Sure, I wish that I was in KC on this fine friday.  Duke & I would have liked to have eaten some Danny Edwards Blvd. BBQ sandwiches for lunch and now be at the 801 chophouse with lobster corn dogs, a fine cut of meat and a high quality bourbon (Me, not Duke, on the last part.)  We normally hit the spook houses on this night.  But, I’m not there.  Nor is he.

Duke is delivering custom made benches and feed additives.  AND he just managed to schedule some hunting in with these deliveries.  Well planned on his part.

No, we didn’t want to show at KC this year.  One would have to have a wether on feed to nominate and enter in order to show there.  But we like that show.  Not so much the show as the camaraderie.  I like to see the yankees as well as others.  It is fun to watch the Okie kids get along at KC (or other out-of-state shows).

Instead of being in KC, Duke, then me, then Tammy will head out on adventures, independently of each other.  I know, it’s kind of messed up, but it kind of fits us.

I just hope that it is dry when I get home.  We are wet.  FOR, this part of the world.  Dude, I wouldn’t want the water that the Llano river country is dealing with.  Nor, do I want any part of the hurricane hit country in Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas.  NW OK version of wet ain’t the same as their version.  Likewise, their version of windy is NOT quite the same as ours.

Nothing but positive vibes around here.  Horseshoes and Shamrocks.  And I hope some deserving son-of-a-gun bought a winning lottery ticket.  Here’s to you and yours, me and mine and to all the rest of you people…CHEERS!

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.

I got smoked Saturday night.  No, not like that.  I literally got smoked.  How?  Well, I’ll tell you.  I went to the pig sale in Woodward.  Ate the awesome breakfast.  Then I stopped at another farm sale.  Then I headed back to Shattuck to the Holt family pig bid off.  And that is where I got smoked.

The wanted to grill pork burgers and brats.  The weather was hit and miss.  It was getting colder and kind spitting rain.   So, Barcaly put his traeger inside his stock trailer.  Good plan!  Washmon and I fired the grill up and started throwing burgers and brats.  By the way, I love pork burgers.  I also really like brats.  And I really, really like dipping the broken pieces of either into some bad ass home-made fresh HOT salsa.

That traeger was packed with pork products.  Washmon and I were feeding the masses and inhaling smoke. And more smoke.  Oh, that smoke was providing a tasty flavor to the pig but it was also smoking us out.  The glass was out of the trailer but there wasn’t any air moving through it.  I stuck it out until all the food was cooked.  But dang dude.  I was smoked.

And I felt it the next morning.  My chest was still kind of full, my nasal passages weren’t quite right.  I felt sluggish.  I’m pretty sure that if you cut me open, I have the pink smoke ring of a well cooked smoked meat.  Washmon and I decided that next year, we will cook in the rain before we move the traeger inside the trailer again.

Welcome to winter.  It was fall for two days and now a killing freeze.  Finally had an evening that wasn’t wet so I put out hay, lots of hay.  Cows, calves and does all got fresh bales.  I put a creep feeder in with the mini herfs.  I don’t think that midget cattle were on the manufacturer’s minds when they built the creep gates.

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.

Uncle Jim came back out tonight.  He wanted to check the water around the place.  And get a free supper.  And it was his 79th birthday.  He’s trying to act like he’s getting old but his mind is still whirring and way ahead of most if not all.  If I was smart, I would start writing a book about this guy and his life experiences.  He is actually a true renaissance man.  Jet fighter pilot in Vietnam, retired Air Force with extensive service record, wine taster, wine maker, violin maker (can’t play one but has built several–why?  Just wanted to see if he could discover the secret of the Stradivarius violin.  I mean, hell, who hasn’t thought about building a violin or 6), low rent fisherman extraordinaire–fly, bait cast, spin cast or old school Zebco 33, food critic to the Nth degree, gunsmith, blade smith, opinionated (makes me look MILD) and can talk any topic you want.  Pick one–religion, politics, food, engineering, weather and on and on.  He was raised Catholic, attends Catholic mass but also teaches bible study at a Baptist church.  And he isn’t afraid to correct a Priest or Preacher about a bible passage.

