THE RUNNING
OF THE BULLS
Director Linda Carolan writes:
On Labor Day Weekend the Fire on the Mountain Cloggers
performed as part of the pre-parade entertainment at Bandera’s Annual
Longhorn Stampede. A few years ago we
paraded down Main Street in two brand new Chevrolet trucks borrowed from
Bandera Chevrolet. We performed in three
locations, including in front of the main reviewing stand at the courthouse
square. After each performance we would
calmly gather our equipment and dancers and mosey on down to the next
performance area. The next year the dancers
were just as skilled, the trucks were just as new, and the crowd was just as
lively. Only the timing was a bit
different. The first performance took
place in front of the General Store near the corner of Main Street and Highway
16. The audience clapped profusely and
the dancers kicked up their heels with great abandon. We were told to hurry down to the second
location as soon as we finished our last routine. Sound system securely positioned in the back
of one of the new Chevy’s, we unplugged the trusty extension cord and
maneuvered down the now empty Main Street. After plugging in to the handy electrical
outlet near the courthouse square, we were informed, “They’re coming!” and were
told that we might only have time for two routines. I announced, “I like to eat my dessert first
so, just in case, we will perform our finale first,” … and the crowd
cheered. The bluegrass blared; we began
our rip-snorting dance, … and the crowd cheered. The riders leading the parade steadily
encroached upon our performance area, … and the crowd cheered. We took a bow, scrambled to safety in the
nearby truck beds and sped off 
down
Main Street … and the crowd cheered.
Unfortunately, only in the Bible does time ever stand still, and we lost
the race to the longhorn herd when we reached the third performance spot. We watched from the sidelines as snorting,
horn wielding bovines clattered past waving lengthy weapons at unarmed
bystanders. As the parade stretched on
and on, we would wave at the parade participants and occasionally venture into
the street when it was obvious that there was a sufficient gap between parade
entries. We managed almost two routines
in this manner … and the crowd cheered.
So, now the Fire on the Mountain Cloggers can say, although it might be
with crossed fingers, “We’ve done it all.
We were even in on the Running of the Bulls.”
Longhorns headed toward