I had been 'on a roll' with my contest
entries, and my telephone had been ringing constantly. In my
determination to win, I had failed to let know all those whom I had entered,
that I had entered them into a contest to win tickets to the rodeo. Samantha
and Dana were not aware that their names had been put forward. (I would add
that in the past,, I have been told, 'put me in for that too', and have
obliged. Having obliged when then have not asked, did not
seem to be out of order!) I had mentioned to Dana that it would be
exciting to go to the rodeo, and he had simply said, "Why?" All
I did from this point forward was fail to add his name to any contests entered.
However, I filled out the form each and every time in both my name and my
daughter's, thinking for some reason that she would want to take part in this great past time.
On the first Monday of South by Southwest,
just before we were about to leave and go downtown to take part in the
festivities, my daughter handed me her phone, and said "Answer this".
It was a number she did not recognise, but had not wanted to ignore the
call in case it was of importance. Obeying her command, as I so often do,
despite my promise of 'next time I will not!', a voice asked,
"Samantha?" I then asked, "Who is calling please?"
The caller presumed that this meant that I was indeed Samantha, and
continued with the conversation, while I was attempting to stop them in their
tracks. "......tickets to see Gary Allan, tomorrow night, at the
rodeo. I will email but as it is for tomorrow night, you will have to get
the tickets today or tomorrow. Do you know where we are?" At
this stage, I thought it probably not a good idea to say that this was not
Samantha, as the voice on the other end of the line sounded as if it were
reading from a generated script, and would be sent like a spinning top across
the table and on to the floor. Instead, I thanked the person whom offered
me the most coveted of all prizes, and told her that we would be there to
collect the tickets.
"We are going to the rodeo tomorrow night
to see Gary Allan" was greeted with such a lack of enthusiasm, it could
have been thought that I had just announced that we would all have to work 24
hours a day for the next month! Samantha, it would appear, was of the
same mindset as Dana. When I said that I had entered her name, so that we
could win, she simply said, "Why?" Jerry, our server whom is a
County and Western fan, was very enthusiastic! Feeling slightly dejected,
I offered the tickets to Jerry, at which point, my daughter reminded me (albeit
a little tongue in cheek) that she had won the tickets, and they were not mine
to give away!
The tickets were collected that afternoon,
and as we left the radio station, we checked to see the time the performance
started and, perhaps more importantly, where the event was taking place! Fortunately,
I had not entered us for an arena in the Dallas area, as I have mistakenly done
in the past, but this was at the Expo Center in Austin, where Samantha had
taken part in her 'colour runs'. However, the tickets stated that the
performance was for Monday night, not Tuesday, as we had been told, and for a
group with which we were unfamiliar! (Not that I was completely au fait with Mr. Allan!) Turning
around and re-entering the foyer, I made our predicament clear to the lady
behind the screen. Much as I was wanting to go to the rodeo, there was no
way that I could see myself having the energy to go that night. The walk
from our parking space to downtown, and standing in the baking sun for half an
hour to procure a t-shirt for Edward, had zapped me of all vigor, and I was
ready for bed rather than for a show of skill! The receptionist was a
little confused, but we had (or more to the point, with my permission, Samantha
had) accessed my emails, on Samantha’s phone, to show the discrepancy, and
after a little searching, the correct tickets were found.
The following day, I took my boots, and a
change of clothes, to the office, so that I could leave at the end of the day,
ready to go straight to the event. After our return from the festivities
downtown, Dana had suggested I leave early so that I could go home and relax a
little before the big show. I felt a little guilty considering that I had
only technically been at work from morning until noon, and had accomplished
little upon my return in the afternoon, but it had not been a particularly
grueling day, and it was only half an hour short of official 'quitting time'! I accepted
the time graciously, and went home. Considering the heat, and the long
walk we had taken earlier, a shower was, indeed, the source needed for my
revitalisation, and it re-vigourated my mind as well! I had planned to
wear my jeans and boots, but remembered that I had a shirt that would be
perfect for the occasion. Many years ago, I had purchased a white, button
down, cotton shirt, with four patches sewn
on to the front. Two boots, and two hats, one of each placed on either
side of the buttons, in alternate order. I also found a suede belt, with tussles,
that would put my appearance into the category of 'Western wear'. Feeling
rather pleased with this look, I waited for Samantha to emerge from wherever it
was she had disappeared!
"Are you wearing that?" was
followed by howling laughter. When I asked what was wrong with my perfect attire, she held back the giggles
and choked, "Nothing!" Once again, I checked myself in the
mirror and although I did look a little 'twee', I found nothing wrong with the
outfit. "Dana thinks you look great", she said as I turned
around to ask if we were ready to leave. I was not so shocked that she
had sent a picture to my husband to show him that I was dressed and ready to
go, but more at the speed at which she had managed to take the photo, add text,
and sent it to him! "And what did Sandra say?" I asked,
sarcastically, expecting her to answer that she had only sent the picture to
Dana, and had not passed it on to her neighbor, or any of her other friends.
Instead, she replied, "She thinks you look really good!"
Absolutely astounded at the speed at which she had managed to pass my
appearance around, I stood in an attempt to look cross at her action, but was
actually in awe of her accomplishment! "I can't believe you sent
that to Sandra", was my next comment, to which she replied, "Cori
thinks you look adorable and hot!"
Apparently, my image had not been uploaded to social media, yet, but as her phone 'pinged' again,
and Hannah gave her opinion, it was obvious that each of her friends were being
given an individual showing of her mother's idea of what was being 'worn at the
rodeo this year'!
