Just One Fool Thing After Another: A Cowfolks' Guide to Romance

by Gladiola Montana

The book is romance etiquette

Genres: Humor

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 1994

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this at my local bookshop I volunteer at, and thought it was cute. A while later, when I was discarding books from that section, I ended up getting to take it home for free.


There was surprising wisdom in here and quotes I liked:
'If you want to stay single, look for a perfect mate.'

'It's a lot cheaper to borrow money than to marry for it.'

'Most marital graves are dug with a lot of little digs.'

'Faults are thick when love is thin.'

'The ties of marriage are not slip knots.'

'Big problems will pull you together. It's the little things that tear you apart.'

'Dont waste your time lovin' somebody you can't laugh with.'

'A good man's smile is worth a million winks from a bar hopper.'

'Lovin' somebody for all they're worth ain't quite the same as lovin somebody for all you're worth.'

'Complaining about your partner to others is a bad habit that will lead to worse ones.'

'Its best not to chew on something that's eatin you.'

'You gotta get a hold of yourself before you can get a hold on a good marriage.'

'Saying what you please only as long as you please somebody ain't saying what you please.'

'Dont measure each other in inches.'

'To appreciate love, you have to know you can lose it.'

'When a man and a woman first get married, they tell each other everything. After a while, they know without tellin.'

'Marriages made in heaven only work when they get down to earth.'



There were some cute, western-inspired ones:
'Be quick to mend fences.'

'Love is a rocky trail, but it promises a scenic ride.'

'A stone stops rolling when it lands near the kinda moss it's been lookin to gather.'

'When one pulls and one bucks, you ain't gonna get nowhere.'



I found several to be confusing. I'm not really sure what they meant.
Others didn't seem to be applied to love.
'If you've got love in your heart, you've got spurs in your sides.'

'Horse sense and affairs of the heart are an unusual pair.'

'You've gotta wear the boot to know where it pinches.'

'Never use a knife to cut a tender connection.'

'Once her broken heart mends, a woman usually feels like a new man.'

'Lust is like a prairie rose: it lasts while it lasts.'

'When the horse dies, get off.' Unless you're saying when the love dies get out.

'Don't waste time on someone you can easily run the whole length of.'

'In the spring, if your fancy turns to the opposite sex, you've been wastin' the winter.'


Some was just bad advice, and a little outdated.
'Stolen kisses require an accomplice.'

'Don't wait to know somebody better to kiss em. Kiss em and you'll know em better.'

One page said never let a fool kiss you--and never let a kiss fool you. Then later it said never kiss a fool--more'n once.


There were some funny pages, and I enjoyed those.
'The best way to get married is with ignorance and confidence.'

'Man is straw; woman is fire. When the devil blows, it's hell.'

'Being a friend to somebody you'd rather be in love with, is like being invited behind the barn to look at the stars and just lookin' at the stars.'

'Love from afar is too far off to do you any good.'

'Love is a fire you can't buy insurance for.'

'Approach love like a bowl of chili: the hotter the better.'


This was one sweet: 'you know you're in love when there are only two places in the world: where she is, and where she's not.'


It could have ended on a better note. The one before last was about not realizing how long a day is until you lose your heart and then ending with 'remember, somebody nice to come home to is somebody nice to go out with, too.' Although a nice reminder, I guess, I feel it could have ended with one on romance to encapsulate the whole book.
One earlier in the book was similar to the title, saying love was just one fool thing after another. That could have worked better as the last page, to wrap it up.

This isn't meant to be taken seriously, and is good for what it is, a lighthearted, comedic take on romance.
Some were insightful, meaningful, others were funny and cute. And there were some I didn't understand. A couple didn't have to do with love, and was on diet instead.
Nice to read leading up to Valentine's Day.

[Manzila · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good number of "Cowboyish" advises about love, romance, marriage and so on but any non-cowboy can also gain from these!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book, filled with amusing and romantic sayings, was a joy to read.

[Patricia Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, fast read. I like some of the folksy wisdom and expressions, but not sure I need to keep a book about them. They can probably be found on the Internet now. Good stocking stuffer though!

[Jonathan Jerden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read of 50+ sayings of the Old West . . . most appropriate for a young couple recently engaged.