"This is the Boss speaking; pay attention! All pay is suspended until you get that mess cleared away, and I mean it!" was printed on a large sign in red letters. It was almost screaming at me, and I was under the impression that I was the boss of this outfit!
That was the sign hung on the back door of my happy home, and I was not informed we were even on the edge of trouble until I read it. What the mess was had eluded me. I did not see or think of a mess anywhere that could have brought that dire declaration on. Shock slowly drained away and I was trying to picture a mess somewhere that might have riled my close relative.
I had the barn chores done and was ready for a quick cup of coffee but decided I'd best look for the mess and drink coffee later. I stepped back and looked around, my eyes going everywhere. Maybe she had lost her mind. Then, maybe I had! I stood there searching, and then I think I might have seen it. There it was, a pile of used tires stacked in a direct eye-line from the yard gate to tall weeds and a rubber hill about six foot tall. It was not such a messy mess to me, but she has always had a mean attitude about old tires!
The offspring appeared about that time and came to where I was standing and looking. They looked toward the pile but were not seeing the mess either. They did not know what in the world I was looking at, or seeing, but they were trying to see something! I think I saw a Jerry Lewis movie with the same scene in it!
After they recovered from their giggles at my dire predicament, we made our plan to clean it up after the morning cow count and regular stuff was done. Continuing on, we loaded up in our vehicles and took off. I checked the old cow herd, counted calves and then the heifers. The offspring put out mineral and got soil samples to have checked and saw the steers were all accounted for. We met back at the shop and I took an inventory of hay teeth and such so I could go purchase what we would need to get moving on the hay.
We spent the rest of the morning doing what fellers do in order to take care of business. My stomach alarm went off at five till twelve and we dropped all and started to the house. My close relative was in the car, pulling out on the county road as we stepped out the door of the shop. She continued on, leaving a dirt cloud, and we just stood and watched. Dinner was not to be served at headquarters today!
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, one man's junk might be another man's treasure. I've heard that many times, and I guess I didn't really understand the saying. I believe the true meaning is now seeping into my hard head. The tires had been saved, not piled up as waste. And, yes, maybe we had kept an overabundance of them. They were not junk to me, but they did make a large and ugly pile in which snakes and pigweeds could thrive. I suspected I should do something about the situation and, therefore, we did.
Supper was served with smiles and warm berry pie!
Bill is the pen name of the Gravette area writer of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 05/03/2017