Being born and bred in Brooklyn, New York, this Blogger had never seen a rodeo until he spent a summer in the Oklahoma Panhandle. One weekend, this Blogger’s host piled his family and this Blogger, into his old station wagon and took them to McAlester, Oklahoma. McAlester    was and is the home of the Oklahoma    state penitentiary; the original BIG MAC in Oklahoma.   Once a year, the prison opened its doors to outsiders, for the Oklahoma Prison Rodeo. It was a major event; you parked outside, walked through the prison gates; armed guards flanking your path, with shotguns, in case anyone got a foolish idea to try and help the rodeo convicts escape. You walked into an outdoor arena with stands for thousands. Sixty-five thousand would attend the event.   Most of the competitors were lifers, which the announcers would make note of; they would announce the competitors as follows:  “Folks, here is Joe Smith from Anadarko, he is a lifer in here for murder. Let’s give him a hand for he has dr