Can you live in the doghouse without getting fleas?

My close relative has developed into a sports nut! I can't believe the hours she spends trailing off to a ball game of any sort, baseball or football, just to sit on the bleachers and sweat or freeze. Sometimes it rains and yet she stays to cheer her own toward greatness!

I am required to tag along, and I do like to see our grands make scores, hit the ball, slide into a base and all that stuff. I do not enjoy the misery of the heat and cold, the stiff joints from sitting; and I won't even go on about the rain. It is tough to follow a dedicated fan, keep up with the water jug, the bag of treats for the kids, the sweater, just in case, and the huge quilt to sit on. I will let you know if I am ever excused to stay home and roam around here doing work.

We might be celebrating fall a tad early since it is only September and you know we have some hot days left, even in October. I like the cool, but I also see the snarling face of Old Man Winter peeking around the corner.

We have gathered and worked all the cattle, and I am worn smooth but thankful we have cattle to work. And they are fat -- the grass is so plentiful and still growing, with more rain in the forecast for the end of the week. Cows in good condition raise good calves and that makes my banker smile! The fall calves have almost all hit the ground -- just waiting on four more -- and these babies are so pleasant to watch. That is one of the paydays for us beef producers. We enjoy what we do most of time, and it is a good thing. Our wages ain't much.

One of our neighbors bought a real Indian pony and brought him by for us to see. He unloaded him and paraded him around. That paint horse was really nice and handled so well. I asked him where he found such a nice paint horse, and he sorta grinned and asked me if I had ever been to a horse sale in Ft. Worth. I then asked him if his close relative was aware of his purchase, and he shook his head and begged me to let him stall that fine horse here until things settled down at home. Bless his heart, he bought himself a dandy little hurricane along with a nice Indian pony!

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, getting to the marrying part is wonderful, the day of marrying is usually great; and then you are required to live together and do it in a sensible manner. The pair has to follow some sort of pattern set forth by both and not color outside the lines, so to speak. A $30 horse to work with was more than we could afford, but a show pony would have been kicking myself to the curb. I know we can purchase storms and live through them if we are willing to go the distance. But, you gotta ask yourself if you can live in the dog house for several weeks without getting fleas!

Bill is the pen name of the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 09/23/2015