Thrown from the Bull

Speaker Andy Sherman tells about learn­ing to ride bulls in the rodeo.

At eighteen, he told his father he wanted to be a professional bull rider. His father said, "You want to do what? Why would you want to do that?" Andy said jokingly, "I don't know - I guess I like the hours. You just work eight seconds at a time. That appeals to me."

His father, concerned about the inherent danger, responded, "I absolutely forbid you to do that!" And, at that moment, young Andy instantly knew his life's calling!

The only problem was - he couldn't ride. Always 7 1/2 seconds away from making the eight­-second buzzer, he decided to enter "Rodeo School."

The first day of school he was told to get on a bull. He got on and was immediately thrown off. The instructor said, "Get on another one." He was thrown from a second bull. Then a third. And a fourth. He finally asked the instructor, "Are you going to show me how to ride these things?" "That's how you ride them," came the re­ply. "Just get on one and ride."

By the week's end, Andy had climbed on, and been thrown off, about eighty bulls. But he learned how to ride. Experience can be a great teacher. Unfor­tu­nately, there is only one way to get it, and that is to fall a few times until you learn.

Like the em­ployer who told her new employee, "I hired you to make right decisions."

"And how do I do that?" he asked.

"Experience!" she answered.

"How do I get experience?" he asked.

"Wrong decisions."

But experience will never come if we are afraid to try. And fail. And try again. And maybe fail again.

We may have to "get thrown from a lot of bulls" if we are ever going to learn to ride.

But that is part of living a full and happy life!

-- Steve Goodier