Reason to celebrate

Judging from the obvious evidence, the human animal will readily accept almost any cause for celebration. There is something in our basic composition that makes us want to break out in exuberance. And, apparently, the more outrageous the instigation for our celebrations might be, the better.
As important as the celebration of religious holidays such as Christmas or Easter, or secular occasions like Independence Day might be, we seem to reserve a special level of emotional intoxication (and sometimes physical intoxication as well) for celebrations of the unusual, sometimes even the unique. Although our local Grand Prairie Rice Festival is a relatively mild celebration, it still plays a vital role in keeping a small community vibrant. The same can be said of the Luminary Festival and I would encourage all area residents to participate, especially since it has now become a way to help the cause of cancer research through donations to the American Cancer Society with the purchase of commemorative luminaries.
But as a long-time fan of all things out of the ordinary, I have a special place in my heart for celebrations which fit that description. Take the Wings Over the Prairie Festival and World Championship Duck Calling Championship hosted by our neighbor to the south, Stuttgart, for example. What started out as a serious, or semi-serious, competition among practitioners of a curious sporting activity, namely duck calling, has turned into a commercialized media event wherein far more attention is paid now than in the festival’s early years to things like production values and merchandising possibilities.
At first, the fellow (there were no female participants back then) who won the contest got a hunting jacket as his prize. Today, the champion receives thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, including boats, shotguns, a custom designed diamond ring, even a dog or two.
The festival’s Duck Gumbo Cook-off has been listed by a popular men’s magazine as one of the top ten parties in America. As such, the level of exuberance sometimes exceeds that deemed acceptable by those in law enforcement. I sometimes wonder if Rev. Adam Buerkle, the founder of Stuttgart and a rather straight laced Lutheran minister, ever envisioned such goings on in the little town he named after his hometown in Germany.
A few years ago, when I was working for the newspaper in Stuttgart, I was surprised and somewhat revolted to walk into the newsroom one day during the festival, and hear the radio playing at above normal volume as the local radio station broadcast the duck calling competition live.
Now, a live broadcast of a football, basketball or baseball game is one thing, but a duck calling contest? The “play-by-play” for lack of a better term, went something like this:
Contestant number 41, contestant four one. Quack Quack Quack Quack QUACK QUACK QUACK gargle, gargle, gargle. QUACK QUACK QUACK. Thank you. Contestant number 42, contestant four two. Quack Quack Quack, et cetera.”
This went one for something like four hours. And this was only one division of the competition.
By the time the torment ended, I had developed a serious hatred for anything that even looked like a duck. Duck callers also had moved up quite a bit on my list of things that need to be exterminated.
My feelings have softened a bit since then, although I still have no desire to attend the duck calling competition in person. Yet, I must admit, the sort of devotion this curious activity elicits from its practitioners must mean something. Even if I am at a loss to say what.