My family had moved down south from Chicago only a few years before. We had just recently moved into the first (and only) house my parents ever bought as they had decided that the south eastern coastal town we currently lived in was where they wanted to retire.
As nice as it was, I don't think I ever truly fit in. However, at the time, we were all still "misplaced Yankees that tawk funny" as I had been informed by someone who still to this very day is surprised the South lost the Civil War because "the Devil thinks he done beat Jesus. But, we'll rise up!"
This post has nothing to do with anything other than how out of place we were in our new neighborhood and how the lesson I learned gives me a better understanding of current events in my life.
So, back to 1981. We silly city slicker Yankees had the shock of our lives when a hardcore country boy from Kentucky, who went by the name of "Wild Bill" decided to give us a gift because he liked my Father so much. My Dad really was a likeable guy.
Now, I'm guessing because he was from "the country" in Kentucky, Wild Bill (a giant of a man) had a different concept of "surprise gifts" than most people would think acceptable. Sure, if you tell someone something like "hey I like that belt" they might give you a belt like that one day. Yeah you might say something like "Nice hat. I really like how the camouflage blends in with the bass hooked to that fishing line on the front of the cap" and three days later BOOM you have a new fishing hat!
But, if you say "cool dog," that does not mean "hey man, get me a dog." Don't worry, Ol' Billski didn't give us a dog; that'd be nuts. On a side note, Bill also liked to put the suffix "ski" at the end of words to sound ironically Russian. So, he would call my Mom "Momski" or dinner "foodski" or himself "Billski" which is still pretty irrelevant to the story but it tells you some more about Wild Bill-ski.
One day Bill pulled up in our driveway, with no indication he was even stopping by as I recall, in an old 1970's something Datsun pick up with a huge plywood cabin built on the back of it. When he came to the door we were all surprised and excited to see him. We were even more surprised when he said, "come on out here and see what I gotcha!"
As we stepped out a friend of Bills was escorting a little Tennessee Walker filly (young female horse) out of the back of his truck and into our back yard. As it turns out, one day my Dad apparently said something like "horses are neat" to Bill. So, we got a horse.
She was black as night with a white star on her forehead and one white sock on a hind leg. We named her Midnight Star because it was fitting and there wasn't a moderately famous R&B band that we would hear of for another few years.
My Midnight Star was no Freak-A-Zoid
At the time, I simply thought I was learning so much about horses. It was an amazing experience. We had her for years and I cherished every moment. I would brush her, clean her, feed her, clean her stall, walk her, spend my time with her.... All of which are great life long lessons about how to be a human being and treat all creatures, including other people, with respect.
However, that wasn't the most significant lesson or, at the very least, observation. Yes, I learned to
show my love for another creature by caring for it and assisting it, but, what was most educational was what happened when the horse lived in our back yard.
When Midnight was in the backyard and alone, she was quite often remarkably unpleasant to be around. She didn't want anyone to make eye contact with her, talk to her, be near her or touch her, UNLESS you had food. Then she would tolerate you. But as soon as we moved her into a stable and she got around other horses, she was so pleasant and sweet!
That last paragraph almost perfectly describes raising a teenager. For the most part, when they're alone, they are not to be trifled with unless you have food. When they are with friends, they're pretty sociable.
I had no idea what I was learning raising a horse.
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| Left to Right: Plywood stable/ horse transport, Wild Bill, a precious Me in a red denim jacket and white jeans, The "Momski" & an annoyed tween disguised as a horsey! |
