22:33 - 11.07.05
Playing
First formal workday of the Stampede today. Nearly everyone on the bus and train were in denim. It's almost mandatory, you see. In some ways that isn't a bad thing, since as a uniform, it has a levelling effect. Hard to tell the CEO from the newest hire it is. I sat by a woman on the train and was openly admiring her earrings - delicate turquoise and silver. She tossed out one of those harmless remarks that seem to be used for occasions when one wants to acknowledge another person, but really knows nothing about them. Somehow it evolved in to a very intense conversation about our mutual work experiences complete with a great deal of laughter and the knowing silences that sometimes convey an hour's worth of information in just seconds. I think somehow we'll meet again.
At work I did the final crunch of numbers from Friday's marathon then forwarded that to my supervisor. Next up came the weekly report. Finally I was able to get back on task after two full days of disruptions to the work I am supposed to be focussing on. That lasted, with the Boss singing in my ear, until 10:30 am when the whole department was sent off for our day at the rodeo. It was obvious that my supervisor had intended to go too, but had been told she had to stay and complete all her budget proposals for the Texans. I offered to stay behind and assist because I thought maybe I was partly to blame for the fact since my part wasn't done until this morning. She said that my stats were great just the way they were. It was the rest of the documentation required that had to be completed by the end of today.
The rest of us proceeded to the train platform and rode four stations down the line to get to the Stampede grounds. They are about 17 blocks south of the downtown core, right on the Elbow River. First stop was the corporate hospitality tent. Proper girl honky tonk band that was very good, but very loud. My sternum was vibrating. Lunch was a buffet of hamburgers, smokies and salads. Good western fare a la Canada. Headed off to the Grandstand next where we sat for about four hours in a very hot direct beam of sunlight. Marching band kicked it all off followed by the US and Canadian national anthems being sung. It's getting to be like hockey where there are equal numbers of competitors from both sides of the border. I think though, that we are going to have to start including the Australian Anthem too since we had so many of their cattlemen there as well. G'Day mates. I enjoyed a lot of the action - the bull riding and the bareback bronco busting for certain. Not so certain about the events with younger animals though. One cowboy was stomped by his bull. Quite often it was obvious it wasn't the animals that were at risk, but the men. I really enjoyed the women's barrel racing and I kept hearing the track from James Keelaghan's album Road about a woman barrel rider. He had caught the feelings and rhythms perfectly. By the time the rodeo was done though, I was lobster red wherever I had been exposed to the sun on the upper body - face, neck and around the elbows. I had had enough sense to wear a hat and sunglasses, but they obviously didn't have as much coverage as I had thought. My youngest had snorted when I showed him the hat. He said it looked more like the ones the Australian bushmen wore rather than a proper cowboy hat. And what's wrong with that? Besides, the last time I owned my own cowboy hat was when I was ten. It was made of straw and had a really great whistle on it. My legs didn't respond to the sun at all - yes another knee length skirt today. You know what the legs of a chicken or turkey look like, when first put in an oven to roast. Well that awful colour is what my gams were. They now might have a bit of duskiness to them, but that also might be dust from the infield, don't you know. I did get a lot of stares from some of the males I walked alongside on the way out of the grounds, and couldn't figure out why until the lady at the booth selling tickets to the raffle on the dream home told me I needed to go home and look after "that burn" right away. Witch hazel doused the flames as soon as I walked in the door, followed by a masque of rasberry yoghurt and a follow up of orange pekoe tea bags. At least I don't glow in the dark anymore.
What I enjoyed overall in the day was the music that played throughout - mostly classic rock - and the antics of the one rodeo clown. Out of Montana Clint or Flint Rasmussen. Good Dane to boot, I guess, with that last name. His Elvis impression had THE King pegged right down to the pelvis motion and his dances with the bulls were pretty awesome too. In the changeovers, his taunting of his fellow emcees and the cowboys was enough to have everyone in stitches. Cowboy humour. Rude, but oh so funny. People watching was great too. My one co-worker insisted she saw Brad Pitt at one point, but none of the rest of us caught a glimpse of him. Didn't mean he wasn't there though, since he is shooting a movie nearby. A lot of the movie celebrities come to our city to take in the Stampede and events like the Masters horse racing at the south end of town.
My youngest is over watching my oldest son's babies tonight, while they take in Bo Diddley's show. My number two son called with good news to add in to the mix. He and his spouse are expecting their first baby next spring. I told him I thought it was that jelly fish he ordered the other night for his birthday that did it. Yang locker. He is having all his hair shaved off on Friday to raise funds for cancer research so I promised I would spend some time sending pledge forms to various and assorted relatives who have email, so he can make it worthwhile. He has long, thick blond hair and it looks great on him. I think I am going to have difficulty with it for a while. But it does grow back. Right dear diary.?
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