FESTVAL OF THE TESTICLE

   Today I learned that there is to be a "Testicle Festival" in Fredericksburg on August 1st. (Desperate times cause desperate measures.)This brought to mind a "testicle" story of mine so I thought I'd share this once verboten word with you.
   In my youth, young ladies did not speak of testicles, probably because most of us didn't know what they were. I, however, did because, as you may recall from previous blogs, I raised cattle. My first awareness that testicles could be eaten occurred when I went to a roundup at a ranch near my hometown. Cows with calves at their side were rounded up, herded into a pen and then the calves were separated from their mothers, roped, branded and, if they were little bulls, castrated. Only certain ones were kept to sire later. Anyway, the fence surrounding the pen where all this happened had a 2 by 4 nailed on top of the posts and as the fresh testicles were gathered up by some lowly hand, they were slapped up on top of this rail to be gathered up by the camp cook. He came along the fence with a big bowl and a large knife, scraping the balls off the railing into the bowl. He then went to the cookhouse and began cleaning them, (I won't describe that technique because it may offend you) dipping them in flour and deep fat frying them in a huge pot. Along with this delicacy was served pinto beans, biscuits and  menudo. If you don't know what menudo is, you haven't missed anything. Let me just say that cow people are not wasteful and every part of the animal is put to use, either eaten or made into something useful, like fly swatters with the tail.
   FYI, if anyone ever offers you "mountain oysters", be aware that they are "festival testicles"!
    
   
      

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