NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — We are blessed with Grands. My close relative is the ruling entity of the clan of youth and has them duly spoiled rotten. I am allowed to assist when necessary and sometimes I go off on a tangent of my own choosing.
We have a birthday or two coming up real quick and I know one of them needs a good horse and maybe even a good saddle. I know, we got a saddle for that one a year ago, but he left it on a loose horse and naturally, the horse rolled. You can imagine what that does to a saddle. This kid can rope and all he needs is a better rig. I can take care of that end ofthe birthday and the close relative can bake a cake. She is welcome to cook a big family dinner if she so desires. Hint, hint!
The second coming day of celebration is about a mile out of my expertise. That Grand wants stuff this old Grandpappy knows little about, stuff like at the mall. I have noticed that her fingernails are different; I might go as far as to say gaudy colors and she smells to high heaven. If you get on the north of her with a stiff south wind blowing, your eyes will tear up and your nose is liable to run! This kid looks and smells decent on school days, butat the end of summer she was experimenting with war paint and hair styles. Her pigtails are basically just memories now. Weekends get the full treatment all day on Saturday, and part of Sunday.
Prayers are answered when you ask for good strong, healthy grandchildren and ours are. They glow as they learn and explore their worlds and it seems as though they are born with a huge capacity for love. Shoot, they love everything, turtles, puppies and chocolate pudding. They even love a rough ol’ Grandpappy, their little eyes lighting up when he comes to hold and squeeze them.
Now, this infant part is long gone. We don’t have pallets on the floor, high chairs at the table, sippy cups and playpens around anymore. We have a new rack in the utilityroom for hats and a designated spot for spurs to be deposited before entering the house. The second shelf in the cabinet on my side of the bathroom has a hair dryer, bottles of girly stuff and a strange smell going on. I suspect I am being overtaken again.Yes, I remember a teenage female in the house!
All this change and the varied celebrations have made me rather nostalgic and I needed to drive out to check the cattle. My grass has greened up but the ponds are still dirt. One of them has a puddle in the middle and I have faith so I know it is gonna be OK in time. The timing is not on my schedule but His and so we may have some more dry days until then.
Fall calves are gonna keep me grinning and my spirits up because they are sure pretty babies. I am always glad to have little calves even in hard, dirty years. Yes, I am feeding hay right along with all of the rest of the cattlemen in our area. Yes, it is high dollar fodder but we just have to or sell out. I can’t sell out; that would put me out of a job!
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, one ofthe best times in a man’s life is shopping for a good roping horse for a Grand. I intend to enjoy this to the end, maybe even stretch it out over a couple of months. I don’t spend much money on foolishness, so therefore if I drive a few hundred miles just looking, it will be fine! Call me and you can ride along!
Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.
Opinion, Pages 6 on 09/05/2012