WILD WOMAN
sally puff courtney

Women have often been considered mystic in nature. The mysticisms can be viewed as magical, obscure, mysterious and even unexplainable. The very definition of "mystic" means enraptured, wrapped, shrouded or sometimes even divine. Society by and large has set forth protocols or stereotypes in defining the female role. Acceptable models by which women are to pattern their lives have often times been defined by what men think women should be like. In essence, the roles are ways by which to protect the almost sacred aspects of women's fertility and life-giving qualities, if viewed in a positive light.

Today, the roles, however, may be interpreted as simply "roles" one would play out as in a TV sitcom. Something you have to work at and doesn't always come naturally. Something that could leave your soul empty and lifeless if it doesn't fall within the rhythms of one's psyche. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., author of Women Who Run With The Wolves, suggests there is an archetype of women who, because they are in touch with their wild and innate aspects of their instinctual selves, live life passionately, creatively and powerfully. Unmuffled by any role playing, these women tap into their nurturing, compassionate and agelessknowing intuitive senses. They thrive in their creativity and explore the bounty and beauty of their inner-most selves. They are able to frolic and run with the wolves because they are in sync with their intrinsic natures. According to Estés, they are "wild women," living naturally, genuinely, not out of control. Their boundaries are as deep as the woodlands, as high as the mountain tops and as free-flowing as the mighty rivers that make their sojourns to the oceans' waters. Their wisdom is timeless and caring and takes on womanly incubation qualities.

Sally Puff Courtney is one such woman. She is a "wild woman" archetype. She is a woman of the 21st Century and the 1st Century. She is an adoring mother, loving sister, nurturing daughter, a good friend and the alpha female breadearner in Telluride, San Miguel County and very likely southwestern Colorado . Sally says, "It's safe to say I close more transactions than anyone in my company, Telluride Real Estate Corporation." Why? Because she can run with the wolves; she has escaped the masquerades; she has come clean and put herself, her true-self, on this clothes line of life. She reaches, pounces and explores new routes and always puts the needs of her pack of clients, friends and family first. From the conception to the birth of a transaction, she and her two assistants, Kim Havell and Emily Brown, meticulously follow-through with the most minute of details. Sally has set no boundaries for herself and cannot be fenced in. She is wild and free.

Agility, curiosity and a never-ending drive to do the best she can at everything she does, puts her at the top of the food chain. "I am, who I am. I do the very best I can for my clients, friends, family and community. That's all anyone can do," says Sally in her Demi Moore-like husky voice. Sally is one of Telluride's long-time locals. She moved here in 1974, just two years after the ski resort opened and is now celebrating her 25th year in Telluride. After graduating with a secondary education degree from Bucknell University , she drove out West with her then husband, Michael Courtney. Sam Siegel, another quarter century resident, wrote Mike and Sally a letter and said, "You've got to come to Telluride. It's beyond words." "I'll never forget arriving at Society Turn and first coming into the valley. I was in awe then and I am in awe today with Telluride's natural beauty," cites Sally.

Like a wolf and other creatures of the wild, Sally is fiercely loyal, protective and involved with her family. "Tyler, my 16-year-old son, is the light of my life. He is my friend and my joy. Tyler and I are big fishermen; Tyler fly fishes and I lure fish. We deep sea, estuary, lake and stream fish. Wherever we travel together, we fish as well or scuba dive together."

Born in Montrose, Telluride's primary birthing grounds, on October 21, 1983 , Tyler has been nurtured and raised by Sally and Michael Courtney. You can see the life-blood of Sally runs through her veins to her son. Anything she has, is his. Any lessons she has learned in life, she passes to Tyler and anything she can do to make this community a better place, she strives to get involved with and make a difference. Sally, like most creatures of the earth, takes care of the society she is part. She knows the intricate workings of her territory and is dedicated to preserving its quality for herself, her offspring and the Telluride tribe at large. "My very best friend in the world is my sister Barbara Puff. We have some powerful communication stuff going on....She'll be in Scottsdale , Arizona , and me here, and we will both pick up the phone and call each other at the same time. I am sure it is sisterstuff, but our wavelengths are in sync," conveys Sally...either that, or Sally is in tuned with her sixth sense. "I cannot tell you how much Barb means to me," she continues. "My younger brother by 13 months, Jeff Puff, and myself also have a special thing going. We are soul-mates. He is one of the most caring, concerned persons about myself and my son," claims Sally.

Sally's brother is an attorney in New Jersey and regularly invests in projects with Sally in and around Telluride. The oldest of the Puff children, Bob, is the CIO of American Century Mutual Fund, a multi-billion dollar corporation, in Kansas City , Kansas . "We can hardly imagine Bob's success. He has spent 30 years in corporate America achieving some major, major stuff," Sally exclaims. The Puff children got their drive to excel from their parents. "We had a very good childhood," claims Sally. "My mom was a housewife who is one of the best fundraisers I know. She's raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the hospital my father doctored at. She also raised funds to help the needs of the community by creating cookbooks and the like. My father, a general practitioner, said to me when I was 14 or 15-years-old, 'common sense is your greatest attribute and a wonderful thing to live by Sally.' That was the boost or inspiration I needed at that time in my life, because I wasn't an outstanding student like the rest of my siblings."

