A little competition

Competition is good for the soul, right? Or something like that, anyway.....I'm pretty sure of it.

Amy and I are currently enveloped in this notion of competition. Some of it we're experiencing ourselves, and some of it we're witnessing in others.

Tomorrow, for example, we're traveling to the Cheese Curd Capital of the World.....Ellsworth, WI.....not to eat cheese curds, but to watch the 11-year old and the 8-year old show steer at the Pierce County Fair. And I can tell you from watching this type of stuff for the past 3 or so years that this is true competition.....and there's nothing like depending on your enormous animal to be well-behaved in order for you to do well in the competition!

And since I grew up in a city.....and then moved to another city....and then another city.....and so on....I have no idea what any of it means. I just provide enthusiastic smiles and a few high-fives and fist bumps along the way as I listen to whatever stories the kids choose to tell.

And in the spirit of Full Disclosure, I just googled Ellsworth to make sure it was actually the Cheese Curd Capital of the World. It is not. It is merely the Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin. Sad.

Anyway, here's a picture of the then 10-year old in action last summer:

And one of the then 7-year old in action:





And not to be outdone by these giant animals, Nibbles the Rabbit is also making his 2nd appearance in County Fair competition. I don't have a good picture of Nibs that I can load here, but I'll be sure to take one tomorrow. Nibs was the only bunny entered in his class yesterday, so I'm happy to say he hopped away with a blue ribbon. The 8-year old also showed Nibbles in the Open Class. Sadly, Nibs did not win......and on the way home, the 8-year old struggled to reconcile her love for Nibbles with her sheer desire for victory, and she wondered (out loud, I've been told) how she could manage to find a better bunny to show next year even though she adores her bunny. And yes, there were tears involved.

As if all this weren't enough, Amy recently informed me that her parents are hosting their Second Annual Ribs and Bags tournament.....oh God.....was I supposed to capitalize "tournament?" I really don't know. Anyway, the "ribs" part is easy. Amy's dad grills ribs, and I eat them. Like I said - easy. But the "bags" part is giving me some concern. It's that classic backyard game where you toss a bag (filled with corn) across the yard, trying to get it to go through a tiny hole....in a board.....25 damn feet away from where you're standing. There's even a $5 entry fee, so this is serious shit.

I am not prepared for serious shit. Not at all.

So today on our way home from work, we bought our own toss-the-bag-into-the-hole game so we can practice before the blessed event. We're getting ready for a practice round tonight.....in the apartment.....while watching the Olympics. It's not the most convenient venue for practice, but we're not in a position to be too picky. Depending on how I perform in this practice round, I might update you all tomorrow......or I might not.

In the meantime, we're watching the US Women's Volleyball team play against Korea......our team is doing well.