Of course ,this is redundant

My life philosophy is, "I never do anything I can get God or someone else to do for me."  Of course, God and someone else is redundant.

COW ANGELS

“Damn” I said to myself as I walked amongst the cattle lying beneath the fur trees west of the old red barn. “Son-of-a-gun!” I said as I looked at the dripping eye of one of my best cows.  She had pinkeye, conjunctivitis and her eye was nearly swollen shut.  If left untreated, she could become blind.

This cow was what is called, “An easy keeper”. She dropped big healthy calves and provided more than enough milk for her babies to grow up big, bright and strong. She required little feed or care. The problem was: She was a spooky cow, skittish and she kept her distance from me.

It was mid-July, about 1:00 in the afternoon. It had been an exceptionally hot, still July and the flies had been unmerciful. Even though I had ample dust bags hung around for the cattle to bump their heads against to protect them from face flies, this cow had allowed them to lick upon her eye and it had become infected.

I have treated this malady before. It is a simple procedure. I would run the pink-eyed cow down the squeeze chute, lock in her head, pull up her eyelid and squirt a yellow antibiotic powder into her eye, causing it to drip yellow tears. I had done this many times over the years and I had never lost an eye.


I was cursing because the cows and calves were away from where the squeeze chute was separated by a field of ripe fescue grass ready to be mowed and bailed. To treat this favored cow, I would have to move the whole herd through the ready to be mowed grass to the corral, cut her out from the herd and run her down the alley to the squeeze chute. To do this, I would have to destroy the ready to be mowed grass.


I walked the long way back to the house, leaving a path through the tall grass while wondering what I could do. I unlocked the pasture gate, closed and locked it and folded my arms upon the post holding the gate. I dropped my chin upon my folded arms and looked over the hay field to the red barn and the herd down under the trees.

What happened the next hour might sound unbelievable to you, I am sure, but it happened exactly as I will describe it to you. I closed my eyes and said, “Okay, cow angels, I need your help here. I want to help this cow that is a friend of mine and I cannot do it without you. If you wish me to help her, you have to arrange it for me. If I am not to do this, then don’t.” I opened my eyes, pulled myself away from the post and went into the house to have a drink of water.


I rustled around in the house for a while, checking my phone messages. I walked back outside, out of the garage, across the gravel drive to the gate. There, standing alone in the far, east side of the pasture is the cow with the drippy eye. All of the other cows and calves were still lying down under the fir trees, 200 yards away at the west side of the pasture. This cow was moved from the herd to stand by herself alone, up near the red barn.


I said “Man!” to myself and faded into the garage to the animal medicine cabinet. I retrieved the plastic bottle of yellow antibiotic powder and a black eye patch used on cattle with advanced conjunctivitis.

I stuck the powder bottle into my front jeans pocket, the tube of eye patch glue into my shirt pocket and slid the folded cloth eye patch into my back pocket. I unlocked the gate near the house and followed the grass trail I had made earlier over to the red barn. I walked slowly, knowing this cow was skittish and could bolt at any second.

She just stood there looking at me as I unlocked the gate. I said, “Hi Baby. I am so glad to see you here. It is all going to be okay, darlin’. Come on in here. I have something good for you to eat.” I walked into the red barn and cut open a bale of leafy alfalfa hay left over from the winter. I pulled the bale apart and dropped a section of it into the manger. “Come on baby,” I said,“Come on.”

She followed me like an old dog would follow a loved master. She dropped her head into the manger and proceeded to eat the hay treat. She looked at me trustingly with one open clear eye and one almost swollen shut eye. She was neither afraid nor skittish. I remember smiling to myself, “She acts like she is stoned.” (I am from the 60’s. I know stoned.)

I popped off the cap to the yellow powder, pulled up her eyelid and squirted her infected eye with powder. Yellow tears dripped immediately. She stood there as peaceful as could be. I pulled the folded eye patch from my rear pocket, uncapped the glue tube and spread it upon the edges of the patch. I pressed it upon the outside of her eye. I waited and scratched her forehead while telling her how wonderful she was. She ate. Her stomach gurgled. She was at peace and so was I.


I sat upon the haystack and watched. All of a sudden, she came out of her reverie. Her head shot straight up. She bolted backwards, throwing high her head and slammed out of the barn, heading towards the herd down in the west field.

  I sat there awhile and pondered what had happened. I wondered about heaven and here. I was told that whenever one asks for assistance to bless another, help always comes. I was told, “You cannot, not bless. You are only capable of blessing because of who you are and what you were created to be."

Blessing is the only natural profession of all people. When you dump your anger, pain, jealousy and fear onto others, you are saying, “Here, I care about you enough to bless you with my very worst.” When you extend your kindness, love, appreciation and happiness onto others, you are saying, “Here, I care about you enough to bless you with my very best.

It may be that the only reason we are here is to learn to bless other people, animals, things and ideas. It may be the only reason we are here is to be truly helpful. If we accept that this is our only function here, we can have all that heaven has to offer; Its power, glory, blessings and assistance.

And so my friends, you wish to be an “Outside Traveler.” You desire to go out “there”. I salute you for I have never had a desire to do this. You might consider as you travel about that your purpose of going “there” is to continue blessing the world with your best. You might consider that regardless of race, culture and apparent differences you will encounter, your only task is to continue blessing the world with your very best. If you decide to do this, every trip you take will be one of absolute joy.


I followed the grass trail back to the house and I smiled and I offered thanks. “This has been quite a day! Cows and angels!” As Dizzy Dean use to say, “Who would have thunk it?”