There Is Such a Thing as ‘Extreme Sports’ ……But This Is Ridiculous!

September 9, 2015March 3, 2019 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I’d never heard the term, ‘Extreme Sports’, until about 10-15 years ago. Now you hear it all the time. If you look at the list of extreme sports you’ll find a pretty extensive list of things that any normal person really wouldn’t want to do. I mean, if common sense is involved, you just wouldn’t want to risk your life for this stuff. But there’s plenty of people out there who aren’t satisfied with just a normal existence….they have to test the limits! And nothing, it seems, can stand in their way.

I can relate to that, somewhat. I rode bulls for 20 years…..starting as a kid riding calves, then steers right on up to 2000 lb bulls. And there’s no denying to most that bull riding has to be counted as one of the most extreme of the ‘extreme sports’. Add to that, when we were riding in the ’70’s and early ’80’s there was no such thing as helmets and protective vests. And really, most of the guys back in those days wouldn’t have worn them anyway. It would’ve been wise, I guess, but those who are extreme sports enthusiasts have considered the danger…and the potential for complete disaster, and are still willing to do it.

There’s a growing list of extreme sports; hang gliding, base jumping, motorcycle jumping (flips/back flips, etc), snow skiing (I’m not talking about the ‘bunny slopes’! I’m talking about getting dropped out of a helicopter on a mountain with nothing but jagged rocks and snow!), white water rafting, mountain biking, etc. And, I’ve seen enough on TV of these guys attempting to climb Everest…..and I’m thinking, “Hell no!””. *(click on any of the highlighted links for more information/videos)

The list of extreme sports could go on and on….but of all of them out there this one chills me the most! Free climbing! And this guy, Alex Honnold, (You really must click the link and watch!!) who is the ‘poster boy’ for free climbing/free soloing, is one incredible guy. I first saw him on a segment of “60 Minutes” and could hardly believe what I was seeing. He climbs these ‘unclimbable’ rock faces, some of them inverted, with nothing but his bare hands. Being several thousand feet up with nothing but rock below means absolute ‘certain death’ should he make the slightest slip! But he still insists on doing it time and time again.

I don’t know what Alex would say about bull riding….but I do know what I’d say to an opportunity to do what he does…..NO!! Some would call it machismo, others like me would say, “it’s just crazy”! But it’s a shining example of the human spirit. We’re created to conquer and overcome…..and a few like Alex Honnold really, really believe it!

Drug Court

August 18, 2015August 19, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

It was a major blessing today when I went to the Beckham County Court House to celebrate one of our favorite little girls graduating from Drug Court. Katie Crowdis is just like family to us. We’ve know her since she was 8 or 9 years old. Her dad, Dennis, is a very good friend of mine. And like a lot of us…Katie made some choices down through the years that weren’t very beneficial to her. But over the past couple of years she’s turned it around dramatically….due in large part to support and encouragement from family, friends, mentors, peers….and the Lord. Katie has two beautiful little kids, one a 4th grader…the other a 2nd grader. She’s a great little mom and is really gaining ground in reclaiming back her life. We are extremely proud of her! Today was a big day!

It was my first time to experience the nuts and bolts of Drug Court and all I can say is that I’m extremely impressed. I think it’s a great program. I don’t know a lot about all the details but my understanding is that Drug Court is their last chance to ‘get it together’ before going to prison. They’re held to a high degree of accountability but there’s no messing around….if you don’t comply….there’s consequences.

In all there were about 40-50 participants there today. I knew maybe a dozen of them. The atmosphere was very positive and the support among the group for one another was overtly obvious. About 5 of the others who were moving a level up in the program, stepped up and read a letter they had written to the Drug Court Team. The letters were all sincere and heartfelt. One was particularly touching to me. Barbara T. talked about her previous disdain for God and how she blamed Him for her situation. But she continued in her letter how that she pressed in with Lorna Pennington, the Drug Court Coordinator, about the Lord….and how Lorna encouraged her to develop a relationship with the Father. She did that and everything changed! *(as it always does!) I can’t remember hearing a better testimony and I found myself blotting some tears.

