Music, Manners, and Cowboys

When did we lose our sense of decorum, etiquette, and just plain good manners. Everywhere I go I'm somewhat disappointed in the way people present themselves; the way they dress, the way they talk, and the "me-first" attitudes.

This weekend we attended an outdoor symphony. It was a beautiful venue at a ranch in the Flint Hills of Kansas. It was an event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the old Chisholm Trail in Kansas, and the day was filled with educational talks, art, and wildflower tours. It really was quite wonderful.

After spending the afternoon attending several of the presentations and checking out the tent full of art, Ms Elizabeth, her sister, and I were looking forward to an evening of music and relaxation as dusk fell over the panoramic vista of the ranch.

The concert was scheduled for two hours, with a twenty minute intermission to allow for a nice stretch, a little visiting, and perhaps a trip to retrieve a beverage.

Now lets remember, it's an outdoor event, so one might expect the attendees to be a little more boisterous than at an event staged inside a concert hall, and they were. People to the side of us spent the entire evening talking loudly, in total disregard of those sitting within earshot. Another, who was sitting a few seats in front of us, made five trips to the beverage tent to retrieve a fresh beer while the performance was in in full swing. With each trip he interrupted no less than twenty people who were seated nearby. We sat near the back and watched the same scene play out over and over in front of us.

The grand finale, however, was when cowboys were moving a herd of longhorn cattle across the pasture behind the orchestra.....wave after wave of people left their seats to take photographs of the cattle. It was rude to the members of the symphony who continued to play. It was rude to the people who stayed in their seats to enjoy both the music and the view of the cowboys and cattle. And, it certainly interfered with the cowboys, who had to break rank to keep people from crowding too close to the longhorns, and causing a safety issue.

Just getting my "beef" of the day written while it's still fresh in my mind.

I would like to hope it will be different next time; I doubt that it will, but as always, what do I know.