I can easily argue that Christmas Vacation is the best written movie of all time.  So, so many good lines from that movie are used on a regular basis.  Even when it isn’t the Christmas season.

I used one just this evening.  The Dragon Lady told me that Taylor Parrish won a showmanship division at Denver.  COOL!  So, I texted her dad and said to tell her “Congrats from the Kelln Krew.”  He responded with “She said Thank You.”  Then he added, this is the first buckle that she’s ever won for showmanship.

Wait? What?  RUSM?

So, I responded with the “You serious Clark?”  His response was appropriate and was fitting of Cousin Eddie.  (actually cleaner than I expected)

That girl has been to a lot of shows, showing does & wethers, and has ALWAYS been in the top end of the showmanship lineups.  I feel safe saying that she has been in the top end of the OYE showmanship contests.  But no buckle?  I guess there are a lot of winning plaques and banners in her possession.  But, yes, that first buckle is always cool.  Dang cool!

I would compare that first showmanship buckle win to the jelly of the month club.  From now on, every time she holds that buckle it will feel like the gift that keeps on giving.  Beings that she is a senior it might be her first and, well, maybe her last, (use this for motivation if need be).  Just think how much sentimental value will be tied to that buckle.

Tammy and I have been honored to know this family for several decades.  Good, good people.  Both sides.  It might not be an Angus heifer that girl is showing but I can guarantee you that there is a PROUD set of grandparents near Red Rock, OK.  And I can only imagine how wound up her great-grandpa Cotton would be.

Haaa!   Somewhere east of Billings, OK, there is a wicked cool old outlaw thinking “Bout time ol Mikey’s girl won a buckle at Denver.”   And people, when a dude named Albert Stehno says, “Let me tell you a story about winning buckles at Denver.”   You best shut up and listen.  I’ve got some stock show stories but I ain’t got nothing compared to that guy.

Congrats to Taylor Parrish on gathering that buckle!  Job well done.

I hadn’t burned any horns since July.  This Sunday, I loaded up the box and the burners and went to help a family with their goat projects.  The smell of burning horns is a smell that I just can’t get used to.  I wish that somebody could raise a bad ass polled buck.  That would be a game changer.

Friday night, I was flipping channels when I realized that the great move Road House was on and just starting.  Tammy had never seen this movie, so we watched it.  This movie is so bad but still so good.  But, you know you are an ag family when you notice that there is some really high quality straw bales stacked in the background in that barn that Dalton lived in.

Now, it’s time to start another week.  Have a good one.

Before Christmas break, Mrs. Abbey and I completed a semester that involved teaching a class of 30+ 8th graders.  Very few farm kids but a great group of kids.  Their semester test was a team event.  We split them up into teams of 5 and each team member had to say a paragraph of the FFA creed.  This was an effort to develop public speakers and to prepare them for saying the FFA creed as freshman.

By the way, it had to be word for word.  Didn’t matter if they were straight A students or special ed.  Race, gender, whatever—come one, come all, let’s do this.  And do this they all did.

We also used some awesome, local, expert judges.  How expert?   One was a mother of an OK state FFA officer and FFA creed speaking champion, one was a former TX state FFA officer and FFA creed speaking finalist and the other was a current Shattuck FFA member and state champion speaker.  And these ladies critiqued the kids.  And urged them to keep at it. Oh, oh, so awesome!

This deal went better than expected.  It was cool!  Wicked cool!   30+ students memorizing, using hand gestures, enunciating words, working together and doing it all with confidence.  There ain’t nothing wrong with a bit of peer pressure to motivate.  5 kids saying 5 different paragraphs= 1 grade for all team members.  Come on real world, carry your weight.

Those of you that know me, are well aware that I had motives in mind.  1–first and foremost to help all kids with public speaking.  And 2–trying to identify some competitive public speakers.  It’s all good.

Every one of you clowns reading this drivel are thinking one of two things–1–I wish somebody would have made me learn to speak better.  Or 2–I’m glad so-and-so forced me to learn to speak.

Now, school is back in session.   These 8th graders came marching into the Ag Building.  One of the boys came strolling right up to me with a question.   “Meester Kelleen, how do I sign up for the public speech competeetions?”

