The Bull

Many of you know already that I am the second of five children.  All three of my brothers are younger.

As with any family, we have a variety of personalities from the parents to the children.  In the past, I have written about my Dad and most recently about my Mom.  Dad’s war injuries plagued him the rest of his life while Mom was a delicate person with a low energy level.  Now we come to my brother Joey who is the oldest of the boys and the adventurous type, always exploring and trying new things.  He is the type that draws others to him.

I have also written about the limited amount of activity in our small hometown.  You could play softball or climb the hills.  Climbing the hills was the more adventurous way to spend the day.  I did my fair share of climbing but not with my brother as the leader.  Since I was older than Joey, my hikes were lead by an older cousin.

As time went on, my brother Joey took on the role of leader, and as usual, he had a band of young boys that followed his lead.  One day they decided to climb the hill, which was an easy feat for my brother.  He always was physically fit and still is today. 

The “fun” started when a hysterical younger boy came running to our house crying that a bull had gored Joey.  We did not know exactly what to make of this but almost immediately another boy came to the house with the same report.

Now my Dad never got upset unless we were in danger, and this was definitely one of those times.  Both Mom and Dad got in the car and drove to the nearest location where they could access a path to climb up the hill.  I am sure their thoughts were full of frightening sights not to mention how to get medical assistance to him must have weighed heavily in their hearts and minds.  I can still see Mom and Dad struggling to climb a path no wider than a foot.  Dad had a knee that would lock up making the climb difficult.  Mom, frail and delicate, was holding onto Dad’s hand as he pulled her along behind him on the path.  Both were breathless and pale as snow, still they attacked the path as though they were raging war on the hillside.

Suddenly from far below they hear Joey calling to them as he came along through the creek bed.  Both showed instant signs of guarded relief.  As they scrambled down the path, they ran to him to check him over for injuries.

Much to their relief they did not find a mark on him from the incident.  Apparently, the bull got out of its pasture and charged Joey who climbed a tree, and the bull missed him entirely.  However, the bull stood by the tree trying to wait out Joey’s descent but eventually wondered off allowing Joey to climb down out of the tree.

Now that Mom and Dad had an opportunity to calm down and find out what happened and to hear the entire story, they slowly returned to normal. I am still amazed to this day that they attempted to climb that hill.  It all boils down to the willingness of a parent to do anything to protect and aid their child.

I and my siblings were fortunate to have parents that cared.  They protected us and came to our rescue whenever necessary….well to the rescue of physical danger anyway. 

Yes, all five of us have different personalities, and most of us have mellowed as we aged.  However, Joey will forever be the adventurer in our family.