Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 15, 1994 TAG: 9408170045
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Joe Kennedy
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``The Braves are on TV tonight,'' I said.
``I said we have a crisis.''
``Smoltz is pitching,'' I said. ``Can we get the kids in bed early? If Michael starts to watch it, he'll want to see the whole thing. And Katherine will want to stay up, too.''
``The water is off. I turned on the faucet, and nothing came out.''
``I won't even mention the game,'' I said. ``You hustle them in for their showers. They'll never suspect a thing.''
``You're not listening,'' she said.
``You're out of hot water,'' I replied, with a certain pride.
``Not hot water - all water. As I said, we have a crisis.''
``I wonder if Pendleton is off the DL,'' I said.
We went out to look at the spring house. It's a concrete box, eight feet across and six feet deep, at the foot of the ridge behind the shed.
``The roof is caved in,'' Sharon observed.
We peered inside.
``There's a calf in there,'' she said. ``It's fallen through the roof, splayed itself on the storage tank and broken the pipe to the house. Tell me this is not a crisis.''
``This is not a crisis,'' I said. ``This is an irritation. Don't you have some sort of meeting to go to?''
``I'll skip it to deal with this.''
``Go,'' I said. ``I can handle it.''
I called Earl and Elva, our neighbors. ``A calf has fallen through the spring house,'' I said.
``We'll be over to take a look,'' Elva chirped.
They got out of their truck and stared down at the calf. They speculated about how it happened, and said they'd be back with the tractor.
They returned with their grandson and his wife in tow.
``Ever had a calf do this before?'' I asked.
Earl shook his head no. He was too polite to point out that it wasn't his calf.
The grandson climbed into the pit and wrapped ropes around the bawling animal. It must have weighed 400 pounds. The kids came out to watch.
Earl pulled a lever and lifted the bar on the front of the tractor. The calf levitated before us like a Volkswagen in a trance.
Earl backed up and set it down. The grandson untied the ropes. The calf ran to its mother and began to suckle.
``Thanks,'' I said.
``No problem,'' Earl said. He and Elva smiled. They've been farming together for more than 40 years. It's always fun to see something new.
Sharon got home about 11.
``Did you get the calf out?'' she asked. She was still in the clothes she'd worn to work.
``All done,'' I told her.
``What about the water? Is it back on?''
``The plumber's coming tomorrow.''
``That's a relief,'' she said, settling into a chair. ``I can't stand a crisis.''
``It wasn't a crisis,'' I said.``It was a hassle.''
``Why do you say that?'' she said. ``Why won't you just admit it?''
``How long have we been married, darling?''
``Nineteen years.''
``And how long have we lived out here?''
``Fifteen years.''
``And how long have we had children?''
``Eleven years.''
``And how many times have we come home from work to find the water off, the power out or somebody's bull in the pasture? How many times has the driveway washed out, the oil burner quit or a bird gotten into the woodstove? How many times have we learned about a test at the last minute? How many birthday presents have we remembered we hadn't bought at 9 o'clock the night before the party?''
She sighed.``Who won the game?''
``I forgot to turn it on.''
``And this wasn't a crisis?''
``I wouldn't even call it a surprise.''
by CNB