I’ll bet the Drug Court Program is doing good in every county in Oklahoma….but I can’t imagine a better team anywhere than the one we have here in Beckham County! Props to Judge Michelle Roper, Drug Court Coordinator Lorna Pennington, Eric Easter….and probably a few more that I’m not aware of…for your supporting, encouraging and affirming, Y’all are doing a stellar job! Thank You!

Everybody wants to make a difference with their life and work and y’all are gettin’ it done! Y’all really are The Dream Team!!

August 12…..A Day That Lives in Infamy……*at least for me!

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

Well, maybe that’s a little overstated…Ok it’s way overstated. But it was kinda devastating for me in it’s own little way. It was 34 years ago today at about four o’clock in the afternoon in Sydney, Iowa. For those unfamiliar with professional rodeo Sydney, Iowa is a great rodeo. It’s one that all the cowboys like and about everybody on the trail tries to get to Sydney if at all possible. It’s a small farming town but several thousand spectators come from miles around to see the great rodeo there. The local, between performances, hotspot was Russ’s. A little, nothing special of a bar except during the rodeo you can get all the homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers and corn that you can possibly eat….and of course the beer was cold.

This was going to be my last year of rodeo. I had decided that before the season ever started. Clint was three years old and there were several times during the season that I’d leave the ranch knowing that I wasn’t going to see Julie and him for 3 or 4 weeks. I could hardly take that. When I’d be leaving on one of those month long trips there’d be all kinds of bawlin’ and squawlin’……and every now and then they’d cry too!

I was having a good year despite not drawing great for several stretches. It had been a dream since I was a kid to go to the National Finals Rodeo. (For the non-rodeo people….it’s like the World Series of rodeo) The previous two years I had been on track to make the NFR only to be derailed by injuries that kept me out of competition, once for a month and another for nearly two months. But this year was going to be different. I was drawing good and riding good and was about to be on a good roll. In the most recent PRCA Press Release I was ranked 10^th in the world; I’d just won the bull riding at Yuma, Colorado the day before. I had a decent bull at Sydney that day and then I had about 5 or 6 good ones in a row. It’s a time of the season that you can compete at two rodeos a day for nearly a month. So everything was shaping up for me to make my move…and who knows maybe end up among the top 5 in the world…and pretty much a guarantee to make the NFR.

My bull that day wasn’t one of the best ones but one that I might be able to place on. He was definitely one that I should ride considering the confidence that I was riding with at the time. Well, anyone that knows rodeo knows that ‘what ought to happen’…..rarely does! Lots of variables to deal with, to say the least. The bull bucked me off extremely awkward and I landed hard on my left shoulder, dislocating it. Game over! Season over! Career over! (I laid off for a month and entered a couple of rodeos but the shoulder was far from being stable enough for me to be competitive) Interestingly enough, exactly 5 years before…on August 12, at the same rodeo a bull had hit me in the right shoulder, tore the main ligament, requiring surgery and ending my season.

It sounds strange and probably doesn’t make sense to most but I had a tremendous sense of relief as I boarded my plane in Omaha the next day. An unfulfilled dream was hard to reconcile but the reality of knowing that I was going home to Julie and Clint, for good, sure did feel good. It has bothered me some down through the years that I didn’t make the NFR. It does feel good to have the respect of the guys I rode with and against….but I never regretted coming home to be a Husband and a Dad!

No Country For Old Men

August 6, 2015August 7, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

That was a great movie in my opinion. I like about everything Tommy Lee Jones does, and Javier Bardem does a stellar job as the bad guy. If you haven’t seen it, you should. This blog is not about the movie. But “No Country For Old Men” seemed to be a great blog title to me after enduring about 6 minutes of the CMA Music Festival recently. Actually 6 minutes was about 4 more than I could take. I stayed hooked for 6 thinking it might get better. It didn’t.

I’m a music lover. I like all kinds of music. My iPod playlist includes a broad variety of everything from Blues, Soul, Rock, Tex-Mex, Jazz, Country, some Christian, very few Rap…. and even a little Classical. I can appreciate and artist’s craft no matter what kind of music they’re laying down. I don’t particularly like it all but I can appreciate it. I cut my teeth on Country. I was listening to it….and liking it since I was a little kid. In my folks vehicle the radio was always tuned to a Country station. When I started driving I bought an 8-track tape deck for $20 and mounted in the glove box of my dad’s pickup. My first 8-tracks were Hank Thompson, Johnny Cash, Charlie Walker and Waylon Jennings. Those are still to this day some of my all-time favorites. And if you want to get started on Country Music…those 4, any or all, would be a great place to start.

