1000 Words

“A picture is worth a thousand words”.

 

Some say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Look at this photo.  Now, this is the story the way I heard it.  I wasn’t there.  Charlie had been driving and baby- sitting for me, all day, that Saturday.  That evening I suggested he take a little r & r.  So he headed down to the east bank of the Brazos River to do a little hunting.  I believe it was about 5:30 pm when he cell phoned the house and said that he had nailed a huge feral hog.  I asked him to load it in his pick-up and bring it up to the house for all to see.  Apparently that hog was a little heavier than he thought.  He couldn’t budge it off the ground.  So, next plan.  He tied a rope to the hog’s feet and drugged it to a low place, to try to pull it into the tailgate.  Hell, he couldn’t get that hog 6 inches off the ground.  About that time High School Girlfriend and Rachel roll into the house from their r & r, shopping.  I tell Rachel that Charlie is somewhere near the river trying to load a hog.  Rachel gets on her cell phone and says “I’m on my way”.

She makes a quick change from shopping cloths to field attire.  She can do that. Quick.  She’s gone.  By now, Charlie is at the barn getting a tractor with a hydraulic hay fork.  He has it under control.  By the way, it’s dark and about 30’F.  Rachel follows in the pickup.  Charlie ties a rope to the hog and then to the hay fork. “Rachel, when I lift the hog up, back the pickup up and I’ll drop it in.”  Didn’t work!  The rope just stretched when the full weight of the hog hit it.  “Let me get that rope tighter” Charlie says and let’s get this thing loaded.  Didn’t work.  Rachel says, “Let’s balance the hog on the hay fork and lift”.  Charlie adds, “That will never work.”  It’s cold.  Tempers are on edge.  Charlie, tries his way a 3^rd time.  Didn’t work.  Rachel says dammit lets try my way.  Charlie is adamant that her way is a waste of time.  Mars vs. Venus.  4 time, no go hog.  Now, I think there may have been some cussing in the bottoms.  “OK, just to show you it won’t work, to waste a bunch of time out here in the cold, Rachel, we will try it your way.  Once.  Then we got to go to my second plan.” Charlie says.  Well, the story goes.  Rachel tied a few ropes and the 300+ pound hog balanced like a tight rope walker.  Charlie, Charlie, I can’t hear you.  Charlie?  OK, it worked, you were right.  “Stop!”  Rachel said.  I want to add something to that statement.  Take my photo.  Where I will have it, next time, I’m dead wrong.  A photo is worth a thousand words.  Charlie took the photo.  Charlie, speaking of a thousand.  The same think has happened to me a thousand times with Rachel’s mother.  After awhile it doesn’t even bother you.

Chasing the Texas sunsets,