By Janet Hall-Gilbert
My eyes opened, and I felt a crushing pain
throughout my body, I gasped to take a breath of air.
“What the hell?” Moaning I looked up to see
my Uncle kneeling down beside me, with that shrewd smile of his. One I had seen
time and time again, when he had just taught me that life can through you a
curve ball when you least expect it.
Coming to live with Uncle Brad and Aunty Mary
when I was just nine was something I didn’t look forward too. I was a city kid
and I love the malls and my friends. But after both of my parents had been
killed by a drunk driver and that driver just happened to be my father. Aunt
Mary and Uncle Brad stepped up to the plate to give me a home.
Aunt Mary was as wide as she was tall, or as Uncle
Brad use to put it, “She’s six axe handles across but she was every bit of a
woman.” She always had a loving smile for me. The thing I remember about her
the most was her laugh, she sounded like a chicken laying an egg. She was
always honest, true and fair with her discipline. Uncle Brad on the other hand, used life’s
lessons to teach, and trust me, he had a few up his sleeve, and some of them
would find me narrowly escaping with my life, or I thought so at the time.
The summer sun scorched my eyes, as it made
its appearance through my upstairs window. The sheets were soaking wet from the
sweat that flow out of my body during the night. It was going to be another hot
one, and I longed to be in an air conditioned mall hanging out with friends.
But Nooo I was stuck on this god forsaken farm, cleaning up cow manure, tossing
hay bales onto an old rickety wagon, that I swear my Uncle had patch together
with every scrape piece of wood, metal, and tree branch that was on the
property. He had the sides tied together with binder twine, and if you asked
why he hadn’t fixed it properly he would reply. “Why its’ working fine the way
it is.”
“Tracy, come on get out of that darn bed, and
get breakfast or I’ll through it out.” The whiskey voice of Aunt Mary echoed
through the stair well vibrating the plaster on the walls.
“Yeh.” I moaned.
I knew breakfast was on for an hour. I had
smelt the coffee brewing on the stove, and the burnt toast. Aunt Mary was a
great cook except for breakfast. I always dreaded waking up to it. She never
had grasp the concept that you didn’t have to have bacon and eggs every day, or
oat meal that would ball on the end of the spoon, and you would need a knife to
pry it off roof of your mouth just to swallow it. I slide my way to the table,
staring at the grease that formed a ring around the brim of my plate. “Did you
have a good sleep?”
My, gaze averted the plate for a second to
look up at my Aunts smile. “Not really.” I said with a huge yawn stretch sending
a shiver down my spine. “It was pretty hot up there.”
“Maybe tonight I’ll make up a bed for you on
the veranda.” She said as the slamming of the screen door, made her neck snap
toward the porch.
My Uncle made his appearance through the door
taking two long strides, swinging his leg over the back of the chair slamming
his butt down, grabbing his knife and fork before my Aunt had time to finish
pour his cup of coffee. “Something sure smells good.” He said, jabbing his fist
into my arm. “You awake yet kid or did you smoke to too much wacky stuff last
night?”
This was his morning greeting to me every day
of the week, and I often thought that one day I would make my appearance to the
morning table stoned out of my head, just to see if he actually knew what he
was talking about. “I’m awake.” I said with yet another yawn.
“Good, cause I got a something for you do to
keep you busy for the summer.” He said as the grease from the bacon that he had
just stuffed in his mouth trickled down his chin.
I knew from the sound of his voice that
nothing good could come of this, and the last time that he used you and busy in
the same sentence I ended up flying down a hill in an old pickup that he had
purchase at an auction sale. He had decide that I needed to learn how to drive
and didn’t bother to tell me that having break were a great necessity to have
on a vehicle, and we ended up tarring down two fences and swimming with the
ducks.
“What’s that look for kid?” he asked grinning
through the slice of toast he torn off with his teeth. “I promise your gonna
like this.”
I look over at my Aunt hoping for her to help
me out of the situation, but all I got was that loving smile, and soft eyed
look that would say I can’t help you out on this one cause I don’t know what he
has in store for you.
“You don’t trust me do ya?” he said.
“It’s not that.” I answered. “It’s just that
I haven’t recovered from the driving lesson.”
“You lived through it didn’t ya.”
“Yeh, that’s the problem.” I said shoving my
hands under my legs to stop them for shaking.
“Ya know
that you can’t learn if you’re afraid of experiencing the unknown in life.”
“I’m not afraid of the unknown, I’m afraid
that you’re trying to get me killed.”
He threw back his head in laughter then
dropping it forward towards his plate to spit out the half chewed morsel that
he was about to choke on. Wiping a tear from he’s eye he said. “Is that what
you think I am trying to do?”
“Well so far I have had three concussions one
broken arm and a black eye. So I don’t know what gave you the impression that I
wouldn’t think anything different.”
His eyes turned soft and, caring. I knew at
that point I was about take yet another leap of faith. I knew he wasn’t trying
to kill me and I knew that he loved me as if I were his own, but it was times
like this that I wish I knew what intuition was all about, and I wouldn’t end
up with him rolling on the ground with laughter.
I felt the heart burn setting in as I watched
him rush through the morning meal. Placing his hardened hand around the bass of
my neck, we made our way towards the barn to see this great project he had
going for me for the summer.
That sweat smell of the freshly pitched hay, warmed
my nasal passages, and the sound of an odd moo as we entered the barn was
relaxing. I loved to sit and listen to than livestock chow down on their
morning meal. It made me wish that I was one of them, so I wouldn’t have to
deal with the heavy gut that I always felt after one of Aunt Mary’s breakfasts.
We walked towards the end stall, Uncle Brads steps quicken the closer we got.
“She’s not much right now Tracy.” He said, “but with a bit of work she will
turn into a real beauty, and the bestest friend you’ll ever have.”
I peered over the top of the stall door.
There she was. Love at first sight, she was covered in mud and her mane and
tail were knotted from the wind. I looked up at my Uncle to get permission to
go in. He opened the door enough for me to squeeze by. “You be careful now ya
hear. She still pretty wild yet and she needs to settle in.” I never heard a
word he said, my heart had been captured. I knew nothing of horses just what I
had read in books, and now I had one of my very own. My heart beat pounded
throughout my entire body. I reached my hand out for her to take a smell. Her
breath was warm and soft on my hand as she stretched across to take a sniff. I
look over towards my Uncle to thank him and he was gone. Instant panic set in,
I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him, now how the hell am I suppose to get out
of here I thought. My glance around the stall, revealed my escape, “If I can
only make it over the top of the next stall I could sneak out unscathed.” I
slowly began to place my leg up onto the manger. Taking a quick leap I manage l
landed on my feet. Opening my eyes I realized that I had managed to jump in
Barney’s stall.
Barney was my Uncle’s pride and joy, his two
ton bull that serviced all the female cows, and one of the most cantankerous
animals on the planet. I froze... afraid to even think a thought; I felt the
warm trickle of urine flow from my body filling my boot. Barney’s head turned,
and our eyes met. I watch as the hey that dangled from the corners of his mouth
slowly in a circular motion disappeared into his gullet. I was in that split
second I realize that he was giving me permission to make a quick exit and I
did so thanking the powers that be.
The liquid sloshed inside my boot as I ran
towards the safety of the house. I stood in the doorway silent, as the four
eyes in the room stared down towards my pants. Uncle Brad smile toast crumbs
still wedge between his front teeth. “Barney?” He said.
I nodded my head yes running past the giggles,
to change.
When I look back on that experience, and I
realize that the lesson Uncle Brad taught me that morning whether it was
intentional or not, has made me the person that I am today, and I often look
back on it when a situation arises and I
take a deep breath, and make a quick exit.
As the days and months pasted that summer I
began to more confident in my own abilities, and I took the project that he had
given me and I ran with it. In the first month I had taught that little pony to
lead and bow, and most of all trust. And I too learned how to trust again. I
read everything I could get my hands on, different training methods, basic care
and feeding methods, I had learnt it all.
I was a master at fifteen, I knew how to bandage a leg, poke a needle in
her neck, and take her temperature, how many heart beats she had. I could be
the best clinician on the planet.
Now the day had finally arrived I was going
to put my foot into the stirrup for the first time. I tightened the chinch, and
pulled on the saddle horn making sure there was no slippage. I lead her into
the middle of the correl. I looked over at my Uncle his face was blanketed with
no expression as I took a deep breath and placed my left foot into the stirrup,
just like I had read to do, I took 3 quick hopes as I had read to do and swung
my leg up and over the saddle. I breathed a sigh of superiority. I did it I had
trained this beast and she was now mind to command.
I don’t exactly what happened next, but I
remember the feeling of flight and then a thud as I hit the ground and
everything went black until my eyes opened. And Uncle Brad was staring down a
me smiling.
“All them books you read this summer didn’t
tell you that she has a mind and with that mind comes free will.” He said
taking my hand and hoisting me up from off the ground.
