Theme week 5

Of course I locked the doors as soon as Justin got out. It’s wasn’t very often that I escaped from my own hometown, so the thought of New York made me cringe. Police men drop like flies out here. I can only imagine how many people get injured or die from the violence. Knowing my luck, out of all of the people here, I would be the one getting mugged or shot at. I am not used to change or trying new things, so this scared me a little. Maine is my safe haven, but I guess Lake George shouldn’t have worried me that bad.
It seemed like an eternity by myself, but he finally came gallivanting out the front door of the Mobile station. I could tell he had something to say. He had the biggest grin on his face. He tried the handle. Oops, I had locked it. I pushed the unlock button….I had to giggle, he looked silly; a 6’3 inch man squishing into a tiny Toyota Scion. It reminded me of Vienna Sausages all mashed in a can. They almost don’t fit.

Justin handed me my Diet coke and two tiny papers.

“What the hell are these?”

“I bought tickets to the rodeo!”

“You bought tickets to the what?!”

“The rodeo.”

“What the fuck did you buy tickets to the rodeo for? We are only here for two more days and you bought tickets to the rodeo? I was thinking more along the lines of Six Flags, the wax museum or skydiving. Not the rodeo. You’re an idiot!”

“No refunds,” he said.

What the fuck? Now I am being forced to go to the rodeo. This was OUR mini vacation. Weren’t WE supposed to decided what to do? What the hell? Why would anyone want to pay money to go see bulls shit all over an arena? Or a handful of hicks get thrown to the ground like a rag doll? Never mind that, who would be dumb enough to do it? And he said, no refunds with the biggest fricken smirk on his face. Sometimes I hate his stupid dimples. Gggrrr He said it like he knew before he had even purchased the tickets, that I would never, in this lifetime, ever, agree to go!

We had made it to the entrance. The combination of the dirt roads and being angry had made my stomach feel a little uneasy. We paid to park and headed on in. We were probably the only out of stater at this fricken place. Who in the hell would come here on vacation? I was still fuming, but when Justin offered me a cup of beer, I cheered up a little. I am not an alcoholic, but never get a chance to drink. I don’t drink in front of my son, so it’s uncommon to be able to enjoy an ice cold Bud Light, so I jump at the chance. The clear plastic cups reminded me of my old high school days of bonfires and keg parties. This made me smile a little too. We squirmed through crowds of people, as I protected my beer with my life, at this time I wanted every savory, luscious bit I could get so I could make it through this god forsaken…thiiing.
The majority of the people were dressed for the occasion. Even the children were sporting the attire. We must have looked like the odd ducks. I don’t even own cowboy boots, hats or flannel shirts. I would never pay a dime for any of it either. Speaking of shopping, oh how I would love to be….


“It’s starting, Ginger!”

I mumbled under my breath. I hadn’t really spoken to him since our escapade in the car, and wasn’t really planning too either. I downed my beer, as we made our way down the metal bleachers and found a seat. This place was kind of large, for pretty much being in the middle of nowhere, and most of the showground was packed,

They had announced over the loud speaker for all children that would like to play a game to head out in the center. They did. What in the world are they doing? Taking off their shoes. Ewwwe! I would NEVER let my child do that. They workers just finished hosing it down. What if they step in crap or get black with mud?
They lined all of the children up, took all their shoes and brought them down to the other end of the stadium and threw them in a pile. They had to run down, find their shoes as fast as they could, put them on and run back. The first one to the finish line won. One child lagged behind because he was so tiny, he almost looked like he was too young to even be walking. Another one had a hard time putting his shoes on, and another fell flat on his face. The crowd roared with laughter. He was mud from head to toe. His big blue eyes were the only indication that has was actually a child. It was really cute watching them scramble in all different directions. They handed out a few trophies to the kids, and started getting the men and women ready for the “real” show.

By this time I needed another beer. Justin had gotten up to buy another plastic cup full for himself and me. Oh my god! He is fricken gorgeous. Can you say ripped? I bet he has a 12 pack under there? Maybe a even more…Why didn’t I want to come here? Such good eye candy! What was I expecting? Puny, little, dorks couldn’t ride, they wouldn’t have enough muscle to hang on.
I quit daydreaming. Justin had made his way back down the bleachers. He sat beside me. I watched the cowboys get bucked off their bulls, after only a few seconds. One had gotten his spur stuck and was being dragged around the arena. It seemed like a long time to me, it must have seemed like an eternity to him. The workers tried, and tried to get the bull to stop, or slow down. He bucked. He ran. He twisted and spun. They tried to grab the cowboy, with no avail. They were chaotically running around with red flags. The men had to just let the spur come loose on it’s own. This had made the show interesting to me. Although I felt sorry for the man, considering he exited like a 90 year old man to the open stall door.

I was on the edge of my seat, by this time. I loved the excitement and the different shows they had for us. There were rodeo clowns, a girls run, bareback bull riding, children’s cow riding, roping, and barrel racing contests. We all cheered on the professional cowboys from throughout the country as they competed. At the end of the night all of the cowboys, and cowgirls lamely walked out into the arena and was awarded their trophies. I will never forget the look on the little girls face that had won the children’s division for cow riding. She was seven years old, probably the youngest in the whole show. She had held on the longest of anyone in ALL of the contests. She proud and grinning from ear to ear and she waved to her parents. I am not really sure who in the hell would let their young child compete in a dangerous sport like this, but you could tell her parents and herself were pleased, as I would be too.

Justin nudged me in the ribs. “You LOVED it!”

“Yes, I’m sorry and thank you. I had an awesome time! Can we come back next year?”

“Hahaha, I knew you would, that’s why I didn’t ask you ahead of time, because I knew you would have said no.”

Justin had won this battle. He had gotten me to like something other than shopping, snowsledding and photos. I went out of my realm and had one of the most memorable experiences of my adult life. Something we still talk about, to this day.