03/11/11 YEE HAW! IT'S RODEO DAY!

Wednesday was our designated Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Day since it was Value Day and supposedly less people. The night before I studied the Rodeo website so I would have some idea what to expect and have a game plan that would make it easy on Joe. I also downloaded their app on my iPhone. I printed a map of the parking area and followed the map that was screwed up and we ended up way far away. So I threw away the map and went on instinct which worked way better. The skies were clear and the temperature was about 70 degrees. We parked in the yellow lot that had a tram to pick us up. I made a mental note in my head to remember exactly where we parked using landmarks. It turned out to be a smart move. Parking was $12 since we missed the Value Day cutoff off for parking by 3PM which would had made the cost only $5.00. It was still reasonable. The tram dropped us off right at the front of Reliance Stadium where the rodeo and concert would be later at 6:45 PM.

The first thing we saw were a very long row of large long food tents with some terrific aroma coming from all directions. The hard part is deciding which vendor to use. The attraction for some people is the FRIED FOOD. They fry stuff I never heard of such as Smores and Snickers. Joe wanted a regular plain Hot Dog and after passing about 10 vendors he found exactly what he wanted. I ended up at Goody's BBQ which I had some tender charred brisket that was very good. The food was reasonably priced and everyone could find something to satisfied their taste buds. The Rodeo had plenty of picnic tables to satisfy the Wednesday crowd. Joe and I enjoyed people watching with the Texans dressed in their authentic Western garb from head to toe. It was kind of funny to see other nationalities dressed up and in a festive spirit. Country music was blaring and the atmosphere was perfect.

After eating our grub we entered into the Reliant Arena which is humongous. Texas does not create anything small. Looking up and down each way looked like Cowboy Christmas and trying to figure out what to do first. Ah for me, it was the potty! I saw the Hayloft Gallery where the Grade School students had their art exhibit. What talented kids! I bet the ones who got the ribbons were so proud of themselves. Good Job! When I turned around Joe was no where to be seen. I waited and waited then I called him thrice with no luck. Finally he calls me on my cell phone. How I was suppose to figure out where he was? I needed to be clairvoyant. He had entered the arena and had sat in some stands halfway in the middle to watch the steer judging. I was miffed to say the least since Joe has a history of strolling off and not telling anyone where he was going. Thank goodness for cell phones. I caught up with him and sat and watched some of the steer judging. I knew why he went there was because he could sit. Joe can not walk very far before he gets exhausted. We decided to take a closer look at the steers. The ranch hands each had a stall full of hay about 10 x 10 in size which fit about three steers. The stall perimeter was made of stainless steel. There were rows and rows and more rows of steer of so many different breeds and colors. They were groomed handsomely and their coats were healthy and smooth. What magnificent prized animals they were! One of the areas on the far side of the arena looked like car washes but it was a Steer Wash. The steers seemed to love the water being sprayed on them. What is amazing with hundreds of these huge animals, the arena did not smell bad at all. There was constant cleaning going on. If the Steer pooped, someone picked it up immediately and dumped it into a special container. This was the Ritz Carlton for Steers and the ranchers.

We went onto the Sheep and Goat Judging area. The sheep were sheared and groomed. The kids who raised them were proudly showing them off to the judges who walk up and down and looked at them carefully. The judges felt their bodies. You could see the tenseness in the kids as their prize sheep was being judged.

Over to the Capital One AgCenter to see the animals giving birth and the babies. I was like a little kid again running to each stall to see the precious beings. There were four little black baby black goats prancing and jumping on each other. I saw about 10 baby piglets hungrily nursing from their mama pig who was laying down flat with her nipples sticking out of the bars for the piglets to suck the milk. They were wiggling and shaking their little curly tails and each one jumping on top of the other thinking the nipple that their sibling was sucking was better than the one they had. Hysterical! Next to them was a Mama Steer who had just given birth only two hours ago. Mama Steer was standing on all fours licking her calf clean which the baby enjoyed as it laid in the hay. There were several new calves there and several Steers waiting to give birth any minute since their bodies looked like they were about to burst. The calves at birth weighed between 45 and 50 pounds. Wow! Over to my left there were baby bunnies and guinea pigs where one could pet them. Oh my, they were soft as satin. There was so many different breeds and colors and lots of ahs being heard. A little bit further were hens laying their eggs and across the aisle were eggs hatching in a large warm incubator. The chicks look so ugly when they first come out but not very long after they are able to get up on their two feet. They are tiny and wet at first. As I jumped from place to place, Joe would find a resting place. He would smile watching me enjoy the sights. We walked over to the Petting Zoo where there were sheep, goats, deer, llamas running around freely. We both went in and were attracted to the fluffy tall llamas and got our picture taking with them which I posted on the blog. We walked through the Hayloft Exhibit. I was enticed by all the offerings but I did not want to buy something and have to tug it around plus Joe can not stand shopping since that area had no place for him to sit.

It was just about time to head to the Reliant Stadium to watch the show. Our seats were in the loft area at what would be the 45 yard line in football. We paid only $25 for each ticket which included entrance to all the exhibits, the carnival, rodeo and the Martina McBride concert. Exactly at 6:45 PM there was the Grand Entry of the Rodeo with the cowboys and cowgirls on their horses or wagons following the American and Texan Flag. No time was wasted in getting the various events going. The first one was the Calf Roping Contest where the calf is let loose, the cowboy on top of his horse with a lasso expertly putting it around the calf's neck then he hops off the horse and picks up the calf, plops it down then ties three of its legs. The winner did it in like 8.5 second. Amazing thing to see. We saw Bareback Riding which was like Bronco Riding without the saddle. How these guys stay on the bucking animals. They are strong brave men in action since I can not imagine trying to hold onto the horse with just one hand. The winner won $8000. The next event was Team Rope Contest followed by Steer Wresting which I loved watching the strength of those young men overcoming the steer. There was Bull Riding where there was a very hard time staying on the bull for anything more than a few seconds. Tough Guys! Barrel Racing was another event where there were three barrels and the individual with their horse had to ride as fast they could around each one. The two funniest events were the FFA high school boys and girls chasing the Angus calves around the stadium trying to catch them, put a rope around its neck then get it to the center of the stadium to win scholarships. It was a sight to see with some sliding off the calves. Some holding onto its tail. Funny to watch. The last precious sight was Mutton Bustin by 4 and 5 year old boys and girls. They would be on top of the sheep and grab onto its fur and ride it as long as they could. The little boy who won it got a big silver buckle as a prize plus wonderful memories. Joe and I both enjoyed the rodeo very much.

To see the stagehands set up the circular moving stage was something else. They must have gotten it all set up in less than 30 minutes before Martina McBride came on for her concert. The lights came down and the concert began. The sound system was a bit to be desired and not good for a concert so that is something they can improve on. We left the concert about 10PM and came out a different entrance than we came in so finding our lot and car was a bit of a challenge. We did not see the tram so we had to walk which was worrisome with Joe's energy being so low. Thank goodness there were color coded signs to the lots. I guess we walked about 15 minutes which is Joe's limit. He was glad that I did not listen to him as to where he thought the car was. Remembering landmarks made it where I could find the car. It worked. I suppose we got "home" about 10:30PM. We were very lucky not running into the historical traffic jams coming and going to the Rodeo.

Joe went to bed and I was not able to go to sleep till about 3AM and the alarm went off at 6AM since we had an early appointment at MDA for the pulmonary department and doctor. Joe had to do a complete pulmonary function test and a 6 minute walk before we were to see Dr Faiz. It was about 10:30 before we saw Dr Faiz. Joe said the tests were hard on him but complimented Dr Faiz on the technician who gave him the test. Joe said they put a mask on him and told him to breath in and out. When Joe would breath out, he would get into a coughing spasm and spit up globs of junk. The tech said it was caused by an obstruction in his lungs which is all the gunk. Dr Faiz went over the tests in detail. She said she was pleased with Joe's pulmonary tests where he had 95% oxygen. She showed us the graph on where he was and where it should be. Joe was about half of where he should be. She also showed us the last X-Rays and today's X-Rays and pointed what to look for. His lungs should show up black but they are cloudy from the phlegm but it was better than the last one but not significantly so. The microbiology did show a bacterial infection and the fungal petri dishes are not complete yet since it takes 4 weeks for fungi to grow. She prescribed an inhaler for Joe to use for three weeks as if he had asthma which we will pick up on Friday. She says that if he gets sicker, fever, and more cough to come back and see her but he would not have to come back until three months. Dr Faiz agreed with Dr Romaguera and Dr Torres on holding off the chemo until the infection clears. It would have been too dangerous.

We do not have to go back to MDA until Monday morning to see Dr Romaguera who will hopefully give us an idea what to expect next. Joe does not see Dr Torres, the Infectious Disease Doctor, until next Friday so we have Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off which we hope to get to Dallas and visit with some dear friends.

Dr. Romaguera attended the Mantle Cell Lymphoma Panel Conference in Washington, DC on Thursday and Friday of this week. Hopefully there were new advances in treating MCL that he hasblearned. We will ask him when we see him on Monday.

Good Night! Yee Haw!