It is easy to tell when a topic is new to him or that he doesn’t know much about it.  How?  He starts asking questions but they come at you in a conversational form, not direct.  And he asks questions that make you think just how much you really know about the subject.  For example, the art of showing livestock at a highly competitive level.  The moment he grasps that the $ amounts are retarded, he will quantify the value by discussing the study of nutrition and genetics, throw in some politics, a job well done reward, family bonding, work ethics, building character and then spin it back to you in the form of a poorly planned jr. high school science fair project that failed miserably so you then use all of the aforementioned crap to justify showing livestock.  And he isn’t wrong.

In all honesty, he makes it fun.  He makes you think.  And after he leaves, you are left thinking about what the heck it was that you thought you were thinking.  I suspect that he goes home and laughs about how he made you think about something that you do on a daily basis.  Then he researches it for his own knowledge and is better prepared for the next time.

It’s good.  Real good.  I mean, this has to be the first time that a Stradivarius violin was ever mentioned on a goat or livestock blog page.

We are temporarily changing the name of Fargo to Lottawater.  It started raining here last Friday night.  Then continued Saturday, then Sunday, then all day Monday and on into Tuesday.  I really don’t know how much rain that we have had.  Nobody has gauges that hold that much.  The mesonet at Woodward reads 7.85″.  We are kind of in that same red color scheme so there you go.  Basically, a shit load!

I moved does out from under the red barn on Monday night.  Moving does, while the ground is wet, is a dang neart impossible job.  The water is in the corrals and within feet of the barn.  I decided to get them to higher ground, just in case.

I have only seen water this high in the corrals once in my lifetime.  Uncle Jim was here tonight to survey the situation.  He told Tammy that this is the fullest that he has seen the pond and the highest in the corrals that he has seen it.

The buck pens on the north side of the road are washed out.  Those 5 mature bucks are all staying under that port-a-hut shed.  None wanting to drop the soap, all ready for some dry weather.  The wind has not ever been bad but it has came from different directions.  Just enough to make sure that all undersides of sheds and feed troughs on feeders are wet.  There is no dry.  Just saturated.

The hay that was swathed 11 days ago is still in the windrow.  The solar electric fence charger went dead because there hasn’t been sunlight since last week.  Luckily, we didn’t need the solar water wells to work this week.  Agriculture in paradise.  Normally, not enough rain.  Then too much.  It is what it is.

I got home after dark tonight.  Duke had done chores.  So, we turned on the tube and looked for something to watch.  “There’s Something About Mary” was on.  I hadn’t seen it in years and Duke had never seen it.  Dang dude, that is still a funny flick.

Stay dry.  Keep calm.  Get the goat blankets out because it looks like it is about time to start blanketing show goats.  I’m glad that we don’t have many goats around here right now.

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.

Just rolled back home from the great Tulsa State Fair.  I am thrilled to have these trailer loads of ag mechanics stuff back to Shattuck.  Hats off to these kids that built the stuff but a HUGE tip of the cap to Brian & AJ Carter and Duke.  These boys can flat load some equipment and strap it down ready to haul.  They even know how to tie the loose ends of the ratchet straps properly.  Larry the Legend Nickeson showed them a trick that he learned from an Australian truck driver.  Supposedly this knot is called a “New Zealand A$$ho!e”.   Well, it works.  Nonetheless, I would trust these kids with a lot.  All of the loads survived the Cimarron Turnpike.  These kids aren’t going to win any valedictorian type awards but they will do well in anything that deals with work ethic.  And that is probably worth more.

Not a problem, but Duke and I (for Duke) have gotten lots of phone calls and requests to build stuff for people.  I’m ready to move onto some other stuff but this is a great by-product of kids showing off their wares.

Speaking of toll booths.  It is a known fact that I like to talk to people like cabbies, custodians, toll booth workers and especially secretaries.  I absolutely respect the job(s) that they do.  And secretaries run the world.  They almost always know more than the boss and understand the employees and the customers.  And most don’t always talk to the secretaries.  But, I don’t miss many chances.

Saturday evening, while driving to Tulsa, I had enough of listening to that putrid Okie State football game.  I love it when Iowa State wins a game, I just don’t like it when they beat my team.  So, I turned it to some proper music for driving.  As I pulled into a tollbooth on the rough patch of Earth, a very recognizable artist/song hit the airwaves.  So, I looked at the lady in the booth and asked “Do you like Bon Jovi?”

She politely replied, “Yes.”  Then she shook her head, turned and looked at me I2I and said, “Well hell, who doesn’t?  Yes, I like Bon Jovi.”  I agreed.  As I paid for several pickups and trailers to continue driving on that beat2hell piece of S road, we continued our conversation about Bon Jovi.  (I hope you re-read that paragraph because even as I am the author, it looks better the 2nd time.)

Fast forward to Sunday morning.  On the westbound land of the same smooth as a Bactrian camel’s back (2 humps not 1) turnpike, I pulled up to the tollbooth.  In a monotone voice, the lady asked, “Continuing westbound?”  I recognized her from the night before and replied, “Yes. But I need to pay for the following vehicles and are you listening to Bon Jovi?”

She came to life, “No but I wish I was.”  And this turned into a conversation about hours worked, benefits and why this was her last day on the job.  Bonecrusher was riding co-pilot with me.  I pulled away from the toll booth and he said, “Mr. Kelln, I love stopping at toll booths when you are driving.”  I took that as a compliment.

This stuff might get long.  I don’t know.  I don’t care.  Click somewhere else if you don’t like it.  Go check cnn, fox or espn.  I’m real sure that it will be better.  Hunh, still here.

As we kept traveling east, we pulled into the west side of Tulsa.  I made reservations at a chain hotel.  But, there was no trailer parking, so I made the decision to do a turnaround in a residential section.  BUT, it turned out it was a gated apartment complex.  It wasn’t designed for 32′ trailers behind 4 door pickups.  I thought that I had came to a dead end.  As I was looking for a way out, I saw a man walk out of his house.  So, I bailed out of the High Country and I walked towards him to ask THE question–How in the hell do I get out of here?

I had to walk about 50 yards, he was strolling and making a cell phone call.  I walked up and said “Sir.”

He came uncorked.  “What in the Hell?  JESUS brother!  You scared me!”  I apologized.  I did not mean to scare him and I thought he saw me walking towards him.  He continued, “What do you need?”

I told him that I was looking for a way out.  He took a deep breath, got his composure and said, “That way, go that way.  Damn, dude! You scared me.”   He was extremely polite for somebody that just got startled.  I thanked him and then followed his directions.  He was right.

I’m just going to guess ( and in No Way is this racist), but I have a feeling that I was the only 5’9″ white dude that scared a 6’1″ shaved head black guy on that Saturday night in the greater Tulsa area.

Speaking of races.  We made our way out of the maze and headed back to find our rooms for the night.  We parked on the street and I went in to talk to the front desk.  The man went above and beyond to help us find room to park the pickups and trailers.  Absolute great front desk person.  We got parked and then went in to take care of the money part.

He asked “What brings you to Tulsa with trailers?”  I told him that these kids had built stuff for the fair and we came back to pick it up.”

He then asked, “Do you know how it did?”  I said, “Yes, they won the Ag Mechanics sweepstakes show.”  He then gave the boys cookies that were reserved for the diamond and gold guests.  Sure, it was getting late but those boys thought it was cool.

I then inquired if he had been to the fair yet.  “Oh, sir.  No.  I have my house on …. and …st.  People are all the time trying to park in my yard, my driveway and my part of the street.  I don’t need to cross the street to the fair.  I can see all of the fair people in my front yard.”

