the oldest farmer in the valley
been here since '38
runs three greenhouses
grafts fancy trees
keeps moving while the sun is in the sky
a perpetual slow motion machine
passed a kidney stone tweleve years ago that had a jagged edge to it
it sliced his ureter
the tube from the kidney to the bladder
sliced it wide open so he was carrying urine around in his belly
had to wear a pee bag for six months
while the doctors told him they thought it would heal itself
it didnt
so they had to slice him open and put some bladder tissue there and now hes fine
apparently the pain is exquisite
and the tube is long and curly
sleeping doesnt happen
a true penn dutch stoic
a hero to stoics everywhere
he was at the dinner table when the first one passed
the look of relief on his face was palpable when the first stone dropped into his bladder with a splash
the pain was gone and he went to the bathroom and peed in a filter and caught the cherrystone sized nugget
they had company over but it was the kind of company that you could show the nugget around the dinner table and no one was embarrassment
the third stone is getting zapped
it came up on an ultrasound
and the zapping is outpatient surgery
and like they have to take the docs word that they saw another one
theyll also have to take the docs word that it is now zapped
they have twoo herds of beef cows that live a very nice life until they are two
tasty grass galore all day
some grain at nite
young teenager cows
jumpy if you move too quickly
but wanting to lick the salt off your hands with their two foot raspy toungues
curious huge deep brown eyes
remind me of a girl i used to date
the same look of contentment there
the same ignorance of impending doom
i let the beef cows lick my arm a bit
to give back to the food chain
cow mucus mixed with half chewed grass from my hands to my elbows
i wonder if these cows have a taste for human flesh as they open their mouths wide to tounge all that delicious salt off my arm
some woman from finland with a plane in her basement brings by her also heavily accented friend for the fresh asparagas
they got here too late today and are saddened
the old man wanted to put a few more rows in
but lloyd didnt get to it
and it always seems like the first asparagas cutomer of the day buys the lot of it
the finnish women are mollified when they get the tour of the fish pond
his father sold all the trees to the conference center down the road when the road was dirt
they keep widening the road
and the trees get closer and closer to the pavement
a row on each side
the grandkids are cutting down a bamboo pole to go fