I would never consider myself a risk taker by any stretch of the imagination, but occasionally I go out on a limb and it usually ends badly for me.
One winter, when I was maybe eight years old, my dad, one of my brothers and I were out at the bale stacks. Dad was throwing hay down to the cattle for feed and bedding and I was following my brother walking around on top of the corral rails. The cattle, with steam coming off their big heads, snaked out their long, pink tongues to pick up the hay.
My brother in this episode is the sibling that is closest in age to me, he is twenty months older to be precise. He was my partner in crime on the farm. Well, not anything criminal per say but farm kid shenanigan stuff for sure. He is very intelligent and was the mastermind of our projects that usually ended in bodily harm for one of us or our little sister who is seven years younger than me. She was feisty and determined to keep up with us. I was the follower, I trusted my brother's ideas to the detriment of my well being on a few occasions.
My brother in this episode is the sibling that is closest in age to me, he is twenty months older to be precise. He was my partner in crime on the farm. Well, not anything criminal per say but farm kid shenanigan stuff for sure. He is very intelligent and was the mastermind of our projects that usually ended in bodily harm for one of us or our little sister who is seven years younger than me. She was feisty and determined to keep up with us. I was the follower, I trusted my brother's ideas to the detriment of my well being on a few occasions.
Little Sister
Meanwhile, back at the corral, Dad looked at me and then at this big brown cow that was standing next to the rail and jokingly suggested that I ride it. I looked into the cow’s big glassy eyes and she gazed intently back at me. For some brilliant reason that eludes me to this day, I made the decision to do it.
I proceeded to jump off the corral rail onto the back of that cow. Brown Cow did not look that big when I was standing up on the corral rail but once I got on her back the cold realization quickly set in that I had made a dire error in judgement.
Brown Cow was not amused. She was so wide, my legs were so short, and there was nothing within reach to hang on to. Brown Cow made one quick turn and I was no longer on her back. I hit the tundra and my knee struck a frozen cow turd. I can still feel the searing pain and have a sore knee to this day.
My dad just raised his eyebrows at me, and they stood there staring down at me in amazement. I don’t remember either of them saying anything but I’m thinking my brother and I probably got sent back to the house at that point.
In my first post, “Is it the Beginning or the End?”, I said retiring was taking a huge leap of faith. Deciding to jump off that corral rail onto Brown Cow was a similar feeling. Hopefully, retirement goes smoother than my cow riding days.
Just for the record, Grandma G does not endorse cow riding as a particularly good idea.
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