Attribution: Photo by Brad Weaver on Unsplash
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, naps in the first bright morning sunshine of July 2024 as the keeper tries to send a message to the Amish youth up in central Wisconsin who was riding that one-row corn cultivator behind a team of horses as the keeper and Phyllis passed by.
“I’m there with you, Amish boy, in that metal seat behind those family horses–“Prince and Queen”, riding over the knee-high corn in a last cultivation of the summer, stumbling on the doorstep of adulthood with soaring thoughts and letting the horses think about how to do the cultivating since they know more about it than I do.
“If you are lucky like me, Amish boy, some 80 years or so from this moment, you will have the good fortune to see something that takes you back to your corn-cultivating days and makes you realize how incredibly wonderful they were.
“It is scary to think about what that reminder for you might be eighty years from now, Amish boy, but whatever it is, pay attention; and, for now, give your “Prince and Queen” a little rest at the end of the row.”
Photo by Bill Stokes