haystack calhoun

being a 7th generation hays county resident, i can't help but exhibit redneck tendencies on occasion. as the saying goes - you can lead a hayseed to town, but you can't make him drink.

saturday night we found ourselves in hillbilly heaven. here's how it all began:

four years ago, we spent christmas at the lodge at cloudcroft, new mexico. it is a beautiful place you should visit if ever you have the chance. santa claus presented jackson with a present and it snowed every day we were there. we had a great time. one of the stocking-stuffers in jackson's stocking was a diecast model of a monster truck named reptoid. we knew nothing about monster trucks; charlotte just thought the toy looked cool, thus beginning an obsession previously unknown to our little boy. what began as an impulse buy has evolved into a collection numbering well over 100.

as it turns out, monster trucks and their tour are a very big business. videos, books, and live events are widely available. speed channel airs a television show called "monster jam" weekdays at 5. they show highlights from the past weeks on tour. jackson hates to miss it. his favorite (and the obvious favorite truck on the tour) is grave digger, driven by dennis anderson.

saturday night we went to the alamodome for a live monster jam. this is the third year we have gone to this event. although we began this "tradition" for jackson's benefit, i would be a bit dishonest if i didn't admit that charlotte and i have a good time, too. this year was particularly exciting for him because, for the first time, dennis anderson was in san antonio to drive his truck. we have seen grave digger before; but on those occasions, pablo huffaker was behind the wheel. jackson likes pablo alot, but dennis anderson is a legend.

prior to the start of the show, the trucks are parked on the floor of the alamodome; and, the ticket-holding public is invited to see the trucks up close, and get autographs from and photographs with the drivers. you don't need to be told that we were among the masses of zealots. the longest line was the one that ended in front of dennis anderson and the grave digger. i'm glad we got there early, because the line stretched the entire length of the arena, and then some. that's over 120 yards of redneck. as it turned out, we only had to wait a little over an hour. i guess it was worth it, as jackson was elated. dennis even bent down and talked to jackson for a minute.

for my 5 year-old boy, this is as good as it gets.