Question: Who has the biggest belt buckle?Ty: That'd be me.
Cailey: No, sorry, but it's me.
Ty: I don't think so. It's me.
What's it represent?Ty: Nothing really. It's just a lot of flash.
What's the story behind a fashion statement like that?Ty: Well, nobody has really big belt buckles. Just the wannabe cowboys. They have those big dinner plates hanging off their belts.
Cailey: Ours aren't even that big. Some of them, they're huge.
Let's play word association. I'll throw out a word and you tell me what comes to mind. First word: Eminem.Ty: Chocolate.
Cailey: The singer. (Ty laughs). Shut up, Ty.
Vanilla Coke?Ty: Vanilla Ice. I heard a Vanilla Ice song on the way here.
Cailey: Soda.
Sushi?
Cailey: Eeewww, nasty fish.
Ty: Things floating in the ocean.
Lifetime Movie Network?Ty: Chicks. Yeah, chicks.
Cailey: I dunno, movies I guess. (Ty laughs). Shut up, Ty. I don't watch it.
Ty (points at Cailey): She's a little mannish.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin?Cailey: An awesome wrestler.
Ty: I'd like to get in the ring with him and show him what a real wrestler is about.
Cailey: I don't think so.
Clowns.Cailey: Ty.
(Ty scoffs.)
Who was scared of clowns as a kid?Cailey: I was. My mom bought me a bunch of little clowns to make me not be afraid of them.
Ty: I got in trouble for kicking a clown at a birthday party.
What, so the clown wasn't funny enough for you?Ty: Ahhh, those clowns.
Every sport seems to face a crisis at any given moment. What's the biggest crisis facing rodeos today?
Ty: It's hot.
Cailey: Very hot.
No hidden dramas? Any threats to go on strike?
Cailey: No strikes, but we do get pickets sometimes from the animal rights people.
Ty: You can't afford to strike when you're broke.
Steroid abuse?
Ty: Nope. But do you have some?
Any suspicions that any of the bulls or horses are gay?
Cailey: Absolutely. The bulls are always jumping up on each other.
When you're bouncing around on a horse, isn't that -- ahem -- painful at times?
Cailey: If you've been riding a while, you don't bounce a lot. But you can get hurt.
Ty: It can happen. You have to suck it up and go on. When it happens, you think you're gonna die.
Do you ever talk to animals?
Cailey: All the time.
Ty: Yeah. They talk back, too.
What do they say?
Ty: They're encouraging, but they know they have to be.
Cailey: They're good listeners.
Ty: I could really be a pet psychic. (Points to nearby cows). That one says he's hungry, that one says he just wants to stand there. It's not that hard. There is a horse psychic we know of. She looks into heir eyes and tells you all about them.
The best thing about high school.
Ty: Parties.
Cailey: Good answer.
Good stories there? Just a tame one.
Ty: Oh, you're making it rough.
Cailey: Hmmm, what can we say? I don't even know.
Ty (thinking). Can we pass?
The best late-night snack?
Ty: Cow tongue. I'm totally serious.
Cailey: Eeewwww. I guess you get to play with the cow tongue while you eat it.
The worst food you were forced to eat when you were little?
Cailey: Spinach. It's nasty. It looks like grass and it's slimy.
Ty: I liked everything.
Cailey: You were a weird kid.
Ty: I never had brussle sprouts though. I want to try those and see if they're as bad as everybody says. I could eat spinach. Popeye's my role model. He's cool.
Speaking of cool people, who was your hero growing up?
Cailey: Has to be She-Ra, the girl who played with He-Man. I had all the little dolls.
Ty (looking shocked): Whoa.
The better superhero: Superman, Batman or Spiderman?
Ty: Superman. He can fly. Spiderman can't fly, and Batman just has toys.
Cailey: I agree totally. Superman kicks butt.
The best superpower: Unlimited strength, being invisible or being able to fly?
Ty, in a mock tone: I already have the strengths. Then there's being invisible. .. what's the other?
Cailey: Flying.
Ty: Oh yeah, I'd fly. Definitely fly.
Cailey: I'd take the strength since I have none. I'd beat people up all the time, like Ty.
Ty: See how she is?
Cailey punches Ty in the shoulder.
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.