RATTLE AND HUM

EARLY WINTER ON THE HIGH PLAINS

After the Alberta Clipper raged down the front range, on the first day when the temp rises above single digits, when we can walk outside the artificially heated confines of man and not feel skin freeze, lungs rage against the cold.....that is good.

May God bless those humans who choose to live and work and thrive in such cold. Such cold where all oil turns to sludge, where all humidity turns to crystal, where breath burns and flesh blackens. Where winds rip heat and tear moisture from our tropic flesh, we weak simians must wrap ourselves in artificial skins and feathers to keep alive. And the old ones complain. They huddle near the fire and tell tales, sniffling and crotchety.....

The old ones.......our heritage.

The old ones......their joints creak and burn.

The old ones...yeah, I know. I am quickly becoming one.

Arthritis Sucks!

I have found that doing the dishes by hand helps these old hands. Soaking them in hot water relieves the taut, deep pain. Now I know why the Sioux and Kiowa and Blackfoot and Nez Perce all coveted the thermal springs that dot the spine of the continent, why the called the Yellowstone magic.

Sometimes I wish I were more like my truck. As long as I keep it tuned, well lubed and full of clean oil and filters.....keep the suspension tight and good tires on all fours and it loves to run.

Yeah she rattles....and yeah, it hums when warmed and running strong. I would trust it over most other vehicles in most every situation.

Reliable is the word... much like the old ones stories. Steeped in long history and experience, they rattle and hum, hold history and teach the tales of the long grass.

The one exception ~ the old truck will live indefinetly, as long as replacement parts are available. I could, with reason and maintenance and hard work, pass on the old truck to grandson, nephew or niece. I, on the other hand, will return to dust and release my true being from this earthly realm. I will return to my creator God where rust matters not, nor does rattle and hum.