Rodeo Weekend...
Well, the 98th annual Clovis Rodeo is drawing to a close, and I confess to a little feeling of nostalgia. My parents are members of the Rodeo Association, and spent Thursday and Friday nights up in the VIP booth watching the bull riding and other action. My brother Tom and his family, Mom & Dad, Uncle Tom and my cousin Debi's daughter, Christine, all joined me for the annual pancake breakfast at the Clovis Veteran's Memorial building then we walked over to the parade. We had a nice time, and it was fun to see some of my special needs students in the parade, a colleague sitting on the curb with her grandkids just across the street from us, and my cousin Alethia on the float for the restaurant at which she works. It reminded me that, even though Clovis has grown to over 90,000 people, and we mountain folks are not technically "Clovis", we really are pretty small town.
I am nostalgic, though, about the days when my brothers, cousins, and I were kids. Rodeo weekend is always the last full weekend in April, so was around the time of PopPop Wright's birthday. All my cousins on Dad's side of the family would come from all over the West Coast for a weekend of sunburns, food, playing, plotting, cowboys, falling asleep in cool sheets, and waking up knowing you were in the best place in the whole world - with family.
When we got up in the mornings Granny and Pop Pop often had a little routine: We were up and about, and - without fail - Granny was loooong up and busy, but Pop Pop would still be "asleep". Granny would tell him it was time to get up, and he would snore louder. So Granny would get a cup of cold water, motion us to come in the room, then - just as Pop Pop was in the middle of a very convincing, dramatic snore - pour water on his face! He would sputter and cough and say something like, "Oh, is it time to get up?" as we shrieked with laughter. I don't remember how old I was when I figured out the whole thing was a game, but even then I still wanted to watch. Granny and Pop Pop together were quite a sweet team!
When we got old enough, Dad let us cousins help with the Lion's Club pancake breakfast. We kids were probably the only ones there who were sober, even at 7:00 am, but boy -howdy! did those Lion's guys have fun making pancakes for the masses. Some of them had pretty impressive skills with tossing a pancake through a basketball hoop or across the room onto someone's plate. We children got to crack eggs into a HUGE stock pot one year. That year, those eggs had extra crunch and calcium from the egg shells and seasoning from the arms of 4 - 7-year olds trying to retrieve the shells. Mmmm - - delish!
Our parents were not without humor, of course. They were very convincing in their enthusiasm for turning the crank on the ice cream maker, and "Tom Sawyered" us into vying for a turn at the crank. I can't wait to try that out on some unsuspecting kid with a vast excess of energy. In the meantime, when I want homemade, I use my Cuisinart.
The crowd which assembled at 406 Sierra usually included the Christiansens (from Big Creek), and the Girards, and an occassional "old timer" from the mountains or Southern Cal Edison. Granny and Pop Pop wove a tapestry of friendship, family, and goodness that, I have observed, continues to live in my cousins and brothers to this day. We are not together as often as when we were kids, but there is an ease in our relationships that is a testament to the roots our Granny & Pop Pop gave us. My cousin Terri and I would always pretend we were glued together when it came time for them to return to Cathedral City, and a few times we were persistent enough that our parents must have been annoyed. I think Granny and Pop Pop made that glue.
We loved the horses, cowboys, the whistle of the trains that used to run right through Old Town Clovis, the taste of fresh peaches and homemade ice cream, and the sound of our family's laughter as we stood just oustide the light of the front porch listening to the grown-ups share stories. Mostly, though, we loved being there - together.
I am nostalgic, though, about the days when my brothers, cousins, and I were kids. Rodeo weekend is always the last full weekend in April, so was around the time of PopPop Wright's birthday. All my cousins on Dad's side of the family would come from all over the West Coast for a weekend of sunburns, food, playing, plotting, cowboys, falling asleep in cool sheets, and waking up knowing you were in the best place in the whole world - with family.
When we got up in the mornings Granny and Pop Pop often had a little routine: We were up and about, and - without fail - Granny was loooong up and busy, but Pop Pop would still be "asleep". Granny would tell him it was time to get up, and he would snore louder. So Granny would get a cup of cold water, motion us to come in the room, then - just as Pop Pop was in the middle of a very convincing, dramatic snore - pour water on his face! He would sputter and cough and say something like, "Oh, is it time to get up?" as we shrieked with laughter. I don't remember how old I was when I figured out the whole thing was a game, but even then I still wanted to watch. Granny and Pop Pop together were quite a sweet team!
When we got old enough, Dad let us cousins help with the Lion's Club pancake breakfast. We kids were probably the only ones there who were sober, even at 7:00 am, but boy -howdy! did those Lion's guys have fun making pancakes for the masses. Some of them had pretty impressive skills with tossing a pancake through a basketball hoop or across the room onto someone's plate. We children got to crack eggs into a HUGE stock pot one year. That year, those eggs had extra crunch and calcium from the egg shells and seasoning from the arms of 4 - 7-year olds trying to retrieve the shells. Mmmm - - delish!
Our parents were not without humor, of course. They were very convincing in their enthusiasm for turning the crank on the ice cream maker, and "Tom Sawyered" us into vying for a turn at the crank. I can't wait to try that out on some unsuspecting kid with a vast excess of energy. In the meantime, when I want homemade, I use my Cuisinart.
The crowd which assembled at 406 Sierra usually included the Christiansens (from Big Creek), and the Girards, and an occassional "old timer" from the mountains or Southern Cal Edison. Granny and Pop Pop wove a tapestry of friendship, family, and goodness that, I have observed, continues to live in my cousins and brothers to this day. We are not together as often as when we were kids, but there is an ease in our relationships that is a testament to the roots our Granny & Pop Pop gave us. My cousin Terri and I would always pretend we were glued together when it came time for them to return to Cathedral City, and a few times we were persistent enough that our parents must have been annoyed. I think Granny and Pop Pop made that glue.
We loved the horses, cowboys, the whistle of the trains that used to run right through Old Town Clovis, the taste of fresh peaches and homemade ice cream, and the sound of our family's laughter as we stood just oustide the light of the front porch listening to the grown-ups share stories. Mostly, though, we loved being there - together.
Comments
Post a Comment