Me:  “You want to give a speech at a contest?”

Cool kd:  “Yes Sir.”

Me:   “Dude, we can handle that.”

Also me:   I might have had to swallow hard and look away for just a second.

RUSM?!  I did not expect the kid with a tic of an accent and a tic of a speech impediment to be the first one to hit me up about giving a speech.  I love it!   Now, I’m pumped!  So, I asked the others, how many of you want to speak?    Oh crap, it looks like we are going to have to have a local contest.  This is real stuff.

Sure, it is big fun to deal with just a few elite kids and go win, a lot.  I’ve been there and it is fun.  But, which is better?  BOTH!   Winning contests, shows, games, etc. is fun, awesome and cool.  But there ain’t a dang thing wrong with having a pile of kids that aren’t afraid to get up in front of others and present a topic.  Put that kind of stuff on the news.  It happens all over our country.   This isn’t a localized incident.  Ag programs, all across this country, have got lots of kids,  that are learning to talk, shake a hand properly, work hard and help others.

Now, for some real serious stuff.  I see commercials about shirts that stay tucked in better.  I have gotten some free t-shirts that seem long.  For Christmas, every year, Tammy gets me a pack of white t shirts.  This years version is long.  Sleeve, shoulder and girth fit fine–they are just longer.  Not quite skirt length.  But, they stay TUCKED better.  This is B.S.  America is getting fatter, so they made the shirts longer.

I don’t need nor want longer t shirts.  If I have a problem with crack showing, well, then I will just get me some leather suspenders.  Then, I can look like the cool kids.

I hope all of you people have as much fun as I do.

It doesn’t matter what you are doing, there is always somebody coming along that will be better.  It is amazing to me how some people have stayed relevant (towards the top of a given species of livestock shows) for 10 to 20 years.  Breeders, ag teachers, jocks, show families, etc.  Trends change, judges change, styles change.  It is tough to get to the top and even tougher to stay on top.  Athletics are the same.  There is always somebody that can do it better.

For example, Nick Saban has been called the greatest college football coach of all time.  Bill Belichick is considered the best nfl coach of all time.  No doubt that they can gather players, coach the game and win.  They are both horrible dealing with the media and others.  But they win and win a lot.

Now, some dude named Dabo Swinney.  He can obviously coach.  He got the job at Clemson because he could recruit.  Now, he has proven to be a winner.  BUT, he goes a step further.  How?  Watch his interviews.  Watch his player’s interviews.

We aren’t talking about a public speaking champion but he takes his awe-shucks personality, praises others, sticks to his guns and sounds like he is the same guy in the locker room that he is in front of the camera.  He doesn’t mis-speak but yet he provides lots of sound bites.  Listen to this cat in interviews from 2012, 14, 16, 17, 18 and now, he hasn’t changed.  He seems legit.

I don’t know how good a coach he actually is, but he has made sure to surround that program with top shelf assistant coaches.  And he lets them coach.

Now, think of a recruit.  Better yet, think of that recruit’s mother, family, etc.  This dude isn’t preaching winning.  He’s talking family, love, GOD, work ethic, fun and he refuses to bash anybody else.  He just talks his program.  And talks it with passion.  “We do things that we believe in.”    The Dragon Lady has enjoyed listening to him.  If Duke was a football player, she would be sending him to Clemson.

Plus, it is kind of  cool to watch him NOT worry about the coke bottle on the podium or what water bottle he has in front of him.  I’m not bashing the others.  I just get why this dude is winning.  He has built a culture and seems to walk the walk.  t was kind of cool watching the winning coach and winning quarterback give praise to others and to GOD.  They will lose a bunch of players that will be making a pile of cash next year.  But, I think that Clemson will reload.  Clemson’s top wide receiver was a freshman from Alabama.  Why?  He liked the family atmosphere at Clemson.   This dude is gathering players and building a culture.

