Val Strate Posted August 25, 2006 Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 Today was a good day. My family shows show cattle, breeding stock cattle to be exact. Today was our county fair's beef show and we took Resv. Champion in our breed class. I was showing the winning heifer and she behaved very well in the arena. This was the first time in about two years that I actually touched a cattle halter or a show stick and showed a cow. I have been away at college and work, trying very hard to find my place in the world. When I was with those heifer's working with them getting them ready in the morning for the show, I could feel the experience I've had with cattle all come rushing back to me. It was like ridding a bike; I never forgot how to do it. For anyone who doesn't know about showing livestock there are certain rules and etiquette you follow in the show barn. Also when you show animals, you must be calm, attentive, and confident. You have to show the judge you know this animal and you believe that this animal is the best in the ring, even if you know it isn't. As a cattle showman, you have to walk with an air about yourself that speaks who you are and why you are here. The world of showing cattle has its own cultures, own customs and own taboos. It's a society all it's own that is hidden away in country culture. Someone who shows pigs can't just walk into the beef barn and be accepted among the cattle showing peers. No, a cattle showman earns their stripes. Today, after I got dressed in my attire to show, a plaid cotton shirt, a pair of western boots called 'lacers' that have metal rose plates on the top of them, and in my tightest pair of wrangle jeans I had, I felt the part. I talked to my old cattle buddies like I never left. I was accepted back into the circle again and regarded as one of them again. I noticed even the subtle change in the influx ions in my voice, the vocabulary I used and the way I walked. I strutted around the barn and people waved to me and remembered who I was again. The ring man (the guy who runs the show for the judge and helps the cattle and showmen find their places in the arena) was my old agricultural instructor and mentor on cattle, gave me a very cordial hello. I was a showman today and I never felt such passion come back to my veins as it did when I was in the ring today. I felt beautiful, smart, sexy, confident, witty, and charming and a whole other list of adjectives I could name off. I guess the point of all this is that to find true passion in something you love is such a rare thing. Someone told me to find my passion and go to it. Don't let time or money stand in the way of your dreams. Today, I remembered what gave me joy in my life. Today, I found passion again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pendragon1980 Posted August 25, 2006 Report Share Posted August 25, 2006 It's amazing, isn't it, how passion can ebb like the tide. Being a new nurse, I got a hard hit of reality when I joined the hospital. School had given me the basics but not prepared for the enviroment, the endless paperwork, arrogant doctors, overentitled families, lack of any real time to spend with the patient. Some day I feel more like a drug dispenser than a nurse. Some day I wonder what the heck I was thinking getting into nursing. Then a patient touches my hand, whispers thank you, even if its just because I brought her some ice. Then I remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.