SOOO, I said, “Dude that is really close to the fairgrounds.  Surely you charge those people to park in your yard, driveway and in front of your house?”

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?    He replied, “Oh, no sir!  I have seen these type people for years.  I know not where they get money to go to the fair.  But the fair may be the highlight of their year.  I’m not going to take their money.  They are humans and I think they need the money for other things.  My neighbors tell me that I am crazy in the brain but I don’t mind parking a couple of blocks away and walking.”

I shook my head and said “Dude, really? They would pay.”

He then said, “I know.  I know.  I don’t want their money.  I have good job and a good wife and my daughter is going to do great things.  I don’t want their dirty money.  They need to spend it better.”

So, I then got the boys to their rooms and then YES, I spent some time at the front desk.  RU Kidding Me?  It might have been the best 30 plus minutes that I have spent this year.  The media needs to follow me around and see what the real world is like.  This dude–Immigrated to California, highly educated, became a U.S. citizen (extremely proud of it), didn’t care for California,  does NOT want to win a lottery, loves his family, has a plan, doesn’t like politics but thinks that “The President Of The United States Mr. Trump” is trying to do good for all Americans.  Deals with racial issues everyday–he being of Indian descent and his wife white.  AND…and was not complaining about it.  In fact, was using his experiences to teach his daughter how to deal with it and move forward.  Whoofh??!! Really?  Dang?  No, I meant “Dang!!”

People, the American Dream is not dead.  It may be more vibrant than ever.  The color may have changed, the dialect different, but there is a reason that people are still coming.  AND I have no problem with anybody that talks as passionately about goals, respect, kids and being American as this cat.

And when I asked what scares him about raising a daughter in America today (why wouldn’t I ask that,especially after hearing that he had lived in Cali?)  …well, he had polite opinions about meth, marijuana laws, television and video games.  It ain’t often that I walk away trying to digest all that I just took in.  Wicked awesome!  Best day/night in a long, long time.  I normally sleep in a hotel with the AC cranked low.  Not on this night.  The AC was cranked low but my mind was whirring.

Then, I get home and clicked on the goat sales page…oklahomashowgoats.com….I see that Kratzer Show Goats sale is posted.  I saw these doe kids last week while making an extended stop in Perrydise.  I didn’t mean to be there long but I got to see these does clipped and photoed, some other random goats and then spent time talking to Max the elderly Dachshund.  Max and I have history.   And neither of us may be around much longer, so it was good to catch up.

Back to the goats.  Some didn’t photo as well as they should have (goats not wiener dogs).  Some of these doe kids are actually really good (Kansas bred might make some racist).  The black headed unicorn story is REAL!  You don’t make up wounds like that.  I don’t buy many doe kids but there is a set there if interested.  My involvement in this sale is this–he bought a couple of does from me and I saw these doe kids at Milligan’s.  Consider it community service for buyers and the seller. I’ve seen them, watched them walk and petted on them.  There are several doe kids in there that will beat some high dollar/name brand stuff.  Preferably text unless you know me well…then leave a message, then call back, then text me (twice or thrice) and then I’ll call back before the sale closes.  I know, I get it, I’m an ass but I would rather talk to people in real life.

But….but….RUSM…a write up about Mary Jane, 420 and April 20 birth date, ear tag, high hopes, cool song and nothing, not one thing regarding it now being legal in Oklahoma to have something this good…..  Amateurs.

Thanks to Jay Muret and Emily Sewell on the assist getting stuff moved back to western OK.  Holler when you all are ready for the Dragon Lady to cook supper.  Or me to buy.

We did eat breakfast at Tally’s Cafe.  The cinnamon rolls are HUGE!  And dang good.

I’ve had a great weekend and hope you have as well.

p.s.  I just realized that my light saber needs charged.  I’m real sure that these are NOT words ever uttered by Darth Vader or Yoda.

Uva Uvam Vivendo Varia Fit.

