The Return Of The Cattleman’s Ball
You remember the TV show Dallas? J.R. Ewing used to hold his annual Cattleman’s Ball at the 200-acre Southfork ranch and all the Texas bigwigs would show up wearing their Stetson hats and buckaroo cowboy boots.
My sons Gainer and Joe have birthdays a few weeks apart. A few years ago, when Joe turned 40, we started throwing our own annual Cattleman’s Ball. We had to cancel last year’s hootenanny because of COVID. But this year, with Gainer turning 40 and everyone vaccinated, we got back in the saddle again and returned to Gainer’s backyard in that old western town called Holyoke.
Besides the country music and the western wear, there’s always great steak at the Cattleman’s Ball. This year, Gainer picked up these mambo tomahawks from our buddy Larry Katz at Arnold’s Meats in Chicopee. These goddamn things were as big as a caveman’s club but they grilled up nice and really tasted good.
The fire pit was roaring and we had our traditional Ashton cigars and lowered down a couple of Jamesons as the night rolled across the prairie.
Getting back together with the fam really felt good after all this time. Maybe we’re finally working our way through the rhubarb patch and getting the hell out of this crazy thing. The only thing missing that night was the cow manure.
So my advice is to steal J.R.’s idea and invite the gang over and hold your own Cattleman’s Ball. It will do y’all some good. And listen to some Willie Nelson. He just turned 88 this week and he's still truckin'. Keep your dukes up, pard.