The Phone Rings

And the caller ID shows that it is the Sergeant Major. My heart drops. I leave the room and figure on letting it go straight to voice mail for me to deal with later. I'm just not up to hearing about another young Arizonan getting cut down this morning. I have stuff to do in the barn, corn to hoe, stuff.

I putter around and avoid shit for a while, then when I'm back in the kitchen I notice that there are three messages in voice mail. I figure two of them might be money calls that I should take and so I cowboy up and check the messages.

The first is the Sgt. Major. He says "Nobody's dead, Minstrel, not today anyway. I'm making this call as Larry, I need to talk to you about a favor."

I whip through the next two messages and they are things that can wait. I make the call and get right through.

I say "What's the favor you need Larry?"

He says that he's heard that I have horses and am pretty good with it. I say "I have horses, and I ride better than I walk."

He says that there is a ceremonial unit that does parades and stuff around the state. They dress in the uniforms of the Buffalo Soldiers who used to be stationed at Forts Apache, McDowell, Hauchuca. They have asked him to join them. Then he tells me that he's never been on a horse in his life and he doesn't want to show up to his first gathering wearing Sgt. Major stripes and not knowing shit.

I ask if he wants to come out tomorrow morning early. In the indian way horseback riding starts with cleaning out the horse poop and doing all the other maintainence chores. He laughs and says that it sounds like fun. I tell him that I like it and ask if he's got any kids.

He has two little girls and I tell him to bring the whole family out. We'll make a day of it.

I also tell him that I refuse to take any responsibility if his little girls leave the place with a bad case of "horse crazy."

Sounds a lot better than another funeral doesn't it?

3B's