Cowboy Wild by David Campion

Author:David Campion [Campion, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Photography, Subjects & Themes, Regional
ISBN: 9781926855998
Google: Y2b2E8j-7AEC
Publisher: Rocky Mountain Books Ltd
Published: 2012-05-15T23:21:51.118952+00:00

If it weren’t for the whiff of roast beef, most people would walk right past the nondescript door in the middle of the barns that leads to the cinder-block room called Mel’s Place. The cashier says there actually was a Mel once but it was before her time. From tables where they sit stirring creamer into coffee, patrons can see everything from miniature donkeys to the Budweiser Clydesdales on their way to the show ring. In the corner, a wall-mounted TV plays highlights from last night’s chuckwagon race. At the table beneath the TV, long-ago acquaintances, two couples who have run into one another by chance, linger over coffee and reminisce. One of the men does most of the talking.

“When Mother and Daddy bought the farm,” he says, “they put 30 acres in potatoes and it took two weeks to harvest. Now it takes half a day.” He grew up riding a horse to school. So did his wife. Like their parents, they farmed. Now their oldest son has taken over the farm and the wife says how proud they are of him.

“It has never been easy,” the talkative fellow says. “Take my brother. He ran the farm after Daddy died. They were haying and he was pushing hard. Bad weather can close in fast and spoil a crop. They didn’t have a crew, just the family. Mother came out to help. They never even stopped for lunch that day. When my brother’s hat blew off, he left the tractor in low, hopped down to grab it but slipped getting up. Mother got off to help him and it happened so fast. The combine wheel killed her instantly.”

He pauses. “That was a sad year.”

From the TV comes the muted sound of announcer Joe Carbury’s famous voice intoning Aaannd they’rrre off! On screen, the four wagons in the final heat of last night’s race careen around the barrels. At the table, the couples talk about their plans for the afternoon, push back their chairs and get up.

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