We arrived at the Expo Center, parked, as
far towards the exit as we could, and walked towards the entrance stands.
Once our tickets had been authenticated, we made our way towards the
fairground booths and other side shows that were surrounding the 'big tent'.
I agreed to 'spin the wheel' in return for my email address, so that I
could be sent some details on the latest truck available on the market, and walked
away with a very nice pair of 'roping gloves'. We decided that we
did not need to ride on any of the fairground options, and went into the arena
that was to house the main event! Samantha handed the attendant her
ticket, and I handed mine to a lady next to him. "I love that top,
ma'am. It's so pretty!" I thanked her, politely, and then
thanked her again, with so much enthusiasm, she was taken aback. "My
daughter thought it was a little bit over the top!" I said, absolutely
delighted that someone associated with the rodeo thought I looked the part!
"Oh no! You look adorable. It is perfect". Beaming, and announcing that I had scored
two ‘adorables’, I went to join my giggling offspring, and we walked around
the booths inside the tent, sampling cake and other delicacies on offer, before
finding our seats. They were quite high up, but in the center so that we
had a great view of the sandy oval that was, we presumed, to be the pitch upon where the games were to take place.
The 'rodeo', as explained by the
spokesperson, dressed in far greater embellishment than me, was not only
for entertainment, but was an example of what genuine cowboys do as part of
their herding jobs. Animals, despite some thoughts
to the contrary, are not harmed in any way, and are very well taken care of.
Bull riding, of course, is more dangerous to the rider than the bull, and
the skills that we were going to see were part of everyday life in certain
areas. (Bull riding excluded, I believe.) The lights were then dimmed and
the show began, with riders attempting to stay on the bare backs of wild
stallions. (Perhaps they were mares, but then being a woman, I think if I were
a mare, I would refuse to move out of the stall, just to show who really was
the boss!) We watched with the crowd, held and caught our breath many times,
before deciding that it was time to take part in the other rodeo experience, to wit, eating a
whole turkey leg, and funnel cake!
I have never seen a six stone (eighty four
pound) turkey, but the leg from which our dinner came must have been from one as
big, as a crane would have been more in order to carry it back to my seat, than
the plate upon which it was served! The funnel cake was not at heavy, but
just as enormous, and we carried the feast back to our seat in order to enjoy
the whole experience! Much as I enjoyed the meat entree, I do not think it is
something of which I will partake in the near future. Samantha and I shared the limb and when we had eaten all we
could, there was still enough left to feed a small family! I had eaten to
the point of 'never again' and Samantha had eaten to the point of, 'I need to
leave room for funnel cake'. Deep fried batter, covered in sugar, is not
for the fainthearted! I felt my torso become more limber with each mouthful,
as the oil that had been saturated into the dessert, swam around my body and
lubricated each and every joint!
The remainder of the rodeo show was
excellent. Each cowboy was rated on his
skill level, and given points to take them into the next round, or determine
whether they were to continue at all. The winner of one event had been
competing for over forty years, which meant his age was technically, but proved
not actually, against him. We clapped, hollered although did not whistle
(as I am unable) at all the events, and sat patiently as the whole show,
animals, riders and of course the 'rodeo clown' paraded in front of the crowd.
My curiosity as to how they were going to
erect a stage upon the sandy, uneven ground, was not long lived. From a
side entrance, two tractors appeared, each hauling part of a platform, with
drums, sound boxes, and all sorts of equipment upon them. As they made their
way to the centre of the arena, they maneuvered into a position where the two
parts became one, and the stage was set! Genius! Once this part was
completed, the band members, minus the star, were brought out on the back of
trucks, and jumped from the tailgate on to the platform, to start their sound
check, and get into position for the 'big man on campus'. The announcer’s
voice was heard before the roar of an exhaust, and in drove Gary Allan in a
fabulous new truck, that deposited him and then drove to the end of the ring, presumably waiting for his
departure.
The first song to be played was one I
recognised. Although I could not tell the name, nor sing the tune without
prompting, the dulcet tones of this particular track had come over the radio
waves and into the car! I was very excited. There was not going to
be a 'meet and greet' afterwards, but I was not concerned. I was watching
a concert at the rodeo, having enjoyed a giant turkey leg, funnel cake and a
whole show to boot; the pun being intentional, as my boots had finally been to
a venue where they would actually belong!
We stayed for several songs, but decided
to leave before the end, as the crowd was very large. Despite being at
the exit, when the departure is of many, the routes to the exits are sometimes
diverted, and it takes as long to leave as did the show to perform!
Our trip back to my house was not very
long. Dana and the dog were out walking, and Frank was happy to jump
straight into the car after I jumped out. I told Dana of my experience,
and was very animated. I told him that the ticket attendant had thought
my shirt most appropriate, as had many of Samantha's friends! He was more amused
than I had been at her broadcast!
Finally, I was in a position to state,
categorically, whenever something comes around that I have previously
experienced, that this is 'Not my first rodeo'! When people ask,
"What do you like about Austin?" I am always truthful when I reply,
"There is always something to do, and always something new, at least for
me!"
Humdrum life is on the menu for next week,
although there is always anticipation that something might happen, I am looking
forward to a bit of 'humdrum'. Perhaps, to be more accurate, I should
say, 'I have nothing planned'. However, I can always find something to
put into ............... another story!
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