With the recent passing of Gene Wilder, some of the stations have been showing “Young Frankenstein”.  I have always enjoyed this quirky movie.  Now, as I watch it, I catch all of the humor that I may not have paid attention to in years past.  Minor things such as Holy jeeminy…that is Gene Hackman as the blind dude. 

      I have always been a fan of Blazing Saddles.  Probably the best movie ever made.  U dang sure couldn’t make a movie like that in today’s climate.  Gene Wilder is one of the all time comedic geniuses. I just wish that he and Mel Brooks had made a movie about the goat industry.  Now that would be a comedy.  With lots of bleeped out language.

     Oh, and was Terri Garr in every 70s and 80s movie?  Not a problem. She has played in a lot of super successful movies.  Coincidence.. I think not.  

Lots of new breeders are looking for “that” buck.  The one to elevate their program.  This is all well and good, but….  But, you first have to have a base of genetics built into your doe herd.  Get those females similar in type and kind and most imortantly, similar in genetics.  Then, when you get “that” buck, it is more apt to have a large impact instead of just working on a doe or two. 

This isn’t a new recipe for success.  Helms had a fleet of S100 does, then he dumped 191 on them and BOOM!  Pfeiffer started a herd with a set of Harbour females, then dumped Okie on them and built a whole empire of wether producing females, then put Colt on them and we are still seeing the positive results of all of those matings.  Schneberger has a pile of 1315 females.  Now, he is in the process of spreading his new bucks genetics across them to try to make a splash for next year.  I bet it works.  If it doesn’t, he will wish it would have.  

As much as I dislike dealing with does, in order to build a successful breeding program, you have to have a consistent doe base.  Those good does can make common bucks look good.  

I did not watch the debate last night.  I turned the channel to the debate and the Dragon Lady heard it.  I got yelled at.  Rightfully so.  No household should have that crap playing.  Even though I didn’t watch it live, I might have spent most of the AM hours watching the replays. I wish that I could sleep like a normal person.  Then, I found humour in the chive posts regarding this matchup of absolute horrible candidates.  One–I don’t like, but at least that one understands business and democracy.  That one would have benefited greatly from FFA public speaking. The other–I just feel the urge to flush a toilet.  I got no words good to say.  We all know that she is a liar…a professional politician…she stole stuff from the white house when she moved out…Dude…I got nothing good.  

Quotes:

“The only winner tonight is the Voyager probe, which is speeding away from Earth at kilometers/second.”

“I dunno guys, but it kinda feels like both teams lost tonight.”

It’s not that there is not qualified candidates.  It’s the fact that the media has kept the best ones from wanting to be the POTUS.  I’m not a republican or a democrat.  I’m an American.  And as an American, I’m telling you that you need to vote and that you need to use common sense.  Don’t worry about what the president can do for you, but what the president can do for America as a whole.  

On a goat note.  This current economic status has me going, “HHMM??!!”  The current lack of genetic diversity of truly good ones has me going, “WT….Hunh?!”  I have spent the last 30 plus years studying livestock species…cattle, hogs, sheep and then goats.  The current goat model does NOT fit anything similar to the other 3 species.  It is a beast unto itself, without comparison.  It can make one just shake their head, utter some cuss words and wonder “what in the hell do we do next?”  Hunh?!  We’ve now come full circle.  Those are the same thoughts that most are thinking about the upcoming election.  Just flush it and go on. 

I will close on this note.  There has been very little that I have agreed with YOUR (not mine) current president.  But I do agree with this statement from the 2008 campaign.  “She will say anything and change nothing.  Hillary can’t be trusted and is not qualified to be president.”  

P.S.  Congrats to the Schovanec family on their res. grand doe at the state fair of OK.  

P.S.S.  I heard a cool story about an ag teacher getting a foreign exchange student from China.  He was worried about spelling the kid’s name.  I understand the concern.  I don’t want to put the name on here.  But it wasn’t exactly the kind of name that one would expect.  Give Pullan a holler and talk to him about selling some high dollar goats this year. Then ask the name.  It’s not what you would expect.  It is a lot like our presidential candidates.  It will leave you shaking your head.  

Made it down to the great state fair of Oklahoma.  Didn’t spend much time on the midway judging Ms. Skank OK.  But, it looked like there was plenty of viable candidates.  We did show a couple of wethers.  But, we obviously did not take the right ones.   It happens.  Unlike other state fairs, this show is really just a big jackpot.  The top end is always really good.  Most years, the winners from this show go on to hang some big banners.  

For a change, a show in Oklahoma decided to get some new blood to judge.  Bryson Williams was hired to line up the goats.  If you don’t know, he is BW Livestock out of Texas.  I had not seen him judge before, but I was looking forward to it.  He was effecient in the way he handled the classes.  Great on the mic.  Excellent with the kids. You better have a good one that has plenty of power.  I did not always agree with him, but he was easy to follow.  He needs to judge more shows as he did a good job.  Congrats to Brandon Morgan and his family on the grand wether.  Good win and the goat has a cool story to go with it.  

I’m home but getting ready to turn around and go back to pick up fair projects and move them to the Tulsa State Fair.  Then, I’ll turn around and go to COLT conference on Tuesday.  Back to back to back all because nobody can look at a calendar.  

       Without a doubt, one of my all time favorite movie characters is Yoda.  Even non-Star Wars fans recognized Yoda.  I just drug my old, tired donkey in from the great state fair of OK and turned on the tube.  The Empire Strikes Back is on TNT.  Although I really like the CGI produced light saber wielding Yoda in the newer Star Wars movies, I prefer the old school muppet Yoda.  

     I really don’t have any intelligence to dispense on this humid evening.  

