When you're running life's marathon and you still can't see the finish line, you try to take your mind off how tired you are by thinking of other things. Such as what you would have done differently at particular times in your life. Some anthropologists believe your earliest behavioral patterns chart the course you will follow for the rest of your life. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Would you name your kid "Wolfgang"?) was reportedly playing Turkey In The Straw on his little violin when he was just 3 years old. And he did OK in music for the rest of his life.
In the exciting hours of another fun-filled day in this Russellville commune, I think back to an event that took place in Cove, Oregon on my Aunt Helen's ranch when I was probably 4 or 5 years old. I had wandered down to where pigs were kept in an enclosed area and I remember thinking it might be fun to ride a pig. Picking out one big porker as a prospective mount I eased up beside him and jumped on his back and grabbed for his ears to hold on. The pig took off as if shot from a cannon and I went flying.
Instead of figuring out a better way to ride a pig, I wrote it off as not worth doing. And I think of other times in the years that went by when I gave up a failed mission when I should have kept riding the pig. I'll try to remember that in another lifetime.
