VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, September 11, 2021
East Oregonian
A5
J.D.
SMITH
FROM THE HEADWATERS OF DRY CREEK
Bull spit,
Round-Up week
begins with bull
riding kickoff
I
t is Pendleton Round-Up week, and I am at the
bull riding kickoff. I am sitting in an eighth
row seat of a 4,000-person grandstand wearing
relatively clean clothes, White’s boots, and a Mari-
ners ball cap, surrounded by folks in cheap straw
hats adorned with chicken feathers and wearing too
pointy-toed plastic-lizard boots.
Some have tucked their pants into their boots
and tied a snot-rag around their throat; junior
account executives dressed as though they expect to
buckaroo through brambles during a dust storm.
A beer-can toss below me is a dirt arena
surrounded by Powder River steel panels, with the
words U.S. Bank carefully scratched by a shovel
artist into the fluffy dirt floor, each letter about
10 feet tall. Across the arena, above the bucking
chutes, hangs a video screen the size of a couple
of sheets of plywood that loops commercials from
tonight’s corporate sponsors, including the local
hospital, the smokeless tobacco industry, two cell
phone companies, a casino, an insurance company
and U.S. Bank.
Between commercial episodes, the entire west
half of Pendleton is flooded with “I-might-cheat-
on-you-Honey-but-never-on-America” canned
twang being blasted from a bank of 6-foot speakers
mounted beside the screen. My date, a musician,
tears her hamburger napkins into little spit-wads
and crams them in her ears, then points toward a
holding pen at the east end of the chutes and asks,
“What in the hell is he doing?”
I recognize the scene. Two young bull riders
have brought modern athletic techniques to the
rodeo game and are visualizing their rides-to-oc-
cur. Each holds a fist tightly clenched around an
imaginary bull rope directly in front of his Wran-
gler zipper, his other arm held above his head, legs
spread around an invisible bull. The athletes herk
and jerk and spin around the pen in a dance that
would elicit applause in the baths of San Francisco
but surely get them arrested in the produce aisle of
the Safeway. Context is everything.
At eight o’clock high, the announcer asks us to
stand for the invocation, during which he asks for
divine protection for the contestants, the audi-
ence, the bulls and, of course, our country. Then a
teen violinist plays a technically perfect National
Anthem over the megawatt speaker system. I wince
at every amplification of the rasp of her fingers
moving up and down the strings. Some instruments
don’t translate well to locomotive scale.
While we still stand, the arena goes dark as the
inside of a cat, there is a beam of bright red from
somewhere in the superstructure and the U.S. Bank
logo in the dirt bursts into diesel fueled flames.
A country rock band blows chunks of patriotism
while a hundred more points of laser light whiz
overhead like zap rays from alien craft.
Epileptic spotlights whip back and forth through
the exhaust cloud, take a couple of shots at the
three-quarter moon, and finally settle on the buck-
ing chutes, where a chorus line of 39 bull pokes,
clad in every hue of shirt and chaps, stand under a
slew of broad brimmed black hats
The announcer introduces each of them,
tonight’s gladiators. I recognize a few of the
names from my home studies, including an older
bull rider, who is 35. These fellows average in the
mid-20s. The beefiest of them might weigh slightly
more than my left leg. (Bull riders are small by
design. A whirling tennis ball on a string is less
likely to break the string than is a bowling ball.)
But they are all professional bull riders who have
climbed through a formal farm team system to
make it to this level.
There are rules. Generally speaking, the contes-
tant climbs into a confined space with a 1,500-
pound very male bovine, ties a rope with a handle
around the animal just behind the front legs, holds
the rope taut with one hand, straddles the bull,
slides forward, nods for the gate to open while
another person pulls tight a “flank strap” just south
of the bull’s bullness and just north of its ballness.
This encourages the bull to buck.
The rider’s object is to stay astride the bull for
eight seconds without touching it with the other
hand. The animal’s goal is to dislodge the monkey
on its back as quickly as possible so that it can go
back to the holding pen for a late evening snack and
bull session. Both the rider and the bull are scored
on their performances by a couple of guys with
clipboards.
More often than not the bull doesn’t have to
work a full eight seconds. Some lose their compo-
sure and try to squash, slobber, gore, trample, butt,
scoot, nose or roll on the cowpokes. That is why we
in the audience are here, to live dangerously, but
vicariously.
The real heroes of the night are the bullfight-
ers, whose jobs are to make themselves the objects
of the bovine ire, to put themselves between the
contestant and a ton of angry burger on the hoof
until the cowboy can pull his face out of the arena
floor and make it safely to the fence. The bullfight-
ers are successful tonight, and no contestant is
hauled away in an ambulance.
No, Virginia, there are no female bull riders in
the Professional Bull Riders yet. I don’t know why,
or if things will ever change, but it is not my fault. I
would hope, though, that most young women have
sense enough to avoid the testosterone-flooded
aspects of all participants, human and bovine,
even if a few semi-suicidal women are lured by the
$15,508 that the little fellow from Sao Paulo, Brazil,
hobbled away with at the end of this event.
———
J.D. Smith is an accomplished writer and jack-of-
all-trades. He lives in Athena.
Negotiate the inevitable transitions we all face
JOHN
WINTERS
HEALTH CARE ESSENTIALS
T
he gentleman cheerfully
explained why he was selling his
lawn mower. He was 97 years
old and no longer able to mow his own
lawn.
Losing our abilities and letting go of
what no longer serves our best inter-
ests is hard to do, yet this fellow seemed
to have mastered the art of a smooth
transition. Change is what happens to
us, transition is the internal response to
these events.
Researcher and author William
Bridges said, “Every transition begins
with an ending and ends with a begin-
ning. Between the ending and begin-
ning lurks an awkward neutral zone
most want to avoid, but is essential to
personal growth.”
