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Happy Parade Day!
For those of you who don't happen to live here in Calgary, Parade Day is the first day of the world famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, otherwise known as the 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth'. Whaddya mean you haven't heard of it?
no bull in this parade! hah! i kill me. |
The Stampede is 10 days of rodeo, carnival and general merrymaking that turns the majority of Calgarians into cowpokes for a week. It's like a weird 10-day mutation that turns normal citizens into book-wearing, hip-swinging city slickers. The word "Y'all" gets a lot of usage.
Most years I feel pretty cynical about the Stampede. I mean, it's just a big carnival for the most part, plus the inhumane-to-animals rodeo thrown in for good measure. I'm still not a big fan of how all the engineers and lawyers pull their once-a-year cowboy duds out of the protective wrapping and strut around like they just spent a month on the back of a horse.
Real cowboys don't have crisply ironed jeans, bub. Nor would they be caught dead in that bright pink button-up with the silver tassles.
they call me MISTER flapjack |
I got a nice boost to my Stampede spirit this year, though, when I got a chance to flip pancakes for my work's pancake breakfast.
(Another local tradition. Businesses and organizations across the city host free pancake breakfasts all Stampede long. Mmmm... free sausage...)
Hee hee. What fun. Happy people, good food, lots of syrup. The ingredients for a good time in my book.
mine! get away! |
Okay, I had to be behind the griddle at 6:45 in the morning, but there was lots of free coffee so I'm just fine.
The real nice thing about Stampede is that people in this town do relax and let themselves get silly for a change. You wouldn't catch them yelling 'Yehaw!' at the top of their lungs in the streets the rest of the year.
It's like primal scream therapy. Lets all your tensions go away and you can get down to the real purpose of the Stampede. Partying.
You should try it. Go ahead. I'll wait.
Yeeeeeeeeeeehaw!
Big Brother note: First real episode last night. Boy, those people hate each other all ready. Even the stripper was weirded out by the camera in the bathroom.
Survivor! note: I'm betting on Greg to get booted next week. The other five people aren't as immune to his madness as the rest of his tribe. He's scary.
Back
up. What was that again?
What
else you got?
Take me home, big fella
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