Boring

Excitement is greatly over-rated. Sometimes it’s nice to spend time relaxing and doing familiar things. Well, alright … so I didn’t do much this weekend.

APHA competitor

Over in Fort Worth, the APHA (American Paint Horse Association) were holding their World Championships (you’re right – their horizons are fairly limited, but, in fairness, a passport does cost $97 these days). Watching the juniors perform, I see prototypical mini-cowgirls, and have formed in my mind a brief stereotype: the skin is smooth and lightly tanned; the hair is usually blonde, tied back tightly in a bun, which is set low, because it can’t obstruct the hat; the outfit in juniors is usually simple, but brightly coloured, and will, in later life, evolve into tight blue jeans and sequined shirts. Don’t misunderstand me – these are “show” outfits. It’s just that the style that is considered “normal” in Texas would be way over the top in England. Their roots are pioneering stock, and they’re proud of it.

The shining!

I did manage to get my boots shined – an art that has disappeared on our side of the pond. Business is apparently slow this year, even for the “Doctor of Shineology”, but nobody knows why.

I came back to the hotel via a slightly different route, and saw a magnificent mural on the side of a carpet store – people here really are that proud of their town. I also saw another mural from the highway (“BRINGING THE WORLD TOGETHER ONE FRIENDSHIP AT A TIME”) that took me quite a while to find once I had pulled off. It was right next to a mission, outside which was a jumble of people, of every ethnicity, presumably waiting for food and somewhere to spend the night. These are the detritus of polite society. The mission is conveniently located on the outskirts of town. “Huddled masses” are all very well, but you don’t want them on your doorstep, do you?

Mural in Fort Worth

Welcome to Fort Worth