And, I always like a good ag school that excels at sports.  i also like a good musical performance.  Dudes, that national anthem was performed sub par.  Then the half-time show?!  I like some of Imagine Dragon’s songs.  I also don’t mind a good rapper.  But that lil Wayne stuff was brutally bad.  Shouldn’t have ever been shown on the tv.  Some of the internet comments as to his wardrobe were classic.  “He looked like the ham-burglar!”  “Lil Wayne dressed like somebody’s aunt/grandma going to the dollar general at 10pm to buy some juice.”  No matter, that music sucked.  ESPN/ABC should have had control of that crap ahead of time.

Peace out and have a good one.  But just remember, somebody is out there, somewhere, working to do it better.

Second post n the same day.  You bet.

If you think this is some drivel about a proud Dad moment, then you would be wrong.  You don’t understand the hurdle that I just crossed.  Tammy cooked chicken fried steaks, mashed taters and corn.  Wicked, wicked good eating!  But, she also baked up some croissants.  Why?  I do not know.  But I had to eat one and it had to have honey on it.  So, here I was, sitting at my desk, with a croissant and a honey bottle.  I am so proud that I remembered to push the keyboard shelf under the desk.  YES!!!! No new honey on the keyboard.  ‘m pretty proud of this new accomplishment.

Hooked up on this Sunday taking care of some show stock.  Got a lot done.  Then, I got a text reminding me that I have to go back to school tomorrow.  My first thought,”Nobody wanted this job when I took it.  I could probably skip tomorrow”.  Then, I thought, “No, I actually want to go to work tomorrow.”  So, I’m kind of proud of myself again.  Which means, that sometime on Monday, while sitting through a “professional development” meeting, I will re-think why I am sitting through this meeting and will suddenly remember a reason to NOT be in said meeting and will then go check some projects, clean the shop or work on FFA stuff.  Still at work, but not bored.

Have a good one, a better tomorrow and here is the start to another year, another show season, another opportunity for proud moments.

I do like to eat.  Especially at places that I don’t get to go to very often.  We hit our annual stops at several restaurants in the Phoenix area.

La Piñata–consistently very good Mexican food.

My Mothers–turkey pot pie, fresh bread, way full when done.

Pappadeaux’s–I think all of the stock show was at Pappadeaux’s on Sunday evening.

The Duce–brisket sliders and cold beverages.  We watched the Notre Dame game while there.  That didn’t go so well for the Irish.

We did hit a couple of new places.  Matt’s Big Breakfst was way good.  The salami scramble was top shelf.

And then we went to a chicken place.  I don’t normally eat chicken.  So, it took me a bit to decide to try this deal.  Last year, Shroyer ate at this place 3 or 4 times.  Isbell’s went to it and came back raving about it.  So, Duke and I decided to give Lo-Lo’s Chicken a try.  The appetizers were huge and good.  I hedged my bet on the chicken and ordered a piece of chicken with a piece of catfish.  Good choice.  Best catfish that I’ve ever had.  Best corn bread that I’ve ever had.  Iced tea was perfect.  Red beans & rice were very good.  Fun place with huge portions.  All the Kool Aid that you would ever want.

We stopped in Las Cruces on New Years Eve.  I pulled into a gas station and fueled up.  Duke and I weren’t starving so we decided to get us a gas station hot dog right off the rollers.  The clerk had just clocked in and said that she didn’t know how fresh the hot dogs were, so they were free.  Duke then inquired about the Krispy Kreme donuts.  She said “Take one.”  So he took ONE box of donuts.  Fortunately, the hot dogs were still good and caused no gut incidents.

The goat show at Phoenix was good, really good.  The top 3 or 4 in about every class were excellent goats.  I had never seen this judge line up a show but I would like to show to him again.  Consistent.  When he got to class 9, that was the point when he could define exactly what type of goat was his type.  Class 9 was very tough.  There were at least 5 wethers in that class that were in the upper end of the whole show.  Julie Isbell ended up 2nd in that class with a dang good one.  The class winner went on to be grand.  Isbell hit the lottery when her other goat ended up res. div. 2.  That means she got to bring that really good one home.

