I sometimes tell folks that I’m only half from the country. I grew up five miles from the nearest town (and it only had one stoplight), and there was a tobacco field behind my house, and during the summer the traffic on the road in front of the house was about 50% agricultural equipment. In high school, students skipped school for the first day of deer season, and during spirit week, you’d see John Deeres in the student parking lot (our colors were green and gold).
But I never showed livestock. Ironically, my cousin, who grew up in a suburb of Raleigh, NC (with a lot more than one stoplight) did. But not me. And I ended up being a computer programmer.
I do enjoy going to these shows when I have the opportunity. These kids have worked hard for months preparing for this show, and I’m glad we got the opportunity to come out and support them, even if we weren’t able to be there for all the shows.
We managed to make it out twice this year – on Friday evening for the Market Steer Show, and then Saturday morning for Pee Wee Hog Showmanship. Next year, I’m hoping to take some time off during the day so we can see more!