I’ve been watching the summer run rodeos on tv this week. The Cody, Wyoming rodeo was on the other day and I started giggling as I watched it. This story starts way back when…..
For my fortieth birthday I went to Howard Council’s saddle shop. I bought a bright orange piggin string from Howard. Not long after that one evening about dark I was roping at the house. I figured out I could see that bright colored string in the dark. So- I’ve kind of tried to use bright colored ropes and strings ever since.
I really like the blue poly ropes from Dub Grant. I can see the figure eight of the rope come around when I rope a calf. I can also see where my slack is when I give it back. The bright colored piggin strings are kind of hard to get. I have to keep an eye out for them when I’m at a place that sells them.
Around the same time that I turned forty I went to the eye doctor for the first time. The doctor did the eye exam and when he got done he sat down and simply said, “you’ve got a very slight problem up close, but you can’t see didly-squat out there. Nowadays I wear glasses because I can’t see far away. Since that first trip to the eye doctor I’ve wondered how many calves I’ve missed or front legs I’ve mis-strung because I couldn’t see. My deer hunting success has went way up as well. I can actually see the deer now.
I have atheltic glasses I wear when I rope. They even have amber lenses so I can see in low light and they have those little wire looking things that wrap around the back of my ears so the glasses don’t fall off while I’m riding my horse. That’s why I started laughing the other day when the Cody rodeo was on TV.
A few years ago at Cody, Wyoming I made them stop the rodeo and help me find my glasses in the arena after the heading horse I was riding bounced me around real good and my glasses fell off during the run. Since then I’ve either taped my glasses on my head or had the athletic type that are made for rough use.
I kind of giggled when the Cody rodeo was on the other day. My wife gave me a “you’re weird” look from the kitchen. I didn’t have a choice, I stopped the rodeo and asked people to help me find my glasses.
I had to drive a thousand miles home, and I had to have those durned glasses to get home.
Thankfully, everyone was helpful. We found them in just a couple of minutes. I made it home and was very thankful to have my good glasses. The only other bad thing that happened on that trip was I locked the keys in the truck at a gas station in Cheyenne, but that’s a story for another day.
James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.
Get Local News!
