Rodeo Roundup

Event Essay by Jordon Shinn, published in PhilNews, July 2009, Cimarron, New Mexico.

In front of the grandstands, a little boy in black chaps attempts a cartwheel in the dirt track circling the arena, his fur felt cowboy hat toppling off his head as he hits the dirt. Frizzled red hair poofs, contrasting his fair, freckled face, and brightening his toothless smile.

Meanwhile, grappling for attention in the arena, a cowboy in a neon pink shirt ropes a calf, his daughter chasing a red ribbon fluttering on a thrashing tail.

I get up to visit the restroom, located along the backside of the concessions, guarded by grills and mud-puddles — a shady place to be. Two bright-eyed girls confront me, holding paper cones of dull-colored melted ice.

“Snow-cone! One dollar!” the elder girl shouts, thrusting a cone at my face.

I decline, stunned.

“Geeze!” she says. “How do you buy your lunch?”

Back in the grandstands, all eyes are on the boy, attempting to stand on his head to the crowd’s applause. His old sister, red cheeked, stomps onto the track pumping her small fists, her face a frump of disguised affection. She pulls her ornery brother unwillingly back to his seat, out of the spotlight.

At the rodeo, the best events are unexpected.

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This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/08/02/event-essay-rodeo-roundup/