|
"Yep," Dud said. "I breathed some this morning that came from the
next state. I could taste at least two mountain ranges in it as well
as a coal-burning whatchamacallit." "I like spring, though," Doc
said. "It always calls for a new set of clothes."
Steve looked up from his coffee. "You buy a new suit in
springtime, Doc?"
"You never heard of spring fashions?"
"Must've missed that, out on the ranch."
"Naturally, spring brings to us," Doc said, in his I-coulda-been-a-college-professor
voice, "wind from all directions, cleansing us, refreshing us."
"Knocking over full-grown cows." Steve added.
"Yes, that too. And with the blessings of spring, we discover all
kinds of interesting information. Such as, what are the neighbors to
windward doing these days? Well, go look in the hedge and you'll see
the Thompson kids have switched from regular potato chips to
barbecue. There's the empty bag. You know that new guy? Drinks wine.
Couple of empties rolled past my porch just yesterday. His dog was
trying to catch them. Can you turn those in for money?"
"Dogs? I don't think so."
[to top of second
column]
 |
"Wine bottles. Well, anyway, I like to go out and watch the
little calves snort and run around in the wind."
Steve said, "I can tell you it isn't a whole buncha fun riding
colts when the wind comes up. They're pretty goosey to start with,
and the wind only makes things worse. They get rollers in their
noses and start thinking rocks and fence posts are sneaking up on
them."
"That's the truth," Dud said.
"So the mild zephyrs that refresh us," Doc said, waving his arms
pontifically, "grow and flourish until the neighbor's cinder blocks
start blowing by, and we can learn to lean as we walk."
"Right, Doc," Steve said, "but you said we need new clothes for
spring?"
"You betcha. Clothes with big pockets in 'em. That way you can
fill them with rocks for ballast."
[Slim Randles]
Brought to you by
"Sun Dog Days"
at www.unmpress.com.
|