Transition is the hardest place
to be. Liminal space is that space
between where you have been and what
comes next in your life. It is a place of
unknowing, which often involves loss,
letting go, accepting new or different
conditions and moving on. We want to
skip this part, but it is where we learn
the most. Transition could be likened to
a slippery log over a rushing mountain
stream which you must cross to reach
the meadow beyond.
Barbara Kingsolver said, “The
changes we dread most may contain our
salvation.” Our modern lives are full
of uncertainty and change ... even the
Greek philosopher Heraclitus noted in
500 BCE, “Everything changes, noth-
ing stays the same.” Adjusting to ongo-
ing changes with COVID-19, politics,
climate change, wildfires and smoke
takes energy. Then there are personal
concerns like our jobs, health and rela-
tionships. It helps to realize adaptation
takes energy and thought. We want to
reach the meadow, but getting there is
tricky and we have to pay attention.
Our internal workings, brain and
body, crave calm. Life for the body is
easiest when all needs are met and noth-
ing changes. Wouldn’t that be nice, at
least for a while? Any shifts in the inter-
nal milieu require attention and adjust-
ment. A new job or relationship, illness
or loss of any sort affects your inner
balance. Events, whether you label them
good or bad, occur daily.
Having a child, starting a new job or
losing a loved one all require adjust-
ments. Stress can make you stronger, or
sicker. Problems arise when changes in
your life outpace your current resources
and ability to adapt. Our body is built to
withstand just about anything, but self
awareness makes the job a lot easier.
Some stress is vital to an interesting
adventurous productive life, but to get
there you have to cross the bridge of
transition. When challenged, our body
and mind work to recover. Failure to
regain inner balance and peace can
result in anxiety, depression, weight
gain, fatigue, poor sleep and many
chronic diseases.
You can take steps to safely cross the
risky transition zone! Your thoughts are
most important.
“Self talk,” those recordings in
your head, can build you up or tear
you down. Practice thinking ratio-
nally, creatively and constructively.
Recall your past successes and use
those skills again. Choose humor,
acceptance, health and gratitude over
blaming, complaining, denial or worry.
Improving physical health with restful
sleep, daily physical activity, mindful
breathing, relaxation and healthy foods
builds a body strong enough to pull you
through the transition.
Connection to others by sharing or
asking for help — listening and being
heard, is helpful.
Remember to take breaks, celebrate
even small successes and have fun.
Kate Berado offers “The 5 R’s of
Change.”
• Routines: activities, food, rituals
create structure.
• Reactions: to what others say and
do. Take nothing personally.
• Roles: gain clarity on your role.
• Relationships: choose positive,
stable, satisfying relationships. Nurture
the important relationships.
• Reflection: about your values. What
has worked, or not worked for you in the
past? Avoiding change and adapting to
change each take energy. The choice of
how to negotiate the inevitable transi-
tions we all face in our lives is yours.
May you flow well.
———
John Winters is a naturopathic physi-
cian who retired after operating a prac-
tice in La Grande since 1992.
Making college affordable for millions of Americans
BRENT
WILDER
OTHER VIEWS
T
he Oregon Alliance of Indepen-
dent Colleges and Universities
urges Congress to double the
amount provided to students awarded
Pell Grants. Doubling Pell is not only
the most effective way to make college
affordable and accessible for students,
but it is also the easiest and most effi-
cient way for Congress to make college
possible for young adults and returning
learners.
Today, there are nearly seven million
Americans who receive Pell Grants
each year, hailing from congressional
districts across the country and using
the education they receive to better
themselves, their communities and
their states. Oregon students received
$268,804,042 in Pell Grant awards
during the 2019-20 academic year. In
the same year, 26% of the undergrad-
uate student population at Alliance
member colleges and universities made
use of the Pell Grant. For 85% of under-
graduate students, the Pell Grant is one
piece of the financial aid puzzle, in addi-
tion to aid, grants and scholarships they
receive from the Alliance institutions
they attend.
The Pell Grant has not kept pace
with the increasing financial demands
of higher education. When Pell Grants
were developed nearly 50 years ago,
they covered more than 75% of the
total cost of college. Today, the maxi-
mum grant covers less than 30%. The
quickest way to provide accessible
higher education is to make it finan-
cially attainable. Congress should join
President Joe Biden’s commitment
to doubling Pell and look to create
a mandatory funding stream and an
automatic increase indexed against the
Consumer Price Index to ensure the Pell
Grant continues to meet the financial
needs of future students.
It is essential for Congress to act
now and double the Pell from $6,495
to $13,000. This will ensure commu-
nity college is free for all Pell-eligible
students and will curtail the debt taken
on by students who decide to attend
four-year colleges and universities.
Doubling Pell will provide young adults
of all backgrounds (37% of Alliance
students identify as people of color)
with differing levels of education attain-
ment in their families (23% of Alli-
ance students are first generation) the
ability to access the college or training
program that best fits their educational
needs. Additional money for students
diversifies their choices for field of
study, institution type and duration of
program.
Pell Grants have proven over the last
five decades to be the most effective
and equitable path to making college
affordable. Doubling the Pell Grant will
ensure that Congress continues to serve
low- and moderate-income students
and families from all backgrounds for
years to come. It will open doors for
all students at a time when opportuni-
ties, access and affordability are most
needed.
There is no better way to celebrate
the Pell Grant’s landmark 50th anni-
versary in June 2022 than doubling the
program that has made college afford-
able for millions of Americans. To learn
more about how you can help with this
important advocacy, please visit our
website www.doublepell.org.
———
Brent Wilder is the president of the
Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges
and Universities.