Buck Rowdy and the Peppers

Over the years, the mighty little engine of Marco Island economics has always been subject to whimsical times. When the economy is in a recession and doom and gloom are the forecast, junior executives will tire of dismal predictions and choose a tropical destination to weather the fiscal storm. The befuddled corporate climbers will often arrive searching for a holdover job as a restaurant server or even as a member of a beach crew. 

During economic downturns, every hotel, eatery, and service industry will have a full complement of staff. Even the Beach Boys and Girls have enough help while working through the hard times in paradise.

When the economy turns for the better however - seemingly without an uplifting forecast - the competition for finding staff becomes fierce. Hiring notices appear everywhere, benefits and signing bonuses become legendary, and applicants will ponder job opportunities only where the rewards are incredible.

During the booming times and when the good times roll, virtually all tropical destinations are short of help.

An economic boom in the not-so-distant past was the setting when the Beach Boys and Girls were asking for help, and no one was answering the call. Everyone was exhausted from working six-day weeks and was more than ready to approve anyone applying for a job. This was when Buck Rowdy made an appearance on Marco Beach asking for work. He was a tall and thin roughshod young man recently from out west.

Never was anyone hired faster and thrown into the front lines of Beach Boy labor than Buck Rowdy. He spent about five minutes in human resources - a department also without enough help - when he emerged on the beach, met the staff, and went to work.

Buck Rowdy, however, liked to talk more than work and this trait became obvious even on the first day.

“Howdy, folks!” Buck began after introductions. “I’m from out west. I’ve been everywhere and done everything from herding cattle to building pipelines and nuclear reactors. Once, I even hitchhiked to China and worked over there as a hotel general manager.”

At once, the Beach Boys and Girls cringed. The rough demeanor and cowboy accent was beyond abrasive, the tall tales were certainly a danger signal, but no one wanted to work six-day weeks.

After Buck’s first day, everyone began to believe that somewhere in his past, Buck Rowdy was also a magician. Buck could disappear. Whenever heavy lifting or teamwork was waiting, Buck could vanish like smoke in a hurricane. He was also capable of remarkable skills in chivalry, rodeo philosophy, and embellished lessons pertaining to the greatest days of the American Wild West.

Whenever labor or tasks were waiting, and Buck was not in the restroom, employee cafeteria, or out for a smoke break, his finesse at finding excuses for not working became legendary.

If anyone of any age needed chivalrous action from a dashing character out of a cowboy movie, Buck Rowdy was there. Buck would drop any pretense of work if his Wild West radar could detect a door that needed opening or a young damsel in need of directions. Buck’s favorite diversion was to rescue anyone from anything that might be unpleasant or possibly dangerous.

On one unforgettable occasion, several of the beach crew - including Buck - were bound for a lunch break when a harmless black snake began to cross the sidewalk in front of a young and beautiful hotel guest. The girl with the phone and the exciting figure was oblivious to the snake crossing in front of her, but Buck Rowdy was ever vigilant when it came to rescuing girls in bikinis and drubbing sidewinder varmints that were always villains.

In one fluid move, Buck crouched, jumped in front of the helpless female, and grabbed the poor snake by the neck. The snake at once curled around the cowboy’s wrist as he held up his latest trophy. After the girl shrieked at the sight, Buck gallantly took the unfortunate creature over to the nearest bushes and released it back into the wild. He then moved in beside the young woman and began talking her down from the recent terror on the obviously dangerous pavement.

After heading the sidewinder off at the pass, Buck was expansively telling everyone at the lunch table of his previous experiences with much more lethal villains when a housekeeping manager sat down and began listening to Buck’s trailblazing exploits from the Wild West. As the manager sat, he produced a Tupperware container full of ghost peppers. He politely asked if anyone wanted a pepper but explained they were very hot and not for the faint of heart. Buck immediately began to explain there were no hotter peppers anywhere than out west and he would certainly like to recall his cattle herding days with a milder version of the “Killer Hot” peppers of the open range.

After Buck wolfed several of the ghost peppers at once, his face began to look like a fire engine, sweat began to pop on his face, and he began to gag, retch, and reach for another person’s water bottle. He then jumped up and disappeared as if work were waiting. 

The following day, Buck Rowdy did not show up for work. The following week, without any sign of Buck, two deputies from the sheriff’s office walked down to the beach. Without preamble, one of the officers pulled out a “Wanted” photo of the hombre everyone knew as Buck Rowdy.

“Has anyone seen this man?” The deputy asked. After bursting into laughter, the universal answer was “Yes!” The deputies then explained the man in the photo was Francis Posey and he was on the run from lawmen in El Paso and Texarkana. 

Tom Williams is a Marco Islander and the author of two books: “Lost and Found” and “Surrounded by Thunder—the Story of Darrell Loan and the Rocket Men.” Both books are available on Kindle and Nook.