I like that line.  Don’t know what it means, but the COOLEST character EVER from the best movie EVER said it.  And it is Latin.  SO, there you go.

p.s.s. What is the difference between Latino and Hispanic?  I know.  You better learn.

I’ve known a few.  Myself, no  Couldn’t be one but I can tell a story or three.  I love listening to a good comedian and I hate listening to one that really isn’t funny.  And in the goat business, you better have a sense of humor.  I do know of a goat person that could take that show on the road.  But, he won’t.

While on the road, I use the XM radio to listen to 5 or 6 different comedy channels.  Some clean, some not so clean and some are funnier than others.

Foxworthy has to be at the top of the list.  Been doing it for decades.  Clean enough for the kids to listen but enough innuendo that the adults get a laugh.  And the whole redneck deal is never ending.

Larry the Cable Guy–stupid, simple humor that I love.

Ron White–maybe the funniest of all.  But only in certain company.

I was young when Richard Pryor was rolling but that dude could bring it.

Those Eddie Murphy HBO specials are still funny.  And who made those red and purple leather suits?

This Kevin Hart dude can bring some funny.

I wish that I could have seen Robin Williams perform.  I loved it when Letterman would have him on.

A week or two ago, I was driving through SW Kansas which meant NO cell phone service and no decent local radio play.  But the XM was in play and I found an old replay of a Dean Martin Roast of Redd Foxx.  People, this was a legendary cast of comedians that brought the funny.  Nipsy Russell, Don Rickles, etc.  It wasn’t dirty BUT it wasn’t clean.  If Duke had been with me, no problem.  A crew of 8th graders, I probably would have changed the channel.  But, I had miles to make and got to listen to it all.  Lots of off-color humor that would not be allowed today.  Clean but racist.  Sexist but clean.  Times have changed but it was still funny.

Some of these comedians had witty one liners or a schtick.  Like Rodney Dangerfield’s “No Respect”.

And some had an absolute grasp of the English language like no other.   They didn’t make one think of Shakespeare.  They simply made one think.

George Carlin was probably the best at this, but it wasn’t always in a user friendly form.  The dude was scary smart and could twist common lingo into funny, yet thought provoking humor.  I vividly remember a cheer about rats, bats and some things that were dirty and old and others tied in a knot.  If you don’t know it, don’t look it up.

And then there is Gallagher.  The comedian.  Not the icon formerly known as a goat breeder.

I watched his shows on tv.  Saw the watermelons get smashed.  But then he talked and made sense.

Topics like school and how “you go there to learn to communicate and all they say is, ‘No talking.’”

Why are they called “cowboys” when cows are female?

Why is a statue called a “bust” when it stops right below the part for which it would be named?

Why are they called “buildings” when they’re already done?

Why is it called a “TV set” when you only get one?

Big is a little word, and little is twice as big.

Then he made fun of words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently: good and food; bomb, tomb and comb; home and some; worse and horse; laughter and daughter; ache and mustache; beard and heard; go and do.  And he was right and it made one think and laugh while thinking.

He asked, “Why should I be serious about the language when the language isn’t serious enough to make sense?”

I’m not sure but I hope that I had posted some stuff on here a couple of years ago about comedians.  I remember Duke and I eating breakfast with Garland & Joy Gallagher at the Polly Anna cafe in Woodward, OK.  We stood outside the diner on Main Street for a minute or two talking directions.  I remember the Woodward Theater marquee showing the upcoming event “GALLAGHER”.  I wasn’t, nor am I now, good at realizing a social media moment.  But, in retrospect, I should have snapped a pic of Duke and the Gallaghers in front of the marquee.

I’ll be on the road the next couple of days and I hope to hear some stuff that makes me laugh.  If not, I will turn the knob to a politics based channel.  That will make me laugh until I’m sick.  Or make me sick enough to laugh.

People, have a good one and a better tomorrow.

