Hank at WRCA Ranch Horse Show

Just got back from WRCA Ranch Horse Show in Amarillo. Hank and I were entered in the Cowboy Class. I just love going to this show. First of all, I love watching the Ranch Rodeo and seeing all of the friends I've made throughout the years. It was the first place I showed Maverick and so many people remember him being there. Secondly, it is a GREAT place to shop. The Trade and Trappings Show is one of the best I've ever seen. The only bad part of showing in Amarillo is that I have to get up so early to be in the arena at 6 a.m. to warm up before the class and it is usually so cold.

This year was Hank's turn in the show ring. It was just his third show but I really think he is finally getting what his job is and he is doing it quite well. He never really travels very well, gets lonely without a travel partner and usually doesn't eat well. I try to arrive a couple of days early to acclimate him. Show day comes very early, you feed in the dark and have to be ready to ride in a cold, windy arena at 6 a.m. Hank and I are just not morning people.

We did the reining pattern and his lead changes were right on the money. Hank is not the best spinner but we can work on that. When it came time to call for the cow, you always hold your breath in Amarillo. You can get a cow with firecrackers up their butts, charging straight at you and blowing snot or you can get a good cow that you can show your horse off with. One guy showing got whistled 5 new cows, each one worse than the last one! Anyway, we got lucky and drew a good one. We boxed it a few times then took it down the fence. I remember going down the fence on Maverick. When I would ask Mav for speed, his stride would lengthen but you wouldn't feel that burst of speed. With Hank, you get rocket fire! He just takes off and he is really moving at a high rate of speed. We get the cow moving down the fence and turned, but when I went to turn Hank to the right, his head went up in the air and he kept going straight! I was shocked because this has never happened before! We almost hit the bucking chutes at the end of the arena. I finally get him turned and got back after the cow to make another turn, this time to the left. No problems. Again, one more turn to the right and I can't stop or turn Hank without his head coming into my lap. I looked down and my rein was disconnected from the bit! Now I still have to get my rope down and rope my cow, with one rein. After I get the kinks out of my loop, I ride up, swing a few times, and roped the cow without a problem. I turn and drag the cow. Afterwards, I tie Hank up and try to figure out why my rein came off the bit. Nothing was broken, but the solid ring at the end of the rein chain somehow came off the swivel at the bottom of the bit. I tried getting it back on, my friends tried getting it back on and couldn't do it without two pliers. It was like those puzzles at the restaurants or bars that you have to get two pieces exactly in the correct spot before you can get them apart. It was very strange. We still got through it all without a wreck, we still roped our cow and I was still very proud of my Hankster!

The Good Ol' Days

Before the Internet or the MAC, Before semi-automatics and crack

Before SEGA or Super Nintendo Way back ... ...

I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk.

Sittin' on the porch, Hot bread and butter.

The Good Humor man, Red light, Green light.

Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets, Penny candy in a brown paper bag.

Playin' Pinball in the corner store.

Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all!

Mother May I?

Red Rover and Roly Poly Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Jolly Ranchers, Banana Splits Wax Lips and Mustaches

Running through the sprinkler

The smell of the sun and lickin' salty lips...

Wait... ...

Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons, Fat Albert, Road Runner, He-Man, The Three Stooges, and Bugs, Or back further, listening to Superman on the radio

Catchin' lightening bugs in a jar, Playin sling shot.

When around the corner seemed far away, And going downtown seemed like going somewhere.

Bedtime, Climbing trees, An ice cream cone on a warm summer night

Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe butter pecan

A lemon coke from the fountain at the corner drug store

A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Sittin on the curb, Jumpin down the steps, Jumpin on the bed.

Pillow fights

Runnin till you were out of breath

Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt

Being tired from playin'...

Remember that?

I ain't finished just yet...

Eating Kool-aid powder with sugar Remember when...

When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyers) and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym."

When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up, if you even had one.

When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.

When nobody owned a purebred dog.

When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a miracle.

When milk went up one cent and everyone talked about it for weeks?

When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.

When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.

When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.

When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, everyday.

When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, for free, every time. And, you didn't pay for air. And, you got trading stamps to boot!

When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.

When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.

When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed ... and did!

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! and some of us are still afraid of em!!!

Didn't that feel good.. just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!

There's nothing like the good old days! They were good then, and they're good now when we think about them.

Share some of these thoughts with a friend who can relate, then share it with someone that missed out on them.

Every American's Duty

Ever since I was a small girl, my mother always told me how important it was to vote on election day. Her father came to this country by boat and each election day, he would dress in his best Sunday suit and proudly cast his vote. I hope you all got out and voted. Regardless of the outcome, it is our duty.

Here are some quotes I found appropriate.



“A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.” - Thomas Jefferson


"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." - Winston Churchill

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." - P.J. O'Rourke

The Age of Horses

The Age of Horses

To tell the age of any horse,
Inspect the lower jaw, of course.
The six front teeth the tale will tell
And every doubt and fear dispel.


Two middle “nippers” you behold,
Before the colt is two weeks old.
Before eight weeks two more will come;
Eight months the “corners” cut the gum.

The outside grooves will disappear
From middle two in just one year
In two years from the second pair
In three the corners too, are bare.

At two the middles nippers drop,
At three the second pair can’t stop.
When four year old the third pair goes,
At five a full new set he shows.

The deep black spots will pass from view,
At six years from the middle two.
The second pair at seven year:
At eight the spot each corner clears.

From middle nippers upper jaw
A nine the black spots will withdraw.
The second pair at ten are white;
Eleven finds the corners light.

As time goes on the horsemen know.
The oval teeth three sides grow;
The longer get, project before
Till twenty, when we know no more.

(I don't know who wrote this but I liked it a lot)