Nashville, in my opinion, has sold out. I wouldn’t argue that the stuff they’re putting out there today does sell. They’ve done a good job of marketing to younger and, in my opinion, less sophisticated listeners….and have ignored the ‘purists’…..the ‘real’ Country Music lovers. There are a few out there today who hold fast to the genuine. Jamey Johnson stands out, newcomer Chris Stapleton looks good out of the box. Dale Watson, who you’ve probably never heard of does the real thing. There’s a handful of artists still around who’ve got the goods. Alan Jackson and Dwight can still get ‘er done; No more George, Jones or Strait, Buck and Waylon are gone, but Willie and Merle are still out there gettin’ it done.

I guess my gripe is this; I can appreciate the talent of some of these young guys…although none of them are near as cool as they think they are. I can deal with their skinny, girly jeans (although I ain’t wearin’ em!) and I can tolerate their bad hats. I can even ignore the fact that they buy an acre or two, turn out a cow or a pig and call it a ranch. I do, however, think someone ought to tell ’em that pickups……ain’t trucks!

All I’m saying is this…..don’t call it Country Music…..when it ain’t!!

You don’t have to agree….it’s just my opinion….and you have a right to your own. And don’t waste your time trying to ‘set me straight’. It’s sad for the entire, so called, Country genre that there ain’t no more Hank’s, Lefty’s. ET’s, Faron Young’s, Webb Pierce’s or Ray Price’s coming up. Those guys songs will still be being played long after we’re all gone. The stuff you’re hearing today….listen up ’cause ain’t nobody gonna be playing it a year from now!

There’s No Country For Old Men!

**(Click on highlighted links to listen)

25,000; Twenty-Five Thousand; 25K; 25 Large!

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

That’s how many “Views” I’ve received on my blog, “The Way I See It”, since January 1 (25,145 as of this post!). I’ve posted 130 times. Whoever you are, where ever you are….I appreciate you taking the time to read the blogs! It’s my deepest desire that the blog has blessed you in some way. Give me some feedback! What are your favorite blogs? Mention two or three that have helped you in some way. Hit the “Share” button on FaceBook so your FB friends can access the blog.

Listed below are the Top-Ten Blog Posts ranked by how many times they’ve been read. If you haven’t read them….do it now! If you have….you might want to read them again. I’ve also included a few that are some of my very favorite. *By clicking on the red link you can go straight to that blog. I’d like to grow the, “The Way I See It”, family so I’m asking you to “Share” when you like a post and recommend that your friends become “Followers”.

Lady Gaga, Little Monsters & Jesus!

All I Know is God Loved John Very, Very Much!

VIP #4 – Paul Luchsinger

VIP #1 – Booger Bryant

Quit Telling Me What the Problem Is!

Bless the Lloyd!

“Keith” – It Was a Short Friendship….But a Good One!

Branson to Cherokee – The Longest Night I Ever Spent

Maybe You Should Quit Whippin’ Your Own A#$!

You’re Not Welcome Here!

………..and a few of my very favorite ones.

“Obviously, I’m God’s Favorite”!

You May Not Know This, But I’m Kind of a Big Deal!

It Ain’t Grace’s Fault!

Tee-Ball…..The #1, Undisputed, Very Best Team Sport of ‘Em All!!

How Gunnar Payne Changed the World!

……….or if you just need a good laugh!

The ‘Baddest’ Dang Turkey in Arkansas!

That Whole, “Greet the Brethren With a Holy Kiss” Thing, is Waaay Overrated!!

Just Some Friendly Advice: Always Approach a Possum With Extreme Caution!!

Thanks again for reading the blogs!! Weigh in on your favorites and spread the word!!

THANKS!!

Do You Have Enough Faith??

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

Let me answer that for you…..before you answer it wrong! YES!! You do ‘have’ enough faith. Now, whether or not you’re using it is another question, altogether. The Bible is clear that we’ve been given ‘the’ measure of faith. The Father loves us all! And because He doesn’t favor any one of us over another….He gives each of us the very same measure of faith. It’s enough faith! Enough to navigate every single event we’ll ever encounter in our whole life. It’s also enough faith to enable us to fulfill our destiny (God’s perfect plan for our life)! It’s not a flimsy, cut and run at the first sign of trouble, kind of faith either. It’s powerful enough for the sick to be healed, demons to be cast out and enough to empower us to tell the ‘good news’ to the poor!