I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go to the Tulsa Livestock Show.  Why?  In Shattuck, America, we have plenty going on for a very small school.  The football team is ranked #1 and are the defending state champs.  The softball team is the 3 time defending state champs and they are playing in the state tournament this week.  The choir just had a whole bunch of kids qualify for honor choir.  The FFA kids stay busy and had just won the State Fair of OK ag mech sweepstakes.  We really don’t need to be showing stock right now.  We will get a bit more serious come February and March.  This was the first time that I attended Tulsa knowing that we did not have a dog in the hunt–in any species.

However, we still went.  I did have a pair of brothers that are starting to figure this broiler show out.  They did well as they placed 15th and 7th overall.  Only the grand and reserve make the sale, so there is room for improvement.

There are times that I miss feeding chickens at our house, but then again, I’m kind of glad that Duke hasn’t wanted to do it.  Dang there is not a nastier animal than a chicken.  Nonetheless, it might be the best project going.  It is all about management.  CONGRATS to Papa Terry Harmon….aka King Cock, the Cock Jock, the COCKIEST dude that I know.  His grandkids showed who had the biggest and best of the broiler show.  GRAND and RESERVE GRAND!  So many wrong things that I could type here but I won’t.  No doubt that they had the best.  I’m happy for them.

Speaking of happy for them.  We are big fans of Miss Addie Schneberger.  Great females in that family.  The males are a bit suspect but good people.  I didn’t watch the grand drive but I was happy to get the call from her dad that she had won the Tulsa wether show.  Only recently, I told her dad that I was betting ALL IN that she would win a big one.  And, I was right.  There will be more wins in this girl’s future.

I didn’t watch much of the goat show.  For numerous reasons.  Didn’t have any students showing, didn’t have any that I sold showing and didn’t really have a desire.  I didn’t watch the sheep show either.  But we did have one that we sold there.  Back in April, we had a Broke2Show online wether sale.  We sold a hair sheep that Lexi Kelln had shown with success.  Hairy the hair sheep was a wether from Preston Faris that was champion at Woodward District and 2nd at OYE.  He only brought $250 in this sale.  Tom Kester bought it for a neighbor girl.  They followed directions and had champion hair sheep at the Tulsa State Fair.  Wicked Awesome!

Oh, I might have forgot to mention on here that Shattuck FFA had already won the Ag Mechanics sweepstakes award at the Tulsa State Fair.  Duke & Lane’s semi loading chute that was grand at the State Fair of OK was reserve grand overall at Tulsa.  It got beat by a reconditioned Massey Ferguson tractor.  That’s cool.  Would have been cooler if it was green.

Kind of a cool story about this group of Ag Mech kids.  While unloading projects at the OKC State Fair, a guy looked at several of these boys and commented, “It’s no wonder Shattuck wins so many football championships.  Look at the size of the boys.”  One of these senior boys (a large mammal and not Duke) looked at him and said, “We don’t play sports.  We weld.”  That might end up on a t shirt at some point.

No doubt, absolutely no doubt that I will gladly give you a political opinion.  I vote every chance that I get.  I would like to think that I can stay in the middle but I can’t.  I can tell you that I respect most things that the Trumpster is doing, but I do wish that he would stay off twitter and just shut the hell up.  I do like what he is trying to do as POTUS.  I do think that these tariffs on china will hurt but are needed.

I am not following the Kavanaugh hearings as they happen.  I have other stuff to worry about.  Nonetheless, I do think that this selection is important to both sides, which should be no side.

This deal does not pass a smell test.  I feel for and understand why a woman may or may not come forward with a rape allegation.  Especially, if there is a chance that the woman may have been somewhat at fault.  I get it.    I have watched cnn and fox tonight.  Both are pushing agendas.  And without a doubt, this deal does not pass the smell test.  It stinks.  Her story sounds good but she is not credible.  Nothing backs it up.

