Rodeo Haven!

I went to my first rodeo yesterday. I have to admit that it was pretty fun! However, I dreaded the inevitable presence of country music. Growing up there were some rules in my house.

1. Almost never take dad's stories seriously. (Maraschino cherries are not in actuality a petroleum based product)


2. Saturday morning cartoons were to be turned off promptly at 10 a.m.


3. Eat everything on your plate no matter what. (still trying to break myself from that one)


4. Grapefruit knives are not for cutting grapes (I almost lost a finger before we made that one)


5. Country music and The Beatles are strictly verboten!

The last one is the most important. These rules were strictly enforced! In junior high we had one of those Aero-Star vans that had radio controls in the back seat. My dad was giving me and my friends a ride somewhere when my friend Hilary, knowing full well how my dad felt about country, changed the radio station to one of the country variety. My dad literally slammed on the brakes. He turned around and said, "see what happens? The car stops working when country music is played." Hilary never attempted that stunt again.

When my sister moved to Idaho to attend Ricks College (back then it still was) she of course started to take a liking to country music. In fact she had started a little before that but was covert about it until after she moved out. Not only did she start to like and encourage me to listen to country music, but she then went and married herself a genuine small town Idaho boy. I was shocked and appalled because at the time I was still under the impression that country music was Satan's tool and listening to it guaranteed a drop in my IQ and my immeadiate interest in guns and throwing hay.

My opinions were mostly based on what had been ingrained into me from a young age and it didn't help when the country that I did hear typically involved lyrics concerning trucks, trailers and hunting. As country has become more mainstream and I have had friends who listen, I have come to an important realization that will shock and disturb some of the people I know.

Country music is not as bad as I had been led to believe.

Hold up! I am not saying that I have reset my presets, or even that I seek it out. But if I take the time to get past my knee-jerk reaction to it, country music has some pretty rad lyrics and musical greatness. I still detest the songs with excessive twang and some of the artists accents drive me absolutely batty, but I don't go into convulsions or pass out when confronted by it. I did find at the rodeo that for some reason I kept slipping into a southern type accent. I don't know why and it was totally unconcious. Meh, maybe its a deeply surpressed desire to be a cowgirl.