Thomas Allen's Blog, page 2

Lovely Memories

Can you think of one segment of time that overwhelmed you with emotion, beauty, wonder, surprise? I have one that always comes to mind when I’m in the area of the ranch we call “the bottom”—a valley where the cedar hills stop at a wide flat clearing, with a little creek running through the middle of the large pasture. The occasion only happened once, although I am hoping it will occur again. For most of the afternoon, we had been burning piles of cedar after clearing some brush for a fence line. The sun was at the end of daylight, and the evening was taking on grey visibility. Suddenly, magically, fireflies began to appear. I turned around to look in all directions. We were surrounded. The entire bottom pasture area was sparkling with a heavy blanket of fireflies twinkling from my feet to high above my head. We watched in amazement until the cedars burned down to just a pile of embers, and then we drove home. I keep thinking some evening, when we are out checking cows in the same area, it will happen again….... I’m still hoping.

Unintended Consequences

Have you ever heard parents prophesy about their children— “she’s the smart one; he’s going to be a handful; he doesn’t listen; she’s the bossy one; he never does what he’s told”—when the children are within earshot!! I had a friend who prophesied in front of his children, but it was always the highest praise in every area—to a fault. However, those children who are adults now, have an unshakable self-esteem. They have no doubts about accomplishing whatever they pursue, and are very successful people, although somewhat prideful. I wonder how many of us are affected in adulthood because of our parents’ prophecy.

Rain

It’s interesting how my viewpoint of rain has changed over the years. I guess it is the difference in city living and country living. For most of my life, I lived in the city. My only thoughts of rain were about staying dry, delaying my flight, or whether it was going to rain “on my parade”—mess up my planned weekend activities. The weather man always agreed with me, forecasting sun for a good weekend. But things changed when I moved to the country. Now I have a different perspective on rain. So many ranch things are dependent on it! Fertilizing the pastures must be followed by rain. Hard fast rains fill up the ponds (ranchers call them cattle tanks). Slow rains sink in and make the pasture grass grow. Rain at the right time makes a good pecan crop, or plump wild grapes. Rain at the wrong time can ruin a cutting of hay before it is baled, or make the pasture too wet to navigate. The rain always affects our garden crop each year—both the vegetables and the weeds! Those are just some of the things that rain influences. So that’s why country folks are always talking about the weather. Right now, we’re in a drought in Texas. It’s hard to watch vegetation change from green to brown. So many areas and animals are hurt by it. But as one of my rancher friends says about rain, “We’re one day closer.”

A Special Friend

I had a friend who had a botched back surgery and lived with pain for the majority of his life. However, he gave no organ concerts (moaning over an organ in your body that doesn’t work right). The majority of people who came in contact had no idea of his constant pain. Instead, they were always greeted with a smile and eyes that said, “I’m interested in what has been going on in your life.” Because of that special quality, he was known for being the best listener in town. People from all walks of life felt comfortable sharing their concerns, problems, or secrets with him—in confidence, which may have been the most important part of his influence. In today’s world of social media, a confidence frequently diffuses into an instant widespread topic of gossip. How we need someone who cares about us and keeps their mouth shut.

Bandits

When we first moved to the country, I remember our disappointment because we saw no squirrels in any of the oak trees next to our log home. The house was designed with windows facing both the pond with its surrounding trees and the oak cluster in the back yard. We anticipated watching animals—especially the squirrels—from the breakfast booth or sun room. I had grown quite fond of the little creatures and their antics in parks during our city life, and I was looking forward to continuing the fascination when we moved out to the ranch. But not one did I see for the longest time…………UNTIL we planted fruit trees. When the first pecans, persimmons, plums and peaches appeared, I found out what deceptive creatures they were. Those cute little pouffy tailed animals became bandits! The first year, I counted the number of green fruit on our trees with great expectations, but soon discovered the squirrels systematically stole the majority, if not all, of the fruit just before harvest time. Not only that, they began to regularly help themselves to the chicken feed, cat food or dog food that was available. Within a few years, it seemed that every squirrel in the county lived at our ranch…... just to freeload. Now, they are the enemy.

