Lise and I met Cowboy, and we met him at the doctor’s office! Lise saw him come in, and whispered that the man had a squirrel on his back. He sat near us and saw that Lise had her phone in her hand. He said, “You got a camera? Come on over here.”

I got my phone out as Cowboy told Lise to sit beside him. He held a leash for the squirrel as he cradled a teacup chihuahua with his other hand.

The squirrel went to Lise’s shoulder at his command, and went back to him when he said, “Come to Papa.”

Cowboy told me to come over, and as I got closer, he asked, “How old are you?”

I replied, “80.”

“Well, I’ll be 85 in August. Sit down.” I did as told, sitting between him and his wife.

I petted the squirrel after he left my shoulder. He was soft and warm. I didn’t hear my name called, but Lise did and told me to go.

The assistant saw where I was and talked about Cowboy as we went to the examining room. Everyone knows him. He was in the movie Deliverance with Burt Reynolds. Later I read on line that Reynolds had worked with him briefly at Ghost Town, a tourist attraction in the next village. When a casting director wanted a toothless mountain man for the movie, Reynolds brought him Herbert Coward. He was perfect for the part. Lise said when he and his wife were called, everyone greeted him by name.

We were excited to tell neighbors about meeting the man. Shawn has been to Cowboy’s church and seen him there with the squirrel. Joyce read an article about him recently in a local paper and knew he’d had a pet squirrel for 30 years. Not only that, she saw him in person at Mission Hospital in Asheville when her daughter was having a baby there a few months ago. He was in the waiting room. Lise and I felt we were the last to know about the local celebrity. She’s going to enjoy showing our photos to friends in Denmark.