Young Boy With Ambitions

TATUM PERKINS DREAMS BIG BEYOND HIS YEARS

FARMINGTON — Four- year- old Tatum Perkins, of Farmington, has some big dreams.

Tatum, who is the grandson of legendary rodeo clown, Woody Porter, very much wants to imitate Woody’s popularity as an entertainer serving as the ‘ muttonbuster’ for both the 2013 Lincoln Rodeo and Washington County Fair.

“I’m ready to book some rodeos this year,” Tatum says confidently, adding, “[Papa Woody] he showed me how to be a rodeo clown and it’s funny when he tells me those jokes.”

“I want to be a bull- fighter/ clown,” Tatum says before adding a list of additional adventures he wants to experience along the way.

“I’m going to the Army, then, I’m going to the cops and I’m going to the fire station. I want to be a big-truck driver.”

Tatum also likes to go deer hunting and plays peewee football.

Tatum, who has been raised around critters in the rodeo arena and on the farm, fully expects to have animals on hand as part of his law enforcement activities.

“Instead of a ‘cop dog,’ he says he’s going to have a ‘cop cheetah,’” said his mother, Christy Perkins.

“They’re fun, I’m going to train it some lessons,” Tatum explains.

Woe to the criminal, who dares think about trying to outrun this cowboy cop and his cheetah.

Tatum’s dad is Charlie Perkins, a team-roping competitor, who is teaching Tatum how to rope and the boy is developing a variety of all-around skills, especially those of a communicator.

“He tells all kinds of stories. Sometimes they’re this long,” said Christy, demonstrating with outstretched arms.

Dakota Riggin, who graduated from Lincoln in 2014, said Tatum is probably the only cowboy his age that older cowboys will have a conversation with.

“Everything he says is interesting,” Riggin said.

“He can make sentences and in his writing he’s really good at it,” said big sister Savannah, 7, who describes going in the stick-horse grand entry with ‘ Papa Woody’ and Tatum, among other kids, as “Wonderful.”

A noteworthy event occurred in Tatum’s young life in the aftermath of tragedy on the day his dad’s team-roping partner, Lewis Workman, was killed in an automobile accident on U.S. 62 at Farmington on April 2, 2013.

“We were taking Savannah to school like we normally do and they had a detour route around and I had heard that there was a wreck so we went around and we dropped Savannah off at school,” said Christy Perkins. “It’s the Bob Folsom [School]. Normally, after we drop her off at school, we would take Tatum to school. That morning, I just kept him with me, just one of those days. I was like, ‘Oh, you’ll just stay home with me today.’”

Unbeknownst to Christy there was a purpose in keeping Tatum home from school that day as the family started west en route to Prairie Grove to check on horses on some leased pasture.

“So we had to head out that way. Well, they had us go back and we passed right by the wreck and you couldn’t tell anything by looking at the trucks cause they had it covered with a tarp. It didn’t look like a truck and as we were passing by, Tatum looked at me and he said, ‘Mom.’ I said, ‘What Tatum?’ and he goes, ‘I see Lewis and he looks like Jesus,’ and I said, ‘Oh, Tatum.’”

At this time the family didn’t know Lewis had been in an accident and Christy said, “Oh, Tatum,” and just kind of changed the subject as they went on around the accident site but when they got into Prairie Grove they were confronted with news of Lewis’ death.

“That’s when my husband called and told us that it was Lewis in the wreck and so then at that time I got goosebumps because Tatum really did see him but he told me that it was Lewis and he looked like God and that he was happy. It made us feel good knowing that he was happy.”

Tatum described the position he saw Lewis as “in the air.”

“I could tell by his voice that he saw something wonderful,” Christy said. “It changed Tatum when he did see Lewis cause he always asks questions about God. He always keeps God in his heart cause he wants to see Lewis again.”

“Our hope is one day Colton [Workman] and the boys [Tatum and his younger brother, Tripp] will rope together just like daddy did with Lewis.”

“He’s my best friend,” said Tripp Perkins, of Lewis Workman’s son, 3-year-old Colton.

Tripp’s other best friend is Clay Witherspoon and the dream lives on with the young boys planning to go to horse camp this summer.

COURTESY PHOTO Tatum Perkins, 4-year-old son of Charlie and Christy Perkins of Farmington shown running the barrels, is among many local younger cowboys and cowgirls who thrill rodeo fans with their eagerness to compete in the arena.