Parade's finest couldn't rival 'Tubby' Moore's exposure
....By Bill Whitaker
Long faces in Fisher County last weekend would've been more
than understandable.
Drought conditions and other calamities the past several years
have brought hard times to this wide, flat stretch of West Texas
farming land. Cattle prices haven't been too encouraging, either.
Scuttlebutt among those in the know suggests this torrid summer
may finally break many a farmer here.
Even so, the hard-working folks of Fisher County refuse to give
up. What's more, they rallied enough to display high spirits and
engage in what old-timers call "jollification" during
the county's 52nd county fair and rodeo in Roby.
Ironically, the very conditions under which land was given for
the show barn and rodeo arena require that folks keep such traditions
as the rodeo alive and well. As rodeo chairman Bobby Smith explained
it, if Fisher County ever quits staging such events as its rodeo
and stock show, the land reverts to its original owners. In other
words, folks in Fisher County are going to have a rodeo and fair
each year - even if it kills them.
And, by golly, they're going to have a swell time of it.
Saturday, folks from the county and beyond gathered in Roby's
town square to watch and laugh at the Fisher County Fair &
Rodeo parade, offering up everything from an elaborate desert
scene built on a trailer to several youths on roller blades pushing
heavy-duty lawn mowers down the street.
Gary G. Graham even roared down the parade course in what he bills
as his "truck of the future" - certainly, a monster-sized
dream-come-true for all long-distance truckers.
So it went, the good things of Roby and nearby Rotan on parade.
Roby mayor Cecil King and Rotan mayor Jerry Marshall even shared
space as joint parade marshals, though Jerry later said confusion
might've been eliminated had Cecil simply been proclaimed "Parade
King" and he been dubbed "Parade Marshall."
One of Saturday's parade judges, Burle Pettit, easy-going editor
of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal but regarded as a member of Fisher
County's close-knit farming community by virtue of a place he
keeps in nearby Sylvester, was full of praise for the parade.
But to hear Burle, nothing could rival antics at the rodeo the
night before.
Seems county character Charlie Joe "Tubby" Moore, so-dubbed
because of his enormous girth, took a dare and $5 to strip off
his shirt, expose his flesh to one and all, then ride around the
rodeo grounds on a four-wheeler, much to the amazement of spectators,
even friends.
Talk about flaunting what you've got.
"He can't stand not to accept a challenge," parade chairman
Scott Feagan explained wearily.
"You know," Burle droned, "if they'd gone into
the crowd, they could've found any number of people who would've
gladly paid Tubby $25 to keep his shirt on."
HOLY HAT
Fisher County's kind of unique in that it still has its heroes.
One of them, quite naturally for this expanse, is county agent
Richard Spencer.
Richard, set to retire later this year, has been working with
area farmers and other folks regarding their agriculture and horticulture
problems for almost three decades. He's helped enrich the county's
4-H programs and kept a lot of traditions well-rooted in Fisher
County. Even so, when time came to honor the man this weekend,
friends couldn't resist making fun of him.
The initial idea was to buy Richard a decent cowboy hat, but then
other impulses took over. Rodeo chairman Bobby Smith admitted
they simply got a hat, blasted it full of holes with a shotgun,
then packaged it with a genuine cow chip in a genuinely nice box.
Which is just what Richard Spencer was presented with during the
final night of the rodeo.
Incidentally, Bobby wants everyone to know that fair and rodeo
committee members really, truly do appreciate Richard Spencer.
They even got him a gift certificate so he can pick out his own
new hat - presumably, one sans shotgun holes and cow chips.
SURF AND TURF
Speaking of goodwill, the area IGA donated free watermelon
to this year's celebration. Every melon was reportedly county-grown
- and, if that wasn't enough, C.E. "Sonny" Turnbow was
on hand to officially thump melons for ripeness.
Many folks took advantage of the offer, including an irksome newspaperman
from Abilene who, toward the close of the day, carried off an
entire watermelon.
Sonny told me times had gotten tough in Fisher County. These are
times, he suggested, that truly try men's sanity - especially
that of farmers. An Aggie pal of his even spotted another fellow
- a well-known tea-sipper, if that's important - sitting in a
rowboat out in the middle of a plowed field.
The poor, deranged tea-sipper seemed to think those parched, plowed
fields were water. At any rate, it angered the Aggie something
awful.
"You're an embarrassment to the University of Texas!"
the Aggie yelled out. "In fact, you're an embarrassment to
Texas A&M!"
As the tea-sipper cupped his ear to hear the Aggie, the Aggie
only got madder.
"In fact," the Aggie exclaimed, "if I could swim,
I'd come out there and kick your butt!"
Bill Whitaker, who doesn't at all believe the above story, can
be reached at the Abilene Reporter-News, P.O. Box 30, Abilene,
79604. If you wish to ring him up, call 670-5293, ext. 325. Or
e-mail him at whithous@abilene.com.
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1997, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps. Publications
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