The Flashback

Yesterday after worship services we went to eat dinner at the depot here in town. When we pulled up I noticed the carnival is coming in and getting set up for the celebration we have every year celebrating the land run. Does every town have a carnival at their celebrations??? Why is that?

Anyway, I had a little blast of a flashback and I had to chuckle. I got out of the pickup and went over to where Mom, Dad, and Grandma were getting out of Mom's pickup and I said to dad, "I just had a flashback."

Dad said, "What was that?" I replied, "Pasadena, 1982!" He started laughing and he said,"You carney?"

Here's the explanation. When we were kids Dad was a rodeo clown. Not a bullfighting guy so much, but a comedy act clown. We hauled down the road in a semi with a moving van trailer he'd overhauled. The front section he'd made into living quarters for all of us. The back part was where the car and the mule rode. That's where we spent weekends most of the spring, summer, and fall.

I guess we looked like we belonged with the carnival. When we pulled up to the gate to get into the fairgrounds in Pasadena, Texas the gate man hollered out, "You Carney?" Dad said, "No, Rodeo!" The man pointed us in the right direction.

Funny how things stick in our minds. We probably looked a little "Carney", but we definitely belonged with the rodeo.

Most of us get sick on carnival rides!!!