Sally reflects upon that statement and says it probably is the one credo she has modeled her life after; Common sense can get you places, you don't have to be a raving genius. As of September of '99, Sally's parents have been married for 55 years and in March, one day apart, they turn 80-years-old. Every August, for at least a quarter of a century, the Puffs meet at Lake Winnepesaukee for a family reunion. They boat, laugh lots and, of course, fish. Sally notes that she will be like her father and her grandmother when she gets older. She sees herself gardening, bird watching and horseback riding when she goes into semi-retirement. Like her parents, and her parent's parents, Sally feels a peace and tranquility while gardening and being in the arms of Mother Nature. "Nothing. I mean nothing, but my son Tyler, makes me feel better than somebody giving me a flower. Any kind of flower. It does incredible things to me. It can make my week. I love flowers, trees, birds and all wild things. I haven't studied horticulture or botany like the elders in my family, but I see myself doing that someday."

It is not only the unparalleled mountain setting that enraptured Sally's soul and enticed her to carve out a mountain den here, it was a quaint Victorian house with a well-tended to garden that whispered to her. The house and its grounds sang a song of delight and howled into the wind words that titillated Sally's womanly nesting instincts. "Alta Cassietto, who was the postmaster here for years, was the woman I bought my house from. The day after I saw her garden and the house, I drew up a contract for $55,000 and got my place in the sun. It's only 2,000-square-feet, but I love every inch of it."

Sally's reverence for beauty and natural things such as gardens has enriched the community greatly. Her love of flowering plants enticed her and Joyce Allred in 1975 to start the Garden Club of Telluride which eventually parlayed into the Clean-Up/Green-Up project. "We probably got rid of over 100 abandoned cars, stoves, refrigerators and other junk off the streets. We cleaned the alley ways, the sidewalks and helped beautify Telluride all around.

One of a wolf 's most admired traits is their propensity to have fun. No matter the age, wolves have a lifelong gift for joyful play. It's an important aspect of their lives and one that helps them refine their keen hunting and survival skills. Throughout the echoes of time, their down time, is a time of courtship, a time for yapping heartfelt tunes to the wind, and a time to wonder into the great expanses of their territory and soak-up the mystical, magical wonders of nature. "Being in the mountains with cool air and the sun in my face, sets me off, just like gardening. The beauty, the quiet and the serenity I feel from the mountains is spiritual. I get a lot of energy and strength from the mountains," says Sally.

One of Sally's passions is horseback riding. She regularly saddles up and heads for the backcountry with friends and family. "I've done round ups with Jim Nerlin, pack trips over the Bridge of Heaven, rides on Whipple Mountain and much more. I also love to sing. I am in the church chorus, WinterSing and started a group that'll sing songs from groups like the Supremes. The fleeting moments she's come face to face with predators and wild critters have left lasting impressions too. Seeing giant predators of the West has rendered her into silence and virtually slapped her wild conscience to the surface. "Years and years ago, I was driving in my Bronco up Ilium Valley from Placerville and a mountain lion jumped in front of me. With the poise and grace of a ballerina, the puma finessed his way up the mountain's nearly perpendicular cliff. My heart got going so fast, I had to pull over and take a breather," says Sally.

Not long ago, she was in the Brown Ranch showing clients property and she happened across a bear in a tree. Again, Sally just stopped, watched and listened to echoes in the forest and for movements from the great hunter. More times than not, Sally lets nature do the speaking for her. Hawks and eagles soar above, while elk cast their bugles into the mountains, mesas and meadows. Wildlife's serenades and movements create the most spectacular, primal waltzes of all, and Sally, in all her wisdom, knows she cannot outdo nature's provocative dances; so she sits back, enjoys and soaks it up. She does, however, know when she's in the "civilized world," she has to orchestrate and choreograph her own show, so she does so via "image advertising." "Though 80 percent of my real estate closings come from referrals, the image ads I run in TellurideStyle , the Pocket and Dining Guides have made a tremendous mark. The internet has also done well for me. (Visit Sally on the web at telluridebroker.com and buytelluride.com.) Sally Puff Courtney's irrevocable kinship with wild things and common sense has put her in the vanguard of the Telluride community.

As a business person, she has proven her prowess. Though her profession seems to be contradictory to her love of earthy things, she pragmatically believes in the balance of "the growthers and non-growthers." Like the Canas Lupas , her livelihood hangs on the intimate knowledge of her surroundings and it's reassuring to know, she has nothing but reverence for it. As a mother, she has demonstrated her love and instilled the importance of family and society, education, work and play. Mostly, however, as a woman, as a "wild woman archetype," she has elucidated the powerful and robust spirit of the "natural female." She's fearless in nature and chock-full of life-giving strength. She has the ability to melt into the landscape or thunder at injustices. She can hear things not spoken, see things unseeable to others. She can feel the magic of nature and pays her homage to it by simply strolling in woods, scouting the land or resting on her hammock and listening. She likes to listen to nature and hears the calls of the wild. They whisper their tones and canalize through her. They beckon her and she responds by simply being who she is - Sally Puff Courtney.