It's 5:00 somewhere...

So, here he is...straight from the AT&T Center in San Antonio at the Stock Show and Rodeo. And, yes...this is my photo way from an upper seat using the zoom on my camera.

When I was first invited to the Alan Jackson concert, I wasn't aware that it was connected with the Annual San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo...a MAJOR event down here in Texas. I've never been to it before, so this was a first. Here's a view as we were near the entrance...

We stopped in to see the goat judging...

Here's the area where Alan would be playing. Little did I know that we had to get through a few "warm-up" activities before Mr. Jackson would take the stage.

My friend and I got there pretty early, so we had some time to kill and got something to eat. The activities started at 7:00 with a lot of running around on horses...

Personally, I love horses, so I don't mind seeing them on stage...

I bet some of these people have been doing this for years...


Then we got into all the fun rodeo activities that included bareback and saddle bronco riding which looked like it could have shattered every vertebrae in a rider's body; calf roping where the cowboy lassos a cute little calf, wrenching it by the neck as it falls to the ground, only to twist rope around its four legs so that it can't move; double calf roping in which two riders go after that pesky little calf...one throwing a rope around its neck while the other throws one around its back legs so that it's pulled in opposite directions (I can only imagine how much fun that would be to have that happen to me); bull riding (in which I perversely wished that the bull would give those cowboys a little taste of their own medicine); as well as jumping-off-your-horse-to-tackle-a-small-innocent-calf-who's-just-minding-his-own-business-twist-his-neck-so-that-he-falls-helplessly-to-the-ground competition. I'm definitely not a cowgirl and don't think I'll be returning to a rodeo in this lifetime.

So, I think it was kind of a blessing that my pictures didn't turn out well. But some turned out kind of interesting in a weird sort of way, so I've posted a few of those.

This was an interesting event. It involved 5-year-old children who would straddle the backs of sheep who were shaved everywhere except their shoulder areas. So the children would hold on to its fur and see how long they could hold on until they fell off. The first little guy held on for almost the whole length of the field. Everyone else looked like this right out of the chute:

Kind of pathetic, huh? She looks like she's dead. Then, everyone cheers, and the embarrassed child goes to the side of the field. Here's the group at the end. At least there were no serious injuries.

Then the emcee made a big deal about the winner kissing the rodeo queen.

Here are my ethereal views of the rodeo...which I prefer to the real thing.


I don't mind the barrel races with the ladies...at least it only involves the skill of a horse and its rider without harming another animal.

The rodeo clown...who frequently made fun of contestants, which I thought was strange...and uncomfortable.

At about 9:30, they finally started making preparations for Alan Jackson...which took about another half hour.


He only played for about 45 minutes.


Since I'm not a big country western fan, I didn't recognize most of his songs, but I enjoyed listening to them. I'll have to say that it was a pretty tame concert. Since it's been many years since I've been to one, I guess I was expecting more, but it was just so-so. He introduced the band and brought "Texas" into a few of his songs, but I certainly wasn't blown away by anything. I was talking to my son about it today and mentioned how I thought he looked older than I had remembered. I googled him and saw that he was born on October 17, 1958, so he's 51 now. We also talked about how that kind of life could get kind of old after awhile and you could get tired of these concerts all the time...especially when you get into your 50's. That's exactly how I felt when I was watching him last night...that he was kind of tired and just not into it. And, personally, I just can't blame him.



The one song I DID recognize was, of course, "It's 5:00 somewhere..."

They showed the video on the big video screens. When he sang, " At a moment like this, I can't help but wonder what would Jimmy Buffet do?"...I was really hoping Jimmy would walk through the door. That would have been WAY cool. But we had to be content with the video on the screen...

At any rate...it's 5:00 somewhere...and that was my experience at the Alan Jackson concert. So, let's keep it within the navigational beacons....