“Rose,
Have I told you about your Aunt Jewel, the singer and songwriter?”
Rose: “No…but don’t you mean that she’s my niece?”
Paula: “Well, I guess, maybe. But I’ve never worried much about all that cousins, twice removed, ex-etc. type of thing with ‘kin.'”
But, I want to tell you the story. She IS proo-ba-bly your most famous relative.”
Paula: “Once upon a time the heroine, Paula… ”
Rose (interrupting): “I’m the heroine, I’m Prairie Pug! Well, I’m the current and most important descendant from the original Prairie Pug, Jade Snow Wong Graves.”
Paula: “Well, okay. Let’s just skip the ego and say Paula got married and one of the first wedding gifts the young couple received was the promise of a pug puppy still to come.”
Rose: “Who promised this to you?”
Paula: “T., Mona and Layne Hier. T. Hier worked on the Adams Ranch, the Maple Hill ranch that worked in tandem with the family’s XIT Ranch in western Kansas. He had been an employee for many many years of his adult life, and continued to work for and with Raymond Adams until his passing.”
Rose: “So…I’m not getting the connection…”
Paula: “Well…Mona Hier’s nephew was Ty Murray, the famous rodeo star. That is, this is my memory.”
Rose: “Memory! Whaddaya mean, meeemory!! Facts here, you are a historian! And, carry on…I’m still not picking up on the connection.”
Paula: “My best fact checker is a bit ‘out of pocket’ in terms of having that dialogue. Let’s move on…So! Ty Murray and Jewel used to be married. Well, that’s about it, that’s how you are related to Jewel.”
Rose: “I’m still not getting it…”
Paula: “Don’t you see…Jewel’s ex-husband’s Aunt (and son) GAVE them that dog! His name was Winston, named for the cigarettes, aka Prairie Pug II.
It’s almost like you were in their wedding! In fact, here’s the picture!”
Rose: “Well…this seems like kind of a tall Tale to me!”
And, it seems to go around in circles a bit, just like mine. It’s a curly tail. Ha ha!”
Paula: “Oh, Rose, you are such a card and a bard…maybe this should have been a poem. But, I always circle back and return, don’t I?
Rose: “To what is that?”
Paula: “Pugs, of course. The Pug. You, of course, Dearest.”
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