaning towards Smack.
Of particular interest was the Governor's wife, Dawn Gibbons. Mrs. Gibbons, you may recall, has recently thrown the Governor out of the mansion and hired a hot shot Democrat attorney to drag him through the mud in their upcoming divorce proceedings. She received a surprisingly warm reception, as opposed to the Governor, when at the Washoe County Convention, received a rather tepid reception. The plot thickens.
I had thought that the branding part of all this was just about the band. It turned out they were having a round-up also. I was sitting on a hay bale in the shade waiting for the round-up to start, and struck up a conversation with an old cowboy named Ed. I recognised Ed from the reconvene convention due to his gigantic handlebar mustache. We had a nice little chat. When the round-up started, Ed says, "C'mon, lets go root for the cows". We did, but they lost. The cowboys could use a little more practice with their lassoing technique, but the horses knew exactly what to do.
After awhile, I bid Ed a "see ya 'round", and headed for the car. On the way I ran into Laurie, whom I also recognised from the reconvene convention. She was with her friend Juanita, who is the Story County Chairman. It turns out, they are part of the "conspiracy wing" of the Ron Paul faction. They meet at the Denny's in Sparks every Saturday night at 6PM to discuss black helicopters and various theories concerning one world government. I thanked them for the invitation, but was non-committal. One has to be careful with one's associations. There are so many factions, and sub-groups of sub-groups, and everybody gets labeled sooner or later. I don't think I've been labeled yet, as I haven't found a group I fit into. I don't make a good "old cowboy", but I'd hang out with Ed anytime. All in all, an eventful morning.