Glasgow Daily Times, Glasgow, KY

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February 22, 2006

Gamaliel’s Mike has friends in high places - by Mary Fye

t was near the end of a five-hour flight. My normally well-behaved daughters had reached the end of their sitting-still limit.

The flight attendant took pity on me and reassured me that she had seen worse. In an ordinary exchange of pleasantries, I somehow got around to saying my hometown was Gamaliel. Imagine my shock when she not only knew exactly where Gamaliel was, but also asked, “Do you know Mike Chapman?”

Asking me if I knew Mike Chapman was like asking a UK basketball fan if they knew who Tubby Smith was. Not only is he well-known in Monroe County, but Mike’s wife Janice, a distant cousin, has worked with my mom and my aunts at the Gamaliel Beauty Shop for numerous years. Mike is one of those larger than life characters that inhabit every small town. We love their outrageous personalities and their ability to fill the room with stories and laughter.

Gamaliel has had its fair share of these great people, including Betty Ann, Billy Murphy, Genoa, Cletus, and even my grandfather, Smokey Joe. The benefit of living in a small town like Gamaliel is that you not only know the stories, you know the person, too.

Like most Gamaliel natives, I have had the fortune to hear many of Mike’s stories from the horse’s mouth. (Mike is a talented horseman, so that pun was most certainly intended.) Part trucker, part cowboy, and part farmer, he is a stranger to no one and is the subject of many a story, ranging from innocent to shady. Ask Mike about a set of unique luggage and an armadillo and you’ll get more information than you ever wanted. My favorite story is about Rooster.

Rooster was an Australian Shepherd that Mike wanted to work cattle. But good cattle dogs aren’t born; they’re raised (read: lots of training).

Months and months of rigorous work went into making the dog something more than just a four-legged pet, and after more training than any dog (or human) should endure, he was ready for a test (Rooster, that is).

Always the showman, Mike decided to put the skills of his newly trained pup on display. Mike separated some cows, and with his friend Nelson watching, prepared Rooster for his big debut. Mike gave the command: “Get’em, Rooster!”

Now, Mike intended for this innocent sounding command to encourage Rooster to go off and herd the cattle back together. Like they say in Cool Hand Luke, “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”

Mike recalls that he saw Rooster jump enthusiastically after his command but did not exactly see what happened next. That was probably a good thing because when he landed, Rooster took hold of Mike’s backside. I won’t go into the distasteful details of disentangling cowboy and canine.

Suffice it to say that after that, Rooster was more like a blood brother than man’s best friend. Afterwards, Mike confronted his misguided pup, saying, “Rooster, I think you have the wrong idea here!” It was clear that Rooster needed more training, and Mike needed to stick with horses.

Getting back to the flight, it turns out the attendant was a competition barrel racer. Mike is a world champion when it comes to penning. These geographically separated acquaintances knew each other from horse shows.

When I got back home and shared this encounter with Mike he replied quite simply, “I’d hate to think I didn’t have friends in high places.”

Mary Fye can be contacted at mary_fye@yahoo.com.

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