MULES ARE SMART...MOST OF THE TIME Do you know a Mule? Ever been around a Mule? They are one of the smartest animals I know...most of the time. I have enjoyed a history with four mules. Allow me to share a few lessons I've learned from mules.
When I was twelve, my dad bought a farm in Sumner County Tennessee, in the Shackle Island community. We lived on Sandy Valley Road. When we moved there, we had a "Path instead of a Bath" (no indoor plumbing), and telephone service was not available in our hollow. Dad purchased 172 acres, which surveyed out at 191 acres. He purchased two adjoining tract in subsequent years, so I grew up on a 300 acre farm. While my greatest fascinations were tow tractors: (1) a gray 1950 Ferguson 20 and (2)a red & gray Massey-Ferguson; I got to know some mules, as I traveled behind them-whether mowing, plowing, or raking. I learned some lessons from those mules that help me in real estate and in life.
Nig & Joe belong to my neighbor, and they had different personalities. Ole Joe worked the right side when worked in tandem. He did his job and gave no problems. Joe was easy to round up, harness and work. He listened to the commands. Joe was my favorite mule when I had to work a mule. Joe taught me to "do your job, and be done." When the work was done, he knew it was pay-tme, and loved his molasses & oats.
Now, Nig was a different story: he was lazy, ornery and would let Joe do the work. He would avoid being caught when he saw work coming, he would resist the bridle-bit with great determination, and he would bite you if opportunity presented itself. Mr. Bennett learned to put Nig on the outside (left tandem) in order to make Nig share the load with Joe. The outside animal had the longer way around the field, and had to pull all the way through the turn. When Nig loafed through tandem work, Mr. Bennett would keep him in harness while cooling down and feeding Joe the Molasses & Oats. Joe would be released to pasture, and Nig would get to plow the garden before being fed and releaed.
Haven't you worked with agents like Nig? Don't it just fry you bacon when they get the same commission split? Well, here is the difference between Mules and Agents: The consumer doesn't have to feed Nig! And JOE WILL GET MORE MOLASSES & OATS OVER HIS CAREER. I've was brought up to be Joe, and to avoid Nig.
Get to know a mule--go to Mule Day in Columbia, Tennessee from March 31st to April 3rd, 2001. Go to http://www.muleday.net/ for more information.
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