Nature takes its course, at times like a lightning strike. A good, young cow, four years old and in perfect bodily condition, laid down to deliver a calf and died. The calf was partially delivered and I was waiting to see if assistance was going to be needed when I realized there seemed to be no movement from the cow. Sure enough, she died in the process. I pulled the calf, took the little bull to the barn and tubed him with a pack of fake colostrum and took it on the chin. Man, I hate to lose a good cow.
Life is very fragile and we somehow overlook that. We put ourselves and others in dangerous situations many times a day. Drive to town or just down a paved road and you don't know what or who is coming to meet you, maybe head-on. Mow a field of hay, and a storm several miles away can send a strike of lightning to fry you as you sit under the cloudless sky. Sit down to eat a good steak, inhale as a cough takes shape and suck a piece of meat into the esophagus and die within a few minutes. Well, life is fragile.
My close relative cooked and cooked as if we needed to feed a harvest crew. Then we packed it up and went to the female offspring's home for Labor Day. The holiday, any holiday, is becoming a favorite thing of mine. I have always enjoyed being with the family and eating more than a human should; but as I age, and I do age, I think I appreciate it even more. The grands are very entertaining and beginning to change so fast. The last of the litter is not a tot anymore and I wish for another one. But the day was a darn good one, and I am still full!
I saw about a hundred trucks pulling boats headed to the nearest waterhole on Saturday. I would bet, if I were a betting man, that uncluttered water was hard to find on Saturday and Sunday. Some had to work on Monday, so that might have cleared a foot or two. I can't say I ever liked to go boating. The motor never failed to fail on the one I was in. I am sorta a landlubber anyhow!
We have finished haying, I think. This was an unordinary summer, and God blessed us with all we could need. I have enough stored to sell a few bales if someone needs to buy in the late winter to finish up feeding. We have seen the time when winter was so hard and cold that we were still feeding well into the end of March. Remember the snow of March 11, 1968? I will never ever forget that one.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, neighbors and family are very important to a feller's well being. We are herd animals and desire company and feel safe and peaceful when we are with others, most of the time. I am so happy to go into the coffee emporium and see a bunch at the table, come to the house and see folks in the kitchen, or enter the front door and see the pews full at church. We need friends and family! Hope you all have a bunch!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 09/13/2017