Fools, and Damn Fools

My former employer of many years was a professional bull rider from the time he was in high school. Had a college rodeo scholarship. Wives, ex wives, several children, and multiple businesses interfered so he had gaps in his pursuit. He wasn’t championship level. In baseball terms he was Triple A.
We recently encountered him as a spectator at a bull riding event and remarked on how fit he looked. The remarks pleased him and he told us of his plan to get back into riding bulls.

At his first comeback event, he cracked two ribs. Undeterred, he rode in an event Friday.

This is the result.

This might slow him down. However, back in the day, with his right arm and shoulder in a cast, he drove a stick shift Subaru from Albuquerque to Mesquite, TX to make the next event.

My sister’s companion still wants to ride at 50+. When I first met him, my response was anyone crazy enough to keep riding bulls was probably crazy enough to date my sister.

These bull riders just don’t quit. I admit to being a well seasoned fool. I deny being a damn fool. Wonder how I keep ending up around them?

On a different topic, this picture was taken in my town today.

Customer Service

Rodeo contestants are unique group who put in unimaginable hours.

The owner of the car dealerships I worked at for many years was a former bull rider. We had many customers who were involved in professional rodeos. We went out of our way to accommodate them. Sometimes, this became interesting.

A repeat customer was a young Wyoming bull rider. As a committed Christian, he took his young wife and three children with him. They traveled in a crew cab pickup with a self contained camper. One night on his way to a rodeo he stopped by and they traded in their ¾ ton Ford for a one ton dually crew cab Ford. As part of the deal, we needed to move their self contained camper from the trade to the new vehicle.

Since he didn’t have camper jacks, we opened the shop and backed in the trade to one of the hoists. We were able to remove the camper by lifting it with the hoist and pull the trade out of the way. The problem now became backing the dually under the camper. Much less clearance and a much larger turning radius made for very tight squeeze. By now it was two hours after closing. The owner, another salesman, the customers, and I were still at the dealership. The other salesman, AKA, was by far the best driver in the group and was finally able to maneuver the dually into place. The camper was lowered and bolted down by the customer. While this was going on, the rest of us were transferring the contents of the trade to the dually. AKA maneuvered the dually out of the bay, the customer drove off, and the rest of us went home. The customers still had a seven hour drive in front of them.

Strange as it may seem, in our world, this was a normal transaction. Whatever the hour, whatever the situation, we dealt with it. The old Jackie Cooper axiom, “Winners do what losers won’t”, was a “core value” with us.

From where I look, the only place you can always find that commitment is in our professional military. Good reason to hire a recently discharged vet. They know how to work.

Independence Day

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday. Made my first dollar on the 4th at the old Dillon, CO Rodeo. The site is now the bottom of a reservoir courtesy of the goddamndenverwaterboard (a single word in parts of Colorado).

At the end of the Rodeo, the roping calves were available for the kids to ride. A rope was stretched across the ground and, if you stayed on past the rope, you got a silver dollar.. I was four, going on five, and crossed the rope under the calf, getting kicked and stepped on.

My sister recently quipped, "You may not made style points, but you did finish in the money!"

The 4th, to me, is a tribute to all those before me who made the holiday, and the memories, possible. I hope I’ve contributed to keeping it going.