Get rid of the politics, read, listen and most of all PRAY!  Our nation is under attack by it’s own citizens.  Our media does not provide a service.  Our media should not have an agenda.  The mere fact that one channel takes one side while the other channel takes the other side is proof that the media is partially at fault.  Our founding fathers could not have foreseen this when writing the bill of rights.  Social media only fuels this problem.  I don’t trust the ethics of these

Regardless of your politics or position, this hearing is not good for our country.  I personally do not care if Brett Kavanaugh gets appointed to the Supreme Court or not.  I do care how this deal is going down.  And the media will make it where very few people will want to ever serve in public office.  If this guy is truly innocent, your media has failed us and is causing long term damage.  Which is why we have Donald Trump as the President of the United States of America.

The whole deal stinks.

Why?  Here’s why.   So, while traveling the major blacktop arteries of the state of Oklahoma during the past couple of weeks while hauling projects to the state fairs, I have had several unique conversations with students.

Now, these are ag mech-er students.  Great, great kids but we probably aren’t going to win beauty contests, speech contests, best dressed titles or valedictorian awards.  But, I won’t trade these kids for all the gold in California.  These kind show up everyday, sell piles of Blue & Gold sausage, take pride in their work, will always perform community service projects and have a great work ethic.  They will always be tax paying citizens and will have a job. Blue collar–yes.  Redneck–maybe.  Use whatever terms that you want.  Personally, I can fit into several different categories but I always relate to this type of kid.  They don’t want to sit in a classroom, don’t want to have to memorize a bunch of stuff that they won’t use at any other time in their life and they really don’t care about popularity contests.  I get it.

The other day, as we were rolling down the blacktop, I had a boy ask me if I had seen…..are you ready……Rocky III.   I casually shook my head yes and said, “Yeah, dude.  Like back in the 80s.”

People, he was floored.  “Really.  I just saw it the other night.  I think that it is the best movie that I have ever seen.”

WTH?  Seriously.  Yes, he was serious.  So, I asked the obvious–“Did  you like that Eye of the Tiger song?”

YES!!   And then he went into full frantic mode talking about the script of Rocky 3.  I let him go for a bit then reined him in with –“You do know that isn’t the best or the 2nd best or even the 3rd best Rocky movie ever made?”   BOOM!    Mind officially blown.  So, let’s rank ’em.

5—I have not seen the Creed movie, but it HAS to be better than Rocky Balbo and I refuse to even mention the turd of a movie that followed Rocky IV.

4—Rocky III.   Maybe the coolest song EVER and it still might only be the 2nd best song from a Rocky movie.  Eye of the Tiger is an all time classic tune.  Thunder Lips (Hulk Hogan) and Clubber Lang (Mr. T) are two of the coolest characters that you could put in an 80s movie.  The ending was kind of fun but in all honesty, cheesy as all heck.

Now, it starts to get hard to rank them.

3–Rocky II.  Maybe the best fight of all of the Rocky flicks.  Paid homage to the first, added story lines that completed I and built to the future movies.  Fighting right handed and then changing to left.  Chasing chickens.  I like this one.

2–Rocky IV.   Maybe the best cold war movie…ever.  The training montage video makes me want to chop wood and run up a mountain in the Altai range.  Soundtrack is wicked awesome.  Ivan Drago was legendary on screen.  Apollo Creed went out like he wanted.  Great movie but the last 3 minutes makes you want to put your head in a vise.

1–Rocky.     One of the best movies ever made.  Everybody that has ever watched this flick has wanted to punch a hanging beef carcass.  And the song, yes, that song is legendary.  Yes, this movie won Oscars but they also built a statue in Philadelphia for an imaginary character.  One of the coolest names ever…Apollo Creed.  How many bulls have been named after these characters…..Rocky, Rocky Balbo, Itallion Stallion, etc.

“Ain’t gonna be no rematch.”   Alright.

The story of Stallone, the script, holding out, selling his dog, Wepner/Ali, etc. are just pure America.  The turtles from the original Rocky are supposedly still alive…Cuff and Link.  How many dumb asses have drank raw eggs as a result of watching this flick?

