Meeting the Naked Cowboy

This is a re-post.  I originally wrote this post on Cindy M. Hogan's blog.


My fourteen year old daughter and I were in NYC on a cold, wet December day.  The rain had stopped as we made our way through Times Square.

I heard a lot of screams and laughter and saw lots of women around the famous Naked Cowboy.  I had seen him on numerous occassions in Times Square on other visits there, wearing only his cowboy hat, cowboy boots, tighty-whiteys and carrying his guitar.  What a perfect photo op!  But, I couldn't convince my daughter that it was.  She was so embarrassed; she wouldn't approach him with me.

We (the Naked Cowboy and I) shook hands and exchanged quick hellos. He asked where I was from and if I was enjoying NYC.   He seemed like a very pleasant guy.  As he and I posed for a picture together, I thought about how cold it was and knew he had to be cold.

I gave him a tip and he told me to put it inside his guitar along with the rest of his take for the day.  I wondered how long he had been out there in that weather, making his cold, hard cash.