ME & MY DAD
Growing up as a kid, my dad always said, "Don't be an ass!" So I listened. As a little kid, I knew I was no match for the Sailor with tattoos on his arm. He was a lot bigger than me too! My friends called him Popeye. Not because they thought he was big and strong. They thought he was funny and I just had to think of my dad as a cartoon character and keep my mouth shut. Dad could swear like a Sailor, smoke cigarettes, and drink beer too. My job was to LISTEN and not talk back.
Dad has been gone for a long time now. Despite what you think, he was a good dad. He just had his Sailor ways and obedience was an expectation, not a choice. Today, I have choices. I was talking to one of my friends in Real Estate recently. He's a great guy. Mike and Diane treat me like family. I was surprised to learn they own donkeys on some land in West Texas. Donkeys? "Why do you have donkeys," I asked.
My friend Mike said, "Because they are reliable and steady creatures." They can teach you a lot about life and they get along well with my horses.
"Really?" I thought they were stubborn old mules. Mike told me, "You're wrong!" He said, they are more laid back than horses and gentler too.
Mike and Diane own a variety of donkeys. They are all gentle and prefer to stay in twos. I got the feeling they were more like big old guard dogs than donkeys because they kept their eyes on me and kept saying, "Aw EE, Aw EE," at me! They were definitely checking me out! So I kept my distance. Mike said, "They are harmless and very smart!" What about food, I asked? Do you come out here regularly to feed them? No, he said, they are very self-sufficient and they like the hot weather better than winter. Over feeding them would be a disaster."
I looked at Mike with my big blue eyes and said, I couldn't do it. I would have to be here on the ranch, taking care of them, feeding them and of course taking their pictures too! That would be a big, big mistake, Mike said. "To be an owner of donkeys, if you want them to get some work done, you have to think like a donkey. Donkeys work smarter, not harder." Suddenly, I had a light-bulb moment! My dad would always ask me about homework. "Are you done with your homework and your chores? He'd ask. No, I'm still working. Then my dad would say, "Don't be a dumb ass, work smarter at your homework and chores, not harder!"
Does it pay to be an ass? As they say, "You're never too old to learn!" Aw EE, Aw EE!!!
©Patricia Feager 8/13/2015
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