July 4th - Spillage

Given the recent USA Miss Universe fumble, as documented on Today's Special, I thought I would share an equally patriotic spill that Ben and I witnessed when we were in Utah at the Oakley Rodeo.


The flag bearer at the rodeo was this wonderful and innocent young girl. She was so excited and nervous to be presenting the flag during the Star Spangled Banner, which in the rodeo world is akin to throwing out the first pitch. As the picture illustrates, she wielded the flag while galloping her pony around the arena while someone crooned out the national anthem.

By her second lap around the arena she was going so fast, I am surprised the rodeo clown didn't get pulled in by her centripetal force and she took a digger right in front of the rodeo queens (and no, that was not derogatory - that is what they are actually called). The crowd took a collective gasp right in the middle of "and the rockets red glare" (talk about timing) and by the time we got to "that our flag was still there", she was brushing herself off and getting back on that dam saddle to finish out the song.

Now I am not a big fan of the National Anthem and its obligatory nature... but this time I got all choked up. This poor little girl ate shit in front of thousands and still had the gumption to get back on that horse and maintain the dramatic effect and timing of the song. Francis Scott Key would be proud!

Ben on the other hand thought it was unpatriotic to drag the stars and stripes through horse and bull shit whilst finishing the climax of the anthem. Which is true, but let's face it, the stars and stripes will always be tainted with a load of bullshit. Happy Birthday USA!