Cowboy Monkey

Suzanne | Ross | Tom | Emily | Kara | Brian | Brad | Cat | Joseph | Linsey | Trisha | Myself

The 12 of us went to the Toughest Cowboy Rodeo over the weekend. We all piled in the cars with our getup and garb and made our way to the Gwinnett Arena. I wore my cowboy hat and my big Georgia G belt buckle...at first I was worried that I would be outed as an impostor (because, you see, I am no cowboy), but no one seemed to notice...either that or there were several more impostors in the mix and they were in the same position.
Only after watching the events of the rodeo did we figure out that we were indeed part of some sort of whack Rodeo Bachelor Reality TV Show. The cowboys were competing for some ranch land out in Montana, and each week they would add the 3 scores of their rides up (bareback horse, saddled horse, and bull), with the two lowest scorers having to go mano a mano in an elimination round. I tittered a lot. Especially when the rose ceremony started (ok, there wasn't really a rose ceremony, but it felt like it...spotlights, a straight line where the cowboys had to step forward, and one saying his goodbyes and walking into the sunset as he went to "hang his jersey.")

By far, the best part of the evening was in between the rodeo parts:

1. Kids tried to ride sheep. Strapped in a helmet, each took turns trying to grab onto the wool and ride as far as they could. Only one of the kids started crying, and the sheep seemed happy to get the snots off their back. It was indeed the perfect blend of animal cruelty and child abuse.
something like this
2. A Monkey rode a dog...and they called him the Monkey Cowboy. He would hold onto the sheep dog as the dog corralled all the sheep into a certain part of the arena. To say the least, it was the most entertaining thing I've seen this year. The monkey's name is Whiplash (aka the world's smallest cowboy). I thought it was great. In fact, Linsey, who went with us, said that when she was a kid, that same monkey used to ride at rodeos that she would be in...which means that this monkey has been in the business for some 20+ years.Which begs the question...exactly how long do monkey's live?

And you know what...I can honestly say that up until this point in my life, I've never come to a situation where I've needed to ask myself that question. How long does a monkey live?
Maybe if I was harvesting monkeys for fritters or trying to clone them or something would I need that kind of information...but now I'm curious.

Turns out 'ole Whiplash is a White-headed Capuchin which apparently can live to be over 50 years old...and that's no monkey business.