Stupid . . . Just Plain Stupid

Any farmer knows that bulls are dangerous (which is why they're usually dehorned). They're big, dumb, easily agitated . . . no, angered animals. A farmer wouldn't willing get in a pen with a bunch of them unless they have to. And yet, some people think it'd be fun to run down a narrow street with a heard of them. I think I'd rather run down a street with a loaded transport truck without a driver. It'd probably be safer and a little bit more predictable.

Stupid. . . . Just plain stupid.


American seriously injured in bull running festival

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) -- An American man was thrown by a young cow and seriously injured in a mock bull fight following the first run of the famous San Fermin festival on Friday, putting a sombre tone on what was meant to be nine days of constant partying.

The man, a 31-year-old from New York, was thrown in the bullring by one of five young cows released after the run. Officials said he could not move his legs and was taken to the Hospital de Navarra for an emergency operation. The man was identified only by his initials, R.D.

"He is in very serious condition and could be paralyzed for life," said Pello Pellejero, a Pamplona government spokesman. A hospital official confirmed on condition of anonymity that the man was being operated on urgently.

Six injuries were reported during the bull run itself, including two serious: New Zealander David MacDowell, 25, was gored in the thigh, and a Pamplona native, Ramon Garayoa, 46, fell and was trampled.

The other injuries included Frank Walls, a 44-year-old American from New York, who had facial injuries; and a British citizen who broke his wrist. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, according to Pamplona city officials.

The bull run began at 8 a.m. when six bulls, each weighing nearly a tonne, stormed out of a corral where they spent the night, then zoomed up packed Cuesta Santo Domingo street at the start of the 900-metre run. They were accompanied by six castrated steers who know the route and are meant to keep the bulls in a single pack.

Thousands of runners -- armed with courage and a little too much to drink -- packed Pamplona's narrow cobblestone streets, most wearing traditional white shirt and pants, and sporting red handkerchiefs. Even the most experienced among them could only keep in front of the animals for a short distance.

A two-minute rampage later and five of the bulls -- all of the Marques de Domecq variety and selected from a farm outside Cadiz, in southeastern Spain -- stormed into the Plaza de Toros, where some of Spain's better-known bullfighters were taking them on in fights later in the day.

That is also where the 31-year-old New Yorker was injured in what is known as a vaquilla, in which hundreds of people chase five cows around the bull ring, pulling their ears and tail. The cows are much smaller than fighting bulls, and have much less imposing horns, but they still weigh nearly half a ton and can be dangerous.

Before the man's injuries became known, runners said their brush with death was everything they hoped for.

"It was total emotion. It was absolutely crazy. The bull was right next to me and I touched him," said Norman Rilling, from Bakersfield, California. The 25-year-old flew for 20 hours to be at the festival, leaving a wife and young daughter back home to fret about his well-being.

"She didn't want me to come," Rilling said of his wife. "She was crying the whole time."

Bulls are surprisingly fast animals, and many of the runners have been up all night drinking. This year, as last, police have been instructed not to let anybody who looks too inebriated take part in an effort to cut down on injuries.

But that is easier said then done, and many participants had clearly had long nights.

Julio Bernavides Alvaran, a 65-year-old who came to the festival from Valencia in southeastern Spain, said he wandered the streets for hours looking for a place to sleep, then had the bright idea of using his credit card to get into an empty bank machine cubicle.

Still, he only had a couple of hours of rest before the run, which he described as the thrill of a lifetime.

"Life disappears, and you feel your blood moving in your veins," said Bernavides Alvaran. "Either that, or it's all the whiskey."

Revellers took back the streets by 8:30 in the morning, wandering around with cups of beer, sangria and cheap wine. Clean-up crews removed tons of garbage and broken glass.

The San Fermin festival dates back to the late 16th century, though its roots reach back further, to the era when Spain was first Christianized.

But the festival became famous when it was immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. A bronze bust of the writer stands proudly outside the bullring where the bull runs end.

There has been an effort in recent years to teach runners how to stay safe, including instructions to stay down if you fall rather than trying to stand up in the midst of the charging animals.

Since record-keeping began in 1924, 13 people have been killed during the runs. The last was in 1995.