I have an announcement. I didn't recognize the little naked feller flying around and he was bothering the cats as they ate, so I swatted him, and so no romances this year on the 14th! The dozens of roses and boxes of chocolates will not replace what I destroyed, so you fellers will just have to clean up, get a haircut, shave and smell good all by yourselves!
My close relative is on the warpath again this morning. She stormed into the barn as I was pouring feed into the barrels and demanded to know why. I guess I had that stupid look on my face and that sure did not help, and she informed me that I didn't need to act innocent. I didn't understand but I am smart enough to act like I did, knowing she was gonna spill it anyway! She kicked the stack of feed sacks out of the middle of the floor, took a deep breath, and I am glad she does not practice knife throwing!
The propane tank is behind the back yard fence and has been there for many years. It is an easy path to get there, just go through a couple of gates and fill the tank and leave the bill on the door. We heat with wood mostly, or I tell myself that, but in my young years, we did all the heating with wood. Now I turn up the heat and relax, mostly! So we have a delivery pretty regularly.
Through no fault of his own, the regular delivery man died. The feller was ancient and I would open the gates for him if I was around to keep him from climbing down and then back up into the truck. Therefore, we now have a new, young and untrained man on the job. He drove the truck as close as possible to the fence but inside the fence and across the grass and many feet of precious yard. The ruts left by a big propane truck were pretty deep and, because we had not had time to dry out since the last shower, they may be permanent.
Time has a way of healing deep wounds and allowing grief to fade, but I am never gonna be able to show my face again at that propane office. My close relative explained to the boss the reasons -- and there were several -- that he should train and ride with new drivers. Never mind that he has a business to run and he might want to do it to prevent another attack like that one. I suspect he did not bleed but probably wanted to fire back.
It is my opinion and everyone has one, love thy neighbor as thyself! That is not to say we gotta hug Benny down at the trash dump or even sit close to Mark Keelington at the coffee emporium, but we are instructed to behave and be kind. I have learned many things in my short life and one of them is never ever face up to those with fire in their eyes and expect them to love you for it!
We are doing business with a different propane company now and it is just a mite higher-priced and they are from back east. We have been assured the man will use the road and not the yard at delivery time.
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 02/12/2020