Here we go with another cop shooting, followed by violent protests.  This stuff just doesn’t make much sense to me.  We’ve got a backup quarterback still protesting the national anthem.  Common sense is such a rare commodity these days.

I’m not racist.  Although, I do enjoy a good joke.  I would vote for any QUALIFIED person regardless of race, color, religion, sex or even if they were an ou fan.  It would not bother me at all to have a woman as president.  I just don’t want the one that is currently running.  Every group feels like they are being prejudiced against.  But, in today’s times, I am real sure that I am in the most prejudiced group–white male.  A white male can’t do anything right in today’s society.  Anybody can bash a white male.  It is okay.  All we are allowed to do is go to work, pay taxes and be ready to apologize for something.  

After shearing a few wethers and dealing with some does, I am prejudiced against retarded goats.  They can make life miserable.  Have a good one and a better tomorrow.  

      This is a science and art that everyone needs to understand.  Welding holds our universe together.  Kela wasn’t an expert welder but she understands the process.  Duke is way into it.  He is like me in the fact that he can work metal but wood, well, not so much.  He takes pride in his welding.  

     Having said that, he doesn’t like repairing stuff that was destroyed by Doe goats.  Panels, panel frames, gates, etc, etc.  They don’t just break it, they change the shape and composition of the metal.  These destructive beasts can take a round tubing gate and make a piece of flat metal that is too thin to weld prolerly.  Somehow, resin from their horns turns this steel into a new, unweldable alloy.  Even though, a goat herder must have some welding skills.  There is always something in the process of being broken.

     As I am typing this, I am watching a Milwaukee Blacksmith show.  They are driving me nuts as they don’t wear safety glasses.

     We had some cornhuskers bring a couple of lease bucks home.  I like it when the bucks come home in good shape.  Bucks will get run down while breeding, but a little management keeps them in working shape.  Healthy bucks make it easier to let people get bucks in the future.  

I spend a little bit of time in a pickup burning up the pavement.  I also like to listen to good radio.  Therefore, I have XM radio in all of my personal pickups.  The radio spends a lot of time tuned to channels 39, 97 and NOW channel 55.  This is a new channel that they have been promoting for months–the Garth channel.  One forgets just how many big time songs Garth Brooks has had in his career.  They could just play his stuff, but no.  They also play the songs that Garth likes.  It is possible to listen to a Garth hit, followed by a KISS tune, then a George Strait song, then a Merle Haggard song and then an AC/DC tune.  I like it.  

Garth blew up in 1989.  I was a freshman in Stillwater when this explosion took place.  I remember a concert in Gallagher Hall.  Garth Brooks was the opening act.  Then Clint Black took the stage.  And the featured performer was….Ricky Van Shelton.  It didn’t take long for the role reversal to occur.  

This station is way better than listening to any of the political channels that are discussing the upcoming election.  Listening to any of those stations makes me want to jerk the pickup headfirst into a bridge embankement.  

      OYE held a sheep and goat sale on Saturday night.  The commission from this sale will be used at the OYE premium sale.  The wethers sold in this sale are eligible for a futurity with the champion selling in the premium sale.  The sale was held at the Heritage Place.  This is a swank horse sale facility.  This made for an excellent sale atmosphere.  The breeders brought a really good set of goats.  

     For a first time sale, it went really well.  I heard several breeders comment that they are going to have to save a good one for next year.  Pick of the barn brought $7,500. Several others brought in that 4-5 range.  But there were some really good goats that sold in that 600 to 1,500 range.  

      Once in the city, Tyke, Duke and I ate at Ted’s.  We ate too much.  That queso is addictive.

I have been feeling older lately.  Different parts hurt.  Clothes don’t quite fit right.  Gray is the predominant color on my head.  Basically, I have begun to realize that age is starting to catch up to me.  Throw in the fact that I am not exactly a slick, well-maintained, Sunday driver kind of unit.  There has been some self-inflicted hard miles.  

Today, the Shattuck FFA was judging livestock at the State Fair of OK.  We went to Earl’s BBQ for lunch.  I got my glass of iced tea and moved towards the register.  There was one older man standing there.  Waiting for his to-go order.  I looked at him.  Did a double-take.  I asked one of the kids if they knew who that man was.  She shook her head”No”.

I then spoke to the man.  I said, “Coach Switzer.”  He stiffly turned and said, “Yes sir.”  I asked if he remembered doing any quail hunting near Shattuck, OK.  He got excited and we had a bit of a conversation about quail near Shattuck and Vici, OK.  He mentioned that he wished that he could walk all day like he used to while hunting birds.  Even though he is an iconic ou sooner, he was nothing but polite.  

Now, here’s what makes it official.  The kids and I sat down and waited on our meal.  These were all freshman & sophomores.  I asked if anybody knew who that man was.  One of them asked, with eyebrow cocked showing the uncertainty of her answer, “Is he an old football coach?”  I said, “Yes.  That was Barry Switzer.”  None of the other kids knew who Barry Switzer was.  Without a doubt, he was the most recognizable Oklahoman during the 70s, 80s, 90s and arguably the 2000s.  

Switzer is still on tv commercials.  I’ve seen him on numerous espn and other sports shows recently.  But, I guess the younger ones are watching the same things.  Although I am a true Okie State Cowboy, I just assumed that EVERY Oklahoman knew who Barry Switzer was and is.   But, no it is official.  That’s just how old people think.

On a good note, the kids had a good first day at the State Fair of OK.  No, we didn’t win any hardware at the judging, but they weren’t far off the pace.  But we did have a student win the overall grand champion grass board display, another won the FFA news reporting contest and Duke had the overall grand champion ag mechanics project.  A bunch of others placed really well.  Great kids!

Have a good one and a better tomorrow.