Fair 'n Cowboys

This past week was the Sullivan County Fair. When I was in 4-H and FFA back in the day, at one time or another I showed horses, hogs, cattle, and sheep (blech - only when my sister forced me into it); and I had sewing, entomology, cooking, and welding projects on display for judging. It was always a BIG deal, but the most fun was always the night we (my sister and I) had our cattle in the barns and had to stay overnight and 'watch' them. Ha. Yeah, 'watch' is a loose term, here. When we were in high school, our curfew was always 10:30. Always. So this was the one night every year we were able to party like underage rock stars. We never wasted that one night, for sure. And the 4-H gods must've been smiling on us all that time, 'cause we never got nabbed for the stuff she and I and our friends pulled. So, since I don't know what the statute of limitations is on shenanigans, no details will be given in writing here.

Needless to say, after aging out (yeah, that always makes you feel good, doesn't it?!) of 4-H and FFA, being at the fair these days isn't quite the hootenanny it was then. *sniff* But, it is fun to walk through the cattle barn knowing just exactly what those kiddies are going to be up to later that evening. Heh, heh. Sinners.

They always have some evening entertainment things at the fair, and this year one of the new things they brought in was a mounted shooting competition. Basically, it's a more complicated form of barrel racing, with costumes and pistols included. They ride horses as fast as they can around a series of about 15 barrels and cones with balloons on top, shooting pistols at the balloons. Whee-haw, GUN SLINGING!! I hadn't ever seen it before, so I thought I'd go check it out before I hit the 'club'. After standing and watching for a couple of minutes, talking to one of my parents' friends about what I think of our new tractor (stay tuned for that report - it has its highs and lows), I went over and asked one of the cowboys about their guns and ammo. (Come on, you're not surprised.) I wanted to find out how they could zip around the ring, guns blazing, popping balloons, and not have any kind of safety issues with spectators. They mostly use 45s and shoot blank shells, and it still pops the balloons from the heat of the powder hitting them. So now, the next time you're in a conversation about cowboy shooting competitions, you'll be able to throw that little gem of knowledge out there. It's alright, you don't have to thank me.