November 18, 2005 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer     

   We plan.  We fret.  We ponder.  We struggle.  We dream.  We stew.  We obsess.  We hope.  We pray.  We wish.  We plot a course of action.  We get advice.  We research. 

   However, no matter what we do...life can change in an instant.  The familiar becomes the unfamiliar.  We are turned around and we’re no longer headed in the direction we were headed.  The pathway that we were journeying down becomes steeper/rougher/narrower and more challenging. 

   The change could be nothing more than a change in price that puts a material object out of our price range.  It could be a salary cut which affects how we live and pay our bills, or a loss of job which affects how we perceive our value in the market place.  It could be the onset of an illness - minor, chronic or terminal - which can alter our whole life path and how we relate to others.  Changing relationships can alter more than our life direction, they can alter how we perceive and express our own natures.

   The change could come in a much more catastrophic form.  Hurricanes, tornadoes, out-of-control rioting, fires, and major accidents all have a way of stopping us in our tracks and changing life directions.

   While it is obvious when something huge or bad causes a change in life direction, there are also good changes which can result. 

   Winning the lottery (this one is a mixed blessing!), getting a raise, starting a new job with greater opportunities to express who you really are, volunteer opportunities which allow you to share and give back to your community and neighbourhood, new relationships - can all dramatically cause your life and shift it in a new direction, but not in a bad way.

   Every experience is an opportunity for us to grow and become better people, as well as make the world around us better.

   Life can change irrevocably in an instant, a blink of an eye, or in a ‘minute and a half’ as described by a popular country song.  There will be no warning, no time to prepare.  We need to be ready now with a flexible outlook and strength of character which will allow us to handle the setbacks and wonderful events with ease when our lives change at a moment’s notice.  

Beth

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November 4, 2005 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer     

   I have been a fan of bullriding for a number of years.  I actually come by my fascination with this extreme sport honestly as I come from a family with a long heritage in rodeoing and bullriding.

   Perhaps one of the more colourful of my rodeoing relatives was Dale “Hoot” Rose from the Redcliff/Medicine Hat area.  Dale reached the rodeo heights in the 70s, winning the bullriding at the Calgary Stampede in 1973 and then the Guy Weadick Award for sportsmanship in 1974. 

   One of my own earliest memories of Dale’s rodeo exploits was when he was gored by a bull at the Ponoka Old-timers Rodeo in the 1980s.  While the injury slowed Dale down, I do know it didn’t completely stop him from getting on the bulls in later years.

   Dale also trained a number of young rodeo hopefuls in the art of bullriding and calf roping beginning in the 1960s. Many of these young men went on to become rodeo champions and legends in their own right.

   Though a born cowboy, there was more to Dale than just rodeoing.  He was an accomplished woodworker.  As well, he was an incredible storyteller and wordsmith.  He was known for being able to spin a good tale.

   Dale passed away Oct. 27th taking his best stories with him, leaving us with memories.  

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R72mLtQJ-19QgARU_mmZPWG2vxig1XEV/view?usp=sharing

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.