Darcy Peach had a 2nd with her little Milligan goat and a 3rd with her Hummel wether.  I was worried that Milligan goat might end up as a res. div.  She needed to keep that one, so it worked out great.  Brook Ferguson had a couple of top 5 placings.  Great kids and families.  It was kind of cool sitting at lunch on the first day at My Mother’s.  With Duke, Darcy and Julie, we had three seniors that will be getting scholarships at OYE.  Oh and yes, I did burn the heck out of my tongue on the turkey pot pie.

I didn’t get the feel of any politics going on.  I felt and it looked like he just judged stock.  There were plenty of big firms represented at this show as well.  There were 10 wethers in the premium sale.  3 from Kedrick Miller and crew, 2 from Hummel, 2 from J & J, 2 from Blue Team Wethers and then 1 from Julie Isbell.  Those 10 were good enough that there was not a clear cut winner going in to the grand drive.  Some thought Hummel might get a piece of it with the div. 2 champ, others thought that the Blue team wether that won div. 4 might be the one while others either thought the Miller goats in div. 3 or Cooper’s brother with the div. 5 winner would gather the banner.  Me, I picked the div. 4 to be grand and the div.3 to be reserve.  I had them reversed.  That’s a fun show to watch when there are that many favorites in a grand drive.

The quality of stock, feeding, fitting and showmanship has spread all across the country.  A good one can be found in about every state.  And that goes for every species.

If you don’t know the Isbell family, you need to.  Great family.  This is the baby of the family, so they are about done.  Well, until a grand kid comes along.  They have been a successful stock show family for many years with goats and wethers.  They have gathered a LOT of reserve division banners at most shows.  3 or 4 from OYE, a couple at Tulsa, Kansas City and now Phoenix.  That is consistency.  Not high dollar critters but good genetics, well fed and well shown.  Basically, they are the kind of family that everyone cheers for and don’t mind getting beat by them.  And they do it as a family.

At most stock shows, Gary is normally my favorite highway patrolman.  But not at this one.  I found a very kind and caring soul while coming down the mountain from Flagstaff.  I did get a lecture that stretch of I 17 is the 4th deadliest highway in the US, and that at that speed he should be arresting me and I should lose my CDL. I told him that I normally am pulling a trailer and that this occasion was a really fun descent.  He said, ” I know, sign this warning, slow down and young man, good luck at the ag mechanics show. Have a good day.”  THANK YOU!

Well, I need to get up and go do some sit-ups so that maybe I can fit back into some of my clothes.  Eating stories to come later.  Have a good one.

As I start to type this, I realize that I have a typo in the title.  People, that key was stuck.  A week of inactivity combined with honey will do this to a mac keyboard.

Anyways, we have made it back to paradise from Phoenix.  Excellent trip, wicked drive home.  I’ve got lots of thoughts to write about:  eating, well behaved, quality of the show, people, traveling and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Just to give a brief synopsis of the 2018 ANLS:  quality of animals was wicked good.  Best that I have ever seen at Phoenix, all species, top to bottom.  Awesome lineup of judges.  Top shelf showmen.  Food–I am fatter.  People–It’s crazy that I get to get to hang with this high quality of people.

Traveling—and in the words of Kevin Hart, “When old people cuss, they pronounce every letter of the curse word”, so that would be O H, $ H ! T.”     Brief meteorological tour of our trip–Rain in Oklahoma as we were leaving.  I mean, it hadn’t rained in over 9 weeks.   Hail in Amarillo.  Wicked snowstorm on the east side of Albuquerque, during commuter traffic.  Colder than normal in Phoenix.  Snow and ice on the Flagstaff route on departure day.  One left early and took the north route.  We left later and took the south route.  Rain from Phoenix to Tucson.  WTH?  Spent the night in Las Cruces.  Cool, cool drive until Ruidoso then frozen fog, frozen drizzle, 15 mph down the mountain, PUCKERD UP, long day, glad to be home.  We witnessed wrecks, saw spinouts, felt the ass-end of the High Country go sideways when the transmission shifted down (that bothered me).  Cool Highway Patrol people, in numerous states.

Great week, great people, glad to be home, lots of clean stories and…..the Dragon Lady is glad that we are home so she doesn’t have to do chores anymore.  THANK YOU!

Over and out.  I’ll try to hit the keyboard the next several days.

The food and snacks has been really good the past few days.  Too good.  I’m pretty sure that I am fatter.

I promise you that I have does fatter than I normally do.  And they are a bunch of welfare acting morons.  They constantly have a round bale of cover crop mix (cowpeas, teff grass, german millet, hay grazer, collard greens, okra, crabgrass)  Very good hay.  I also feed them a 14% protein pellet every evening.  They turn into crackheads when they hear any movement towards their run.  One in particular.  I hate this 10 minute period of time every evening.  It doesn’t matter if there are 20 does or 120, they are miserable creatures.

In the great movie, “The Cowboys”, John Wayne’s character tells the boys that a cow is the orneriest, meanest, most destructive animal GOD ever created.   Obviously, he hadn’t dealt with a doe goat.  Dang, that is such a good movie.  It is a western, a coming-of-age story, action movie, deals with age stereotypes, racism, just a touch of sex and has some great comedic lines.  I won’t argue if one says that this is the best John Wayne movie.

Some genetics just don’t convert feed.  This has become an issue in all species but it shouldn’t be a positive.  Currently dealing with several wethers that are eating good, get wormed monthly, kept warm, get a dose of Marquis monthly, yet they are gaining only a couple of pounds per month.  They are healthy and look good.  They are just non-converters.

On other hand, there are some goats that are flat cranking and putting the pounds on.  It is a genetic thing and current trends look like we will continue to deal with the slow-grows as long as they look good and win.

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas.  Please remember those that don’t have it as fortunate as all of us.  There are those that didn’t have family or friends, didn’t have much food and dang sure not the quality that we enjoyed and those that didn’t exchange gifts or enjoy warm housing.  Send some prayers for those serving as well.  Their sacrifices is what allows all of us to enjoy our blessings.

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.

Oh, check out Duke’s online sale on oklahomashowgoats.com.  Give him a holler with any questions.

Saturday was the Dragon Lady’s birthday.  She went to OKC to do some shopping and pick Kela up at the airport.  She was supposed to land at 2:30 pm.  But plans changed.  American Airlines had overbooked and Kela got bumped.  The next flight was to land at OKC after midnight and she was not guaranteed a seat on that flight. So, she turned down their free flights (RUSM? Do you really think that I am flying with American again? I booked this specific flight in order to be home for my mom’s birthday and then go to my grandparents the next morning!), then made them write her a check and she flew to Dallas and then rented a car and drove to OKC.  Kela is definitely a product from Tammy and myself.  I imagine that confrontation at the ticket desk was not pleasant for American Airlines.  Oh, she came out money ahead on this deal. It was an early morning for those chicks but all things went well.

Since, we weren’t going out for a family supper on Saturday night, I decided to trim hooves on growing buck kids.  They are all Feb to June born, so they are of age and all have the desire to be staining their legs.  This was not a clean nor pleasant job.  But, all those bucks have trimmed hooves.  And since, I was already nasty and was going to be sore, I decided to head to the mature buck pen.  This was not a pleasant experience.  But they are done.  My hand is sore and the clothes will probably never smell the same.

I also made each buck setup and brace.  I will catch each of these bucks several times a month and make them show.  This makes photo day easier.  There are several of these bucks that I really like.

Sunday found Tammy, Kela and Duke headed to Fairview to go to church with Grandma and Grandad.  I made it to Shattuck, then home to do chores, then to Waynoka to drop off a deal, then to Fairview to meet up with the rest of the fam.  And I wasn’t the last one there.

Then it was huge hand cut ribeye steaks, taters and Texas roadhouse rolls (yes, with the butter).  Everyone was so full, the desserts were largely left untouched.  Pretty good afternoon. The kids opened presents, the adults just chilled and we all watched the couple of week old 6 legged calf.  Yep, you read that right–6 legs.  The calf is functional, it just has an extra pair of legs hanging from its neck.  And as Dustin pointed out, this must be a “pain in the neck”.  Then the kids raced electric scooters and we all learned that Grandma does NOT like Evian water.  Good day.

And with it being the 23rd, Happy Festivus!  Duke didn’t want any part of the feats of strength.

Now on to the rest of the Christmas events and then Duke and I head west.