I won’t argue with II being #1 or IV being 3, 2 or 1.   No matter what, respect has to be given to the original.  You don’t get the others without the first being a hit.

Now, go spark that “Gonna Fly Now” song up on your music player.  Trendy 70s base line, add some horns and a guitar solo with a few lyrics and you have one of the best pump up songs of all time.  Your parents, your grandparents, your kids and probably your grandkids all recognize this song.

How many stock showers have had “Gonna Fly Now” or “Eye of the Tiger” blaring through some speakers while working stock?  MOST!

If you want to text and argue about the rankings of 1, 2 or 4—-fine.  If you want to move 3 or the others higher in the rankings….just delete my # from your phone and go back to working leg hair on your spanish/nubian cross wether goats.

On a similar note.  When hauling kids, I try to take them to eat somewhere that they haven’t been nor may not get a chance to go.  Sunday night, we were in OKC, so we took them to the Cattlemen’s.  Duke was the only student that had been there before.  We were seated in the Hereford room.  Two brothers were ready for steak–RARE, ribeyes they ordered.  Another kid said that he would NOT eat calf fries NOR lamb fries.  So, I ordered a couple of plates of lamb fries.  He was sitting next to me when I ordered AND when they were brought them to the table.

He asked, “What are those?”   I looked across the table, shook my head and said, “Mini chicken fried steaks.”

He grabbed one, ate it and then grabbed another.  I waited until the third one to tell him the truth.  Now, he likes lamb fries.

I bet that I haul this kid to some state fairs in the future.  I will bet that he will watch ALL of the Rocky movies.  I hope that he learns from me but I bet that I will learn (or at least be reminded of) why it is that I/we do the things that we do.

Over and out.

It has to be the worst.  I cannot imagine a worse stretch of highway.  There is not a worse major highway that I know of…ANYWHERE!  This title has to belong to the Cimarron Turnpike.  And we get to PAY to drive on this POS.  It will knock the fillings right out of your teeth.  I would hate to be an animal riding in a trailer to the Tulsa State Fair while bouncing down this stretch of concrete and pavement.

Today, I was coming west down this joyous stretch of modern engineering.  I was in my High Country pickup.  This is normally as smooth of a riding vehicle as you can find.  But not on the Cimarron Turnpike.  This pickup was hooked to a gooseneck 32′ flat trailer with a dovetail and folding ramps.  Yes, a heavy trailer but it pulls good.  I was running the speed limit 75 mph (school trip, people following, etc. )   This road was kicking the crap out of us.  I hit a bump (a bit bigger than the previous 1,386 bumps over the past 12 miles).  This bump bounced the fold up ramps.  The next big bump caught us out of rhythm and bounced the trailer so hard that one of the fold up ramps unfolded.  It was now dragging.  I felt it and kind of saw it in the mirrors and stopped immediately to flip it back up.

Basically, this rough stretch of a piece of crap highway is like a bad storm on a large body of water.  It is not the first wave that sinks boats.  It is the next one that you weren’t ready for.  It cost me over $20 in tolls for 3 pickups and trailers.  They ought to have to pay people to drive on this thing.  If it was an actual business, it would be out of business.

Although it will add a lot of time to the trip, I think that I will probably take a different route to Tulsa.

Earlier in the day, I drove on the Turner Turnpike from OKC to Tulsa.  This cost me about $30 bucks but other than the road construction, it was a pleasant drive.  I did ask the lady in the toll booth if she ever worked over on the Cimarron.  She said, “No”.

I then asked, “What about that road?”  She said “That deal is almost too rough to drive on.”  You dang skippy.

I realize that roads are expensive to build.  But that turd of a road generates a lot of $s.  Something needs to be done.

Here’s to hoping that your day was smoother than a ride on the Cimarron Turnpike.  Which basically means that you could have knocked a tooth out with a hammer, stabbed yourself in the eye with an icepick, bruised a spleen and had your best doe lose babies at birth and you would have still had a smoother day.