The National Western Stock Show Part II. A Family Affair

Each time I attend the National Western Stock Show here in Denver, I notice that many if not most of the visitors are families. This is especially evident at the Petting Farm, where entire generations seem to be represented, such as in the photograph on the left. And not only are the visitors mainly families, but the participants seem to be mostly families, too. When you go to the Junior Barn, where the youth exhibitors prepare their animals for the various competitions, you always see their families sitting together nearby, offering support. And in the cattle barns, you see whole families sitting in a circle, talking, eating, and just enjoying each other's company, while several poor souls - no doubt as some sort of punishment - are busy vacuuming the cattle. It really makes for great people-watching, seeing two very different ways of life coming together like this.

The Petting Farm is a big draw for the kids, but adults really seem to enjoy it too, such as the women in the photograph on the right. And is that a Sicilian Donkey that they are feeding? Sad to say, but coming from the South Side of Chicago, I am not much of an animal expert. I don't think my late brother-in-law George was much of an animal expert, either, considering that my sister Susan once heard him refer to boy cows and girl cows. And this from someone who spent summers on a farm in Honduras when he was young. I assume he was joking, but you never know.

The little boy in the photograph on the left has a brush in his hand and seems to be deciding whether to start brushing a sleeping pig. Being so young, he probably has never heard the famous old expression "Let sleeping pigs lie." However, after taking that photograph, I moved on to a different part of the compound, and so don't know what happened. But the entire time I was there, I did not hear any screaming, or for that matter any squealing, and so I assume it all worked out.

All in all, it was a relatively good day at the National Western Stock Show. And since it was a free day, I really shouldn't complain, but when I went to the Sue Anschutz-Rogers Livestock Center, the place was almost completely empty. Which makes sense, of course. This show lasts for 16 days, from January 10th through the 25th, and since most of the participants are from family farms and ranches, they probably only show up when their particular event is taking place, instead of staying in Denver the entire length of the show. But no matter. There are still many days left to attend the show again, even if it means paying actual money to attend. And by the way, I am assuming the animals in the front and the one standing in the back in the photo on the right are all some form of goat. Perhaps next year they should have labels attached to them letting us know for sure. Someone definitely needs to drop a note into the suggestion box.