cowboy up!

the tribute continues...

When I was a kid I had a dream job! I wanted to be a rodeo clown. Now there are two kinds of rodeo clowns, there are the guys who are the emergency rescue squad for the bull rider and there are those who relax all day in the Clown Lounge (the barrel). I wanted to be the latter. Those guys always seemed funny, they played great practical jokes and they could always make the audience laugh. And if the bull ever looked at you you just made faces at him and when he came charging you just duck down in the barrel and enjoy the ride.

As I grew up I realized my real dream was to be a Bulldogger. Steer Wrestling was the kind of sport I thought I would love to try. I once worked with a guy who was a team roper. He feed my need to be cowboy up'd. I also went to high school with a guy who was Harry the Horse, the official mascot of the Calgary Stampede. He moved on to the wild horse race and the wild cow milking at the Stampede.

My closest link to rodeo greatness is my cousin Trevor. My cousin was a rodeo rider. I remember a wednesday in July my family sat in the Stampede grandstand to watch my cousin come out of the chute. The clown was there to ensure the safety of the cowboys, he was strapped on and ready to go. With a nod of the head the chute flew open. Out came Trevor holding on to the wild beast for dear life. Trevor was a Mutton Buster. Sure, he was about 5 years old and he was riding a sheep - but, he was a cowboy in the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.