Still in her room is a picture of Susan and her friend Donna flanking The Naked Cowboy in Times Square. This was in 2003, and I think he was the original Naked Cowboy, a snaggle-toothed guitar toting, underpants wearing fixture who probably couldn't get into a night club that had a "two-tooth" minimum.
The Naked Cowboy is showing his good side, his rear end. This was the Times Square when he and only a handful of others plied the performance trade for tourist money. Times Square at that point wasn't free of traffic, so the picture is from one of those thing pedestrian triangles. Duffy Square maybe, or where the George M. Cohan statue is.
I don't know how it worked out , but there's another person who is now The Naked Cowboy. I don't know if he is "licensed" by the first guy, but the current one is currently finding a warmer climate appearing in the lobby of Trump Tower, New York's latest hot spot for action, ever since Mr. Trump's election as president. The presidency creates crowds, and crowds carry money, and some of that money finds its way going to The Naked Cowboy for photos with a New York celebrity.
The circus that has descended on Trump Tower ever since election night results came in is described in a NYT story this past Friday. The Cowboy, as he is referred to, is Robert John Burck, 45 years old and a fan of The Donald.
He is a bit of a gadfly in the lobby, voicing displeasure at Mitt Romney and his potential for being named Secretary of State as he takes a whispered phrase from Mr. Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway as she scoots to the elevators. A subsequent TV news story tells of The Donald himself clearing the way for The Cowboy to visit him in his penthouse spread. The guy has got to be on Cloud Nine.
Since the lobby is public space, the curious and the fringe of New York can ham it up for the cameras there to record the comings and goings of the president-elect. The Times story tells of Mr Burck and others who have established themselves as part of the total New York experience.
If the visual isn't enough, you have to be told The Cowboy wears white boots, a cowboy hat, a thin American- flag-like poncho and a pair of short white pants that look like a diaper from behind.
The "diaper" has the word TRUMP written on the back in red and blue letters. This of course blends patriotically with the whiteness of the underwear. His guitar, which he plays to accompany himself on spur-of-the moment-lyrics, is where he secretes the money he earns from his well-wishers and photograph partners. The security checks peer into the guitar for explosives.
The Naked Cowboy is the latest in political animals who earns money by pay-for-play, although his activity is not likely to get him a stretch in Federal prison like some elected officials.
And even though he is now more indoors than outdoors in frigid temperatures, The Cowboy has already replaced Obamacare with his own brand of health insurance that seems to keep him from getting pneumonia. He occasionally buys an alcoholic drink at the bar, being served wordlessly by a bartender who knows his usual.
He's starring in a gig in the lobby of Trump Tower, now the most photographed building in New York City with a near-naked cowboy inside.
You can't be mad at everything.
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