Summer Trek to the Bi-County Fair Part 1: Burning Daylight
By Kathy Polich and Trystin Chavez
Kathy
I was 12 years old when I fell in love with Homer Weems. We did not own a VCR, so I was super excited when my older brother talked my mom into going to a video store to rent one. In 1985, most houses had not yet discovered the joy of the home theater. We went home with the Chevy Chase comedy Vacation and John Wayne’s The Cowboys. I was so mad. If there was a western on one of the three channels we could get with our antenna, it would be playing on the only TV in our house! I did not want to watch one on tape! My mom assured me I would love it. She reminded me that I had actually seen it once at the Zuni Drive-in Theater when I was a toddler. The only thing I could recall about that was eating popcorn she had brought from home in a Tupperware breadbox and playing in the back of our old giant station wagon. I settled in on the couch, arms crossed, ready to be bored. Within a few scenes, I was intrigued. Then, he hit the screen. After auditioning to work for grouchy old Mr. Andersen on a rank bronc, my favorite line happened, “My name’s Homer Weems, Mr. Anderson. And I hope I ain’t rode all the rough off him!” Oh, Homer, how I loved you! The most used movie line in my life quickly became, “We’re burning daylight!” I cannot pull off the John Wayne swag, but I continue to use it to this day! My boys fell in love with The Cowboys when they were little. At first, I was diligent in skipping a few of the scenes with some rugged language. Before long, those smart little hombres had figured out how to turn on the DVD player themselves, and the censorship came to an end. They spent countless hours at the round pen acting out scenes from the movie, including the infamous stuttering scene. Whenever I needed to prod them along, I used the burnin’ daylight phrase. It is that time of year when our barn is full of show animals as we prepare for the Bi-County Fair. A show steer and goats fill our free time. Cleaning stalls, hauling feed, and halterbreaking critters are how we burn daylight. I had a moment recently when this all came full circle for me. As we loaded Cimarron, the unruly show steer into the trailer, my son hollered at me, “Hurry up Momma, we’re burning daylight!” Did you catch that? Cimarron is the name of the rebellious kid that saves the day in The Cowboys. Nothing I
love more than burning daylight with my own cowboys.
Trystin
I just finished up my junior year at Mid College High. Between playing baseball, shed hunting, and hanging out with my friends, I am swamped. Springtime is my favorite. Not only because I spend so much time on the baseball diamond, but because it is when show animals come. There is nothing better than a barn full of critters. I have been a member of Red Rock 4H since I was 5. I have been showing market goats since I was 9. Every year, I feel like a kid at Christmas when it’s show time! In March I bought my show steer Cimarron. You usually get them in the fall. This year I was not going to show a steer, but I found an available one in the spring. In April, I purchased three meat goats. The first thing I do when it is time to get the animals is prepare the barn. I make sure the corrals are in good condition, and the barn is super clean. I also must make sure all the feeders and drinkers are in working order. When we first get the animals home, we let them have a few days to adjust to their surroundings before we start to work with them. The show steer was somewhat halter broke but was still pretty wild. I have spent hours gentling Cimarron down. He weighed over 700 lbs., so I had to be cautious so I did not get hurt. The goats were only a few months old when we got them. I spent a lot of time just sitting in their pen, letting them crawl all over me. There is nothing cuter than a baby goat! I don’t like school very much, so the math part of the animals is my least favorite. We weigh the steer at the beginning of each month. He is on a special feed ration that promotes muscle growth and provides complete nutrition. He eats 3% of his body weight in grain plus hay. Each time I weigh him, I must calculate how much I will feed him. I do the same thing for the goats, only they get about 2% of their body weight. The first time I see the competition is at the tag in. This happens at the Bi-County Fairgrounds. All 4-H members that are going to show at the county fair must take their animals and get them a special ear tag (that’s the tag in). It is always fun to hang out with my 4-H friends! I’d like to tell you some more about my animals, but I need to get to the barn. I’m burning daylight!
June 2019
23
