This week's smile
Considering Dad’s big, strong hands, I found both fear and comfort. I found comfort in his hands because they protected me; and fear because they disciplined me.
Dad’s farmer hands, callused and scared, resulted from a lot of hard work and more than his fair share of accidents. The most impressive of which came after an encounter with Snake. The mostly black, Simmental-Angus, cow had one white s in her forehead and a lot of white in her eyes (for the city folk, that means she was wide eyed and crazy).
Snake chose one of the coldest February mornings to have her calf; she also chose to deliver on the edge of a steep cliff over the frozen stream. Dad realized a problem when he found the calf. The calf fell off the cliff and into the water, and had been unable to nurse. By the time Dad reached the calf the little guy was in a heep of trouble and needed help fast. So Dad warmed up some emergency formula for the calf and put it in an old Coke bottle with a nipple on the end.
Coming to the calf’s rescue Dad began to feed him. Unfortunately, Snake failed to see the heroism in the efforts and took matters into her own… well, hooves.
When Dad recognized the situation he was in—with the cow charging and all—he drew back with the stick in his left hand and swung for her nose. Snake went unaffected and continued her pursuit, but to no avail. Dad managed to step out of her way, but that didn’t mean he was fine. Expecting to feed the calf the rest of the bottle he looked at his right hand. Dad saw milk and blood everywhere along with a broken bottle. While defending himself, with adrenaline rushing, Dad’s body and hand tensed up. Dad had the strength to bust a thick, shatter proof, Coke bottle. That’s my Dad and the hands that brought both comfort and fear.
