Clowning around-- seriously

Sunday, June 8, 2003

Rodeo fans are bound to notice Shane Parli, right away. He's the one risking life and limb, being rolled around in the barrel by a boisterous bull. When he comes out he'll be wearing a big smile -- a real one as well as the upside-down one that's painted on. He's the rodeo clown. He's there to bring a smile to the crowd's face, to keep 'em entertained, and to look out for the bullfighter and the cowboys in the ring should a bull ride take a bad turn. It's dangerous at times. Sometimes there are hours of preparation behind the scenes. He spends the months of June through September on the road, stopping by his home only for a day or two, now and then. It's hot and dusty or chilly and muddy and the late nights and long hauls on the road take their toll. "It's not as easy as you might think. You drive all night. You're tired, worn out, but you've got to get out there and entertain the crowd," he said. So why does he do it? What keeps him in the ring, night after night, week after week? It began in his childhood. Parli's father was a rodeo clown for years, and he grew up surrounded by the world of rodeo. But there's more to it than that. He leaned forward earnestly, eyes dancing, as he sought words he never found that could explain the inner drive that compels rodeo people to seek out the ring each night. "It's something you can't really explain. It gets in your blood, I guess. All of it. The good stuff, the bad stuff -- you have to love it or you wouldn't do it. It's the camaraderie, the people and places you see, the crowd, the show," Parli said. So, each day there's a show, Parli, who calls Morrison, Okla., his permanent home, wakes up in the town that's he'll call home for a day or two. He whiles away the day, enjoying the community until show time approaches. Late afternoons are for behind-the-scenes preparations, and by evening, he's transformed -- with the help of a painted-on smile and gawky garb -- into the clown. He'll move around in the crowd before the show, shaking hands, waving and talking with people, especially the younger set. "The kids are the best thing. They're always great. You could be having the worst day in the world and a little kid will give you five or a smile and it'll just put a smile right on my face," Parli said. Sometimes, children aren't so sure they like the clown. He is, after all, a strange and unfamiliar sight to them. "You have to be gentle when you approach them, kinda get down on their level and just talk to 'em," Parli said. Nevertheless, it usually doesn't take long for most children to warm up to the clown. Often the same children will attend all three days of a weekend event, and it's usually the ones who are the most suspicious at first who end up seeking out the clown for a handshake or a wave. Each evening, it's Parli's job to warm up the crowd, to fill in the lulls with a joke or two when a horse or a bull won't come out of the chute, between events, that sort of thing. And it's fun, he admits, even on those days when, before he painted on the clown face, he didn't really feel all that funny. Giving away free toys or gifts is a lot of fun as well. He'll perform all sorts of antics for a laugh, but when the show begins there's more to Parli's job than fun and games. "In the bull riding, it's my job to work with the barrels. You move 'em around to make the bull buck differently. They'll come right out to the barrel to buck, so you'll move it back, or to the right or left. I'm also there to help the bullfighter. He's out there with no protection, I'll get the barrel to him to give him a place to go." There is a danger that while the clown's inside the barrel, being run into, knocked down, rolled around or all three, that a bull could land with a leg inside the barrel with him. The horns sometimes pierce the barrel. "Well, they can hurt," Parli said, "But when you're out there, you know things can happen, but you don't think about that." In fact, one of the most exciting moments for Parli is when he's in the barrel with no idea how the next few seconds will play out. It's during events like bull riding Parli sees the cowboy's unique relationship with the animals comes into play. "You hear about animal rights people saying (rodeos) don't treat the animals the way they should, but these bulls love it. You don't teach a bull to buck. They know what their job is, and they either like it or they don't. If they don't want to do it, they won't. They're athletes." Rodeo is often perceived as a competition between cowboys, but Parli said the real contest is between man and beast. "These people are friends, they travel together. You'll see 'em help each other. They really get along, and they're good friends. Some of them have families that are along with them. Maybe their wife is a barrel racer, or a daughter's in the junior rodeo. It's a family sport. We like to think it's family entertainment," Parli said. The people he meets as he travels the country add richness to his experience as well, and Vernon Countians are no exception. "A lot of credit goes to the people who get everything organized and do all the planning before we come. These people have been really good to us. They've really gone out of their way, and they do it because they want to, not for any other reason," Parli said. After this weekend's rodeo, he'll go on to Oklahoma, then Iowa, then a busy string of Fourth of July shows. It's the rodeo's busiest time -- so much so that they call it Cowboy Christmas. From there, he'll go to another town and yet another. And he'll take with him the little bit of Vernon County soil on his boots, and the memory of the people he met and the smiles he saw on the children's faces in Nevada, Mo., in June.

To Read More
Subscribe Sign In
Continue reading with a subscription
Subscription options