Texas Trip - Side Show At The Rodeo

We were at the Austin Rodeo................it was my first rodeo ever. Sure, I have seen stuff on television.........and this is the real deal. I have other stuff to tell you about, but first and foremost, I must tell you about the side show. For the most part, the rodeo itself pretty much takes place indoors in huge buildings and an indoor arena much like the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, except a bit smaller........okay then, maybe it is not so huge.....hehehe. Outside of those "facilities" it is basically the equivalent of a State Fair............in other words, rides....amusements.....displays.....sales pitches......food.....food.....and more food..........oh......and animals galore. As these kinds of things go, there is always a side show of some sort. I had always bypassed these side show freak shows. I figured that they were a scam...........but Supernurse, this time, gathered us up and we all entered this side show tent before we left to head back to Noodle's house.

Somehow, I had the impression that the signage would be better than what would be found inside the tent.............but I really did not know what to expect.

There were only about three or four live animals in the tent. The cow with extra legs.........the two nosed cow.........and some other freaks of nature. Okay........the signs didn't lie.......but the animals had birth defects. I would have been more interested in seeing a woman with six breasts or a four-legged basketball player with six ears. So we continued inside the tent and looked at the non-living displays. Taxidermy anyone? Multiple legs........one eyed cyclops........yep.....just like the signs said.

And then there were the jars. If you cannot read the labels in the picture, just click on the image and it will go full screen for you. To return back, just press your "back" arrow icon that is at the top left of your browser window. More birth defects preserved in formaldehyde.

I couldn't help but think back to the late 1970s when I managed a convenience store. There was always a couple of huge jars on the counter.............pickled pigs feet and pickled eggs..........hmmmmm...........hey,......come to think of it.......I was a sideshow barker.....hehehe.

I couldn't get this thought out of my head................I was thinking that there was probably somebody attending this rodeo, wondering while looking at these jars, and thinking "I wonder what that tastes like!"

And then there was the two-headed baby in a jar. Apparently, this one had been around. I cannot say for sure if it was real and I would think that there would be some sort of law discouraging the pickling of humans for display..............no ........wait........I guess it IS legal after all.............I forgot about funeral parlors. Then again, this was not a funeral parlor........but some funeral parlors ARE similar to a side show........hehehe. Hmmmmmmm.......sometimes you see things that make you go "hmmmmmm".

Now this was interesting. Imagine having an aquarium in your living room with this dude in it. I could not actually tell what this was supposed to be..........but THIS was the icing on the cake for me.

This was "Twilight Zone" stuff! Get a good look at it..........no.......it isn't Michael Jackson.

Maybe this "dude" is actually a female something or other. It has a flipper.........maybe its a mermaid. I have been all over the Caribbean and did not see one mermaid.........not even a merman............not even Ethel Merman...........and I come to Texas and see one? No way.......it can't be............or can it?

That's it for the side show.............now you know what is inside the tent.

I still would have rather seen a six breasted woman eating pickled pigs feet and shooting baskets with a four-legged dude named Johnson.

Maybe one day...............