Roped Rosetti

Corrie probably thought this would be an uneventful day when he got up to blue skies and sunshine this morning. Then he arrived at the boat docks to ridicule from Chris and me that he was wearing two shoes that didn’t match- actually a full neoprene boot on one foot and a neoprene toe cover on the other! We did let him know that if he taught first graders, they would likely have compassion about not finding matching shoes, but we weren't sure about 8th graders! As we headed down the bike path toward Evans Road there was a trace of snow and even an occasional icy spot. Yes, here in the banana belt temps had fallen below 32 last night! However, with the warm sun the frozen stuff was generally gone by the time we reached Evans. The sun and the climb left everyone warm, but Corrie having received our ridicule wanted to have matching shoes for the rest of the day, so he darted home when we passed near it. We thought we'’d follow him in and tell Linda he'’d invited us over for dinner unbeknowst to her, but she'’s too smart for that and was seeking refuge from his friends in a church.

As we quickly descended Critchfield Corrie told Chris there'’s no problem with going to Asotin before our lunch and picking up the late crew of riders on time at noon. I didn't check out Corrie’'s math but just enjoyed the ride. Leaving Asotin we we’re met by an 80 pound boy on a bike being pulled along by his 40 pound young dog on a very long leash. Corrie had the lead as the boy/dog team decided to Rope Rosetti like a Rodeo calf. When Rosetti was about ten feet away from his fate, I screamed out, “"watch the cord”". Watch the cord? Why didn’t I say, "“look out for the leash?"  Anyway, Corrie’'s attention was focused on the dog and boy, not the “cord”, and he didn'’t hear the warning that might have saved him from his fate. As the boy passed on his left the dog went to his right, and all three came to a sudden halt putting some stress on that long leash! Rosetti’'s neck was spared as they lassoed him midsection rather than by the neck! Since Rosetti outweighs the combined boy and dog, the others had to work as a team to catch Rosetti. The dog failed to come round Rosetti’'s back side, so had Rosetti been a Rodeo calf, he would have backed out quickly and escaped, but Corrie's not been roped as many times as a Rodeo Calf, so that didn’'t happen. The father came over the small rise just in time to see the threesome suddenly stop but oddly offered no apology- maybe he was disappointed the boy and dog still hadn'’t fully encircled Corrie with the leash? The man did help untangle the “cord” from Rosetti'’s bike though. Rosetti asked him why they were riding with the dogs leashed to bikes, but all he got for an explanation was complaints about possible enforcement of leash laws. I was still hoping that Ropped Rosetti would receive an apology from someone as we cycled away, but just as a cowboy doesn'’t apologize to a roped calf, no one apologized for Roping Rosetti.

The above scene put us behind schedule so we arrived at the boat docks about 10 minutes before noon- our scheduled 2nd departure time. What were we to do? Skip lunch and wait, or rush to lunch and be late? The decision was easy and made easier when my companions reminded me the invite had mentioned the lunch spot! As we arrived back at the boat docks at 12:20 there was Mike, Sean, and Carol to join us for the Lewiston Loop. They enjoyed the Roped Rosetti Story so much they soon quit chastising us for being late! The 5 of us enjoyed the climb up Lindsay Creek together. Sean and Carol headed home from Lindsay’s top and the rest of us had an uneventful return to the boat docks. With bright sunshine and almost no wind, it was a great day to be out on the bikes!

Originally posted on Free Conversant 28 Dec 2003 I thought this was too funny to let it die with Free Conversant, and I'm sure Corrie wants this never to be forgotten!