Check rodeo off the list of things to see before we die

Mocha-momma, though not anywhere near the status of socialite, was at least much more refined in her tastes than I was when we met. She was the classical music lover, and she knew her way around an appropriate table setting for fine dining. It's taken a while for her to actually enjoy my side of the spectrum; but, in the last two months she has seen a Lynard Skynard concert, and now, she's been to a rodeo. (and loved them both I might add)

We went to the Hamel Rodeo last night. The kids enjoyed it as well, particularly the clown acts. As much as we did enjoy the atmosphere and watching the events, I have to say that this most definitely must be the minor leagues of the rodeo circuits. In all the events there were on average about 10 competitiors, and in each event there was maybe about 2 guys that successfully completed the activity. In the steer wrestling, almost all of them missed the stupid steer and fell on their faces. In bull riding, only two guys managed to go 8 seconds; the rest of them were all tossed off within the first 3 seconds out of the gate. It was rather sad.

The announcer, from TX, was fun to listen to; but, it seemed like one long commercial for sponsors such as Dodge trucks and Budweiser the whole evening. Whatever the case, we had fun, and it beat watching HGTV or the Food Network.

I found a new dream. Get myself a brahmin bull, train it, and go out on the rodeo circuit. This one's name is Shotgun. When this act first came in to the ring, my first thought was Blazing Saddles. Remember when Mongo (Alex Karras) came riding into town? He parked the bull in front of a saloon, and some guy on a horse told him he couldn't bring a bull into town. Mongo walked over and punched the horse in the face and knocked it over. I remember I almost split my gut laughing at that.