I visited with Carlee Pierce today, and I was taken back to my roots.

Carlee lives in Woodward, Okla., home of the Woodward Elks Rodeo, the same event that helped direct a passion that still burns in my soul about a wonderful sport and better athletes. My father was born in Woodward County nearly 80 years ago, and nearly every year of my childhood, we made sure to visit Grandma Harbin at the same time as the annual rodeo.

I spent last weekend in the western Kansas hamlet of Leoti with my siblings as we moved my dad into a smaller place, one more manageable for a widower his age. Most of the work has fallen on my sister, who lives in Leoti, but we got to go through a lot of things over the weekend and reminisce. That was a really cool aspect of the tasks at hand.

Needless to say, one of the items that made it home with me was the rope hanging in the dilapidated shed behind Dad’s house, along with the knick-nacks and trinkets of my childhood. I have many great memories of my youth, but the reality is, I’m living my dreams still.

That’s awesome.