Memories

Do you have things that are etched in your memory? I do. Don’t we all have many things imprinted whether good, bad, lovely, scary, happy, sad, lofty, or even repulsive. Life, as we live it, seems to leave us with all kinds of memories. How bland our lives would be without them. But, I wonder if memories can actually mold our lives? Do we recall more good memories or bad? It seems that those who make a habit of recalling things that are lovely, admirable, noble have an outlook on life that is different from those who mainly recall the sad, or sordid. Those who chiefly remember an injustice done to them are tempted to feel bitter, or hold a grudge, or even seek revenge. Dwelling on bad or sad memories can put a veil of gloom over our life. Yet when we tend to remember a kindness someone bestowed on us, or something lovely that filled us with joy, we have a wonderful optimism on life. We want to pass the feeling on to others. I think how we choose our memories may well mold our lives. How are you choosing?

Fairy Tales

Have you ever wondered why fairy tales have lasted through the ages, even though they have changed with the times? I have. It seems all fairy tales use imagination to deal with the endless battle of good over evil. Years ago, in a more genteel age, our imagination created stories of delightful characters out of animals, dwarfs, wooden boys, princesses, even frogs. Later cinema produced animated characters. They moved with happy musical tunes, or startling, scary sounds depending on their nature. Though fairy tales did seem to disappear with scientific progress, they have gradually morphed into a different form. Now there are super heroes, robot warriors, and rampant violence. Yet the imagination continues to play a part in transporting us to a place which suspends reality for a time, and ultimately gives us a sense of satisfactory resolution. I think in life, we all long for a place where good triumphs over evil. Fairy tales temporarily transport us there.

Springtime Critters

Springtime on the ranch brings many fun things—animal babies, wild flowers, lighting bugs. But it also brings snakes, and scorpions. I’ve always had a healthy respect for snakes—not a fear of them. One night when I came upon one that was draped on the gate to the bunkhouse, I simply waited a minute for him to move into the honeysuckle on the fence. My heart rate stayed the same. I have at times killed rattle snakes with a hoe and pulled chicken snakes out of the hen house with my hands, if nothing else was available. However, scorpions are another matter altogether. Scorpions have always looked like ultimate evil creatures to me, and I fear them. Each spring, only one or two manage to get into our log cabin. They can’t come through the logs. I suspect they sneak in the door. But my heart rate begins to increase as soon as I spot one. A good whack with a fly swatter will do the monster in, but I would much rather leave the area and get someone else to dispose of it. Still its image lingers in my memory for some time.…………. until I run into another snake.

Forever Love

If you ask someone today if they like romantic movies, their response is usually more about whether they like to see sex on the screen. After the cultural change to recreational sex, romantic love has virtually disappeared. Teenagers today don’t know much about dating, admiring someone from afar, or “falling in love.” They see an attractive person of the opposite sex frequently for the goal of self-gratification—a hormonal high. Therefore, very few people, look for, or find, forever love. True romantics are different. They see their loved one in a special way. They ignore everything but their good qualities. They only want what is best for their love, no matter what their flaws. One of the most touching movie love stories (most people miss) is the relationship between Forest Gump and his childhood friend Jenny. As different as they were, each maintained a love which ignored everything but the good in each other. Theirs was a forever love. Very few people find the joy of forever love…...but it’s well worth pursuing.

Dear Chessies

We acquired two Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppies last spring who have invaded our ranch, our life, and our hearts—Poppie and Sunny. They are opposite in every way. One is the darkest brown the other a golden blond. One was born afraid of her own shadow, the other absolutely fearless. One has eyes so expressive we call her the dog of the mournful countenance, the other always bright eyed and… Sunny. They will soon be a year old and so far, have managed to destroy several water hoses, destroy our cable T.V. line, destroy all of the insolation on our outside AC compressor, destroy the outside dryer vent cover, and break the main water line coming into the house, as well as numerous pairs of safety glasses, handkerchiefs, tools, shoes, etc.…… However, they have given us many hours of fun just watching their creative antics of give, take, and chase. And, believe it or not, they are becoming well trained (with the help of a great trainer in our area). They have quickly learned to obey voice commands, and we have great expectations they will turn into well mannered companions this coming year. Meanwhile, Poppie loves to sit on the porch swing with me as long as I like, while Sunny sits close by chewing happily on a piece of firewood.