When Hump Day is on Thursday
They say some things are best left to the imagination. But I have to admit, my 30 second exposure to
reality as I drove to work this morning is something that my imagination never
would even conjure up. I guess I am
still getting used to living in the real country. Permit me a digression before I really tell
you what view I was treated to enroute to work.
It always –and I mean ALWAYS – irritates me when people from
out of state talk about New York in terms of “the City.” NYC is such a small –and allow me a bit of
spirited derision here – miniscule, and consequently congested and overwhelming
(to me), part of the interesting things about this state. In fact, they wouldn’t even have the right to call it “The Big Apple” if it
wasn’t for the fact that almost ALL of the rest of the state grows some of the
greatest apples in the nation.
Even the history buffs tell you that there was some sort of
a fight when Downstate wasn’t allowed to be the Capitol of New York – Albany claimed
the prize. Although, if I had been in
charge, I would have moved the Capitol to a more central location but, silly
me, I think in terms of fairness for the entire state and not just for some. At least the State Fair was put in a central
location. Someone had their adequate
dose of coffee the morning that decision was made.
So all that being said, I do want to reiterate the point
that a vast part of this state is incredible agricultural property: dairy farms, horse ranches, corn fields,
apple orchards and (gasp) vineyards that take your breath, if not your
sobriety, away. Frankly, there is not
enough gasoline to fill a lifetime of my vehicles in order to satiate my desire
to see it all. The greatest thing that could happen to me
right now would be to win a brand new vehicle with zero mileage so I could
start all over in my travels to take in every borough and country lane. And need I speak of the miles of antique stores
and flea markets on Route 20 – that route cuts clean across the state and is
the coolest road to drive when the leaves are changing colors in autumn! Even up into our own forests of the Adirondack
mountains, there are adorable little gift shops and corner pizza places and
creeks a plenty. And yet …
And yet when I pull out of my
driveway and travel less than a mile down the street, the oddness of reality
strikes me. I glance across to my right
and I see something that at first does not make sense. I’m thinking: “Why does that cow look awfully high up in the
air?” And as my eyes re-adjust in a
split second to the entire picture, here’s what I realize. It isn’t a cow. It’s a bull.
And the bull is standing ON a cow, ahem, and he is quite serious. And there are farmers in the doorway of the
barn watching to make sure that the goal is achieved. And I wonder if they laughed at the
expressions on the faces of those of us who drove by and saw fifteen seconds of
“Life on a Dairy Farm,” and inadvertently dropped our jaws ….
In retrospect, where did I think
that pasture full of baby calves came from, anyway? The storks are too busy delivering to the
hospitals to work on the farms as well!
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