This amazing faith that’s been given to us works in every situation. But you and I must activate it! It works in perfect synch with the Holy Spirit Who lives in us. “Signs and wonders will follow them that believe”! If we’re to experience this to the degree that the Father has purposed we must be ‘given’ to His Spirit. We can’t ‘go rogue’ with our faith and make ‘unilateral’ decisions. We must be devoted and reliant on His Spirit to see the miraculous manifested.

When our faith is ‘exercised’…..it grows. We have the potential of ‘mountain moving’ faith but if we don’t activate it…..it just abides there dormant. It’s like having a fortune in your bank account but never writing a check on it! The Bible says, “We’re created in Christ Jesus for good works.” The world is waiting for a people like us who really believe! Let’s ignite our faith! Write some ‘checks’ and see what happens!

Do you have enough faith?? Yes you do!! Use it!

Camp of Champions XIII

June 9, 2015June 9, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

The Camp of Champions is an amazing project. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s the most unique church camp you could ever find. It’s a Christian Rodeo Camp for kids ages 6-16. This year marked the 13th year for the COC. In the previous 12 years there’s been no less than 1000 boys and girls who’ve given their lives to the Lord during the camp. It’s the largest camp of it’s kind on the planet It’s a camp hosted by our church, Trinity Fellowship in Sayre, Oklahoma.

There’s been many Junior rodeo champions, High School champs, Collegiate champs and even a PRCA World Champion Bull Rider who have been enrolled in The Camp of Champions. We’re proud of all the boys and girls who have attended and have gone on to success in the rodeo arena….but we’re more proud that we have been able to influence, in a small way, kids who learn to be successful in life due to their relationship with the Lord. We’re “Developing Champions in, and out, of the Arena”!

The Instructors at the COC are literally a “Who’s Who” of the rodeo world. But they’e not just great rodeo hands…..they’re great hands for the Lord! They’re men and women who understand what their career is/was actually about…..INFLUENCE! They don’t come here for the money. To be honest…it’s not all that much. They come here to help give these kids a ‘leg up’ in their rodeo events, and a ‘leg up’ in their relationship with the Father.

Unlike a lot of Christian youth camps we intentionally do not try to scare them with hell so they’ll make a decision for salvation. We don’t try to manipulate or coerce them in any way. We believe that the Holy Spirit is good enough at His job that we don’t have to resort to those funky, non-Jesus, tactics. If I were a parent of a kid in the COC….I’d really appreciate that.

It takes a lot of people working selflessly to pull it off each year. We’ve got the greatest bunch of volunteers around here that I’ve ever seen assembled anywhere! Many take their vacation to help with the COC.

Highlights of Camp of Champions XIII:

* 50 + decisions to receive Jesus as Savior

* Young adults who have came up through the camp and are now top notch instructors…and great speakers in the tent

* A lot of tired, but extremely rewarded helpers who were instrumental in kids experiencing relationship with God

VIP #2 – Sarge Cook

March 25, 2015September 9, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 7 Comments

My thinking when I decided to use part of my blog material to talk about VIP’s was to write about people who had, in some way, influenced my life in a positive way. Looking back there’s been quite a few that are definitely worth mentioning; people who made my life richer and people who made life a lot more interesting. If you didn’t read my blog post, “VIP #1 – Booger Bryant”, you should.

To say that Sarge Cook was a good friend of mine, would totally sell it short; he was a bunch more like family than just a friend. I first met Sarge in 1979 at the Ft. Worth Stock Show Rodeo. I had gotten married in 1977 and just rodeoed minimally in ’77 and ’78, staying pretty close to home. I asked my brother, Monty Taylor, who was rodeoing extensively those years what were the rankest (a term used by pro bull riders to denote those that buck the most and are the hardest to ride) bulls out there in Professional Rodeo. He quickly answered, “# 124 of Bernis Johnson’s”. Meant nothing to me since I hadn’t seen him buck. I hit the road in 1979 and the first time I saw #124 I was putting my bull rope on him in the short-go at Ft. Worth!

I rode #124 that night and won the short-go. I didn’t know it but I won the respect of this guy, Sarge Cook, who was Bernis Johnson’s lifelong friend and worked all of his rodeos. He was a mountain of a Man, 25 years older than me, and tougher’n a boot, that nobody messed with. We became friends, really good friends. Sarge believed in me; don’t know why….he just did. After my career was over in 1981 Sarge and I kept in touch. We’d have long phone conversations every month or two. He always made me laugh.

After I came to the Lord in ’84 we often talked about it. He’d give me heck about being a preacher, all in good fun. I’d just tell him that I was ‘livin’ proof’ that the Lord could use anybody! I’d call him up and say, “I bet I’m the only preacher that’s called you today!” He’d laugh, cuss a little and reply, “Well, by God, you’re the only one that I’d answer if they did call!” We had several conversations about the Lord. Sarge was a believer, without a doubt. But he didn’t disclose that info to even those closest to him.

He had both knees replaced at one time and really had a hard time getting over it, but he did. I called him on his birthday and talked to him well over an hour. It was the next day that I got the call that he was sitting on his bed and just laid back and died. I couldn’t believe it, I was devastated. I ain’t embarrassed to say I shed quite a few tears that day.

Cody Custer and I drove to Ft. Worth where I did his funeral service in the old Cowtown Coliseum, a fitting place for his going away party. It was there that I got the opportunity to tell several hundred people about Sarge’s relationship with the Lord. You can go through life and meet a lot of people. You can even make a lot of great friends along the way. But you’d be hard-pressed to find a friend like Sarge Cook! I’m sure looking forward to seeing him again!

VIP #1 Booger Bryant

February 6, 2015October 20, 2020 / Andy R Taylor / 14 Comments

Well, for starters, just the name “Booger” gets your attention, right!? Booger Bryant could be described in a lot of ways; Cowboy, Bull Rider, Bull Rope Maker, Believer…..A Man’s-Man! Booger lived in Hagerman, New Mexico, not far from Roswell. He was probably 8-10 years older than me when I started my professional rodeo career at 18. Back in those days when you were a ‘rookie’ and just starting out most of the older, seasoned cowboys wouldn’t talk to you until you had ‘paid your dues’ and proven yourself. But Booger wasn’t that way at all, at least with me.There’s no telling how tough Booger really was but he didn’t try at all to push that persona. But you could obviously tell that he wouldn’t get pushed around by anyone.

In the mid to late ’70’s there was a surge of Christianity through professional rodeo. And as it often happens with people who first experience salvation, there was a lot more zeal than common sense displayed by a lot of these rodeo people. Many of them were in-your-face with it; they meant well but to be honest it turned me off and I avoided most of them the best I could. I’d gotten saved in a countywide crusade in Wheeler, Texas in 1974, but I pretty much kept it to myself and wasn’t doing a very good job of living it out.

But, Booger Bryant was different than the others. I knew he was a Christian, but it was different, I wanted to be around him. We had quite a few visits about the Lord. He hardly ever initiated them, it was mostly me. I knew he’d be ‘straight-up’ with me; I knew he wouldn’t be pushy about it; he didn’t have some subtle agenda like the rest of them. I knew I could trust him. He knew I wasn’t doing a good job of walking it out but he never, ever mentioned it. He stood his ground between the over-zealous believers and the hard-ass, old-school cowboys who didn’t want any of it, and would dang sure tell you about it if they needed to!

He got cancer but never complained about it; he’d just say he was trusting the Lord with it. He fought the good fight for sure but finally went to his reward. He left behind his wife, Bonnie and a little boy, Blu. He made my bull ropes for several years, he was always a trusted friend, kinda like a big brother I didn’t have. But most of all he showed me what a ‘real’ Christian ought to be like and his impact on my life was deep, even though I didn’t know it at the time.

I never got the chance to talk to Booger after my life had really ‘made the turn’ in ’84, he was already gone. But I did get the chance in the mid-’90’s to tell his son, Blu, who was leading the world bull riding standings at the time, how much I admired him and how much of an impact his dad had on my life. It felt pretty good!

I’ll forever be grateful to Booger Bryant for helping to show me the Way!