Rodeo!
So, I went yet again to the Hamel County Rodeo last weekend. This little tradition is quickly becoming one of my favorite events of the year. It's kind of like Christmas, except instead of presents I get to sit on a hillside with cheap beer and hot dogs, and watch people wrestle calves to the ground. Where else can you do that? No where! (Unless you count Tijuana or something...)
Anyway, as I was sitting there, I came to the realization that I was watching something very interesting indeed. No, I'm not talking about the cowboys, the bulls or even the mullet-sporting attendees. I'm talking about the illusive creature known as the rodeo clown.
What's his deal? It's quite strange really: here's a grown man who gets up every morning and puts on clown makeup and a silly outfit. He faithfully heads out day after day into a dirt ring where he tells bad jokes and, generally, makes a fool of himself. And oh yeah - he gets to be chased by raging, 2,000 pound bulls as well.
If you really think about it, the rodeo clown just might be the most psychologically interesting person ever to grace the face of the Earth. He wasn't always a rodeo clown. He probably went to college, got a 9-5'er, and maybe even got married and had some kids. In other words, he may have been just like you or me. But then one day, something happened. Something changed an ordinary man into... a rodeo clown.
Sure, he's probably saved a cowboy or two from being trampled, but if you asked a kid to name a hero, "rodeo clown" probably wouldn't be high on the list. In other words, he's probably not doing it for "the glory". Can it be as simple as a lonely drifter traveling from town to town, acting silly and getting paid just enough to further his drinking habit? The same could be said about every single member of Motley Crue.
If there are any readers out there who have experience with rodeo clowns, or have even been one yourself - feel free to enlighten us. How did you start down that path of destruction? Or, more importantly, how did you break free? I'm sure someone's out there right now writing their psych dissertation on this very subject. Until next time!
Anyway, as I was sitting there, I came to the realization that I was watching something very interesting indeed. No, I'm not talking about the cowboys, the bulls or even the mullet-sporting attendees. I'm talking about the illusive creature known as the rodeo clown.
What's his deal? It's quite strange really: here's a grown man who gets up every morning and puts on clown makeup and a silly outfit. He faithfully heads out day after day into a dirt ring where he tells bad jokes and, generally, makes a fool of himself. And oh yeah - he gets to be chased by raging, 2,000 pound bulls as well.
If you really think about it, the rodeo clown just might be the most psychologically interesting person ever to grace the face of the Earth. He wasn't always a rodeo clown. He probably went to college, got a 9-5'er, and maybe even got married and had some kids. In other words, he may have been just like you or me. But then one day, something happened. Something changed an ordinary man into... a rodeo clown.
Sure, he's probably saved a cowboy or two from being trampled, but if you asked a kid to name a hero, "rodeo clown" probably wouldn't be high on the list. In other words, he's probably not doing it for "the glory". Can it be as simple as a lonely drifter traveling from town to town, acting silly and getting paid just enough to further his drinking habit? The same could be said about every single member of Motley Crue.
If there are any readers out there who have experience with rodeo clowns, or have even been one yourself - feel free to enlighten us. How did you start down that path of destruction? Or, more importantly, how did you break free? I'm sure someone's out there right now writing their psych dissertation on this very subject. Until next time!
posted by Laura Ibsen @ 10:00 AM
2 Comments:
At 5:16 PM, July 18, 2008,
Mark said…
To continue our conversation from last night...how come when a clown puts on makeup it's "clown makeup"?
isn't it just make up? only they put on more which is somehow completely different than what girls do? my point boils down to this: girls think that somehow they are ugly without makeup, but they are not, and the more makeup they put on, the more and more they look like they should join the rodeo. end of story, no more arguing, thank you all for listening
have a nice day
love mark
ps
bye
At 12:38 PM, July 22, 2008,
Laura Ibsen said…
Well, I think normal makeup that girls wear is just quantified as "makeup". But, since "clown makeup" is a certain style of makeup, it has it's own subcatagory. The same could be said of "drag makeup", for example.
I'm sure its just like martial arts in some way: there's jujitsu and karate and whatnot, but it's all "martial arts". Maybe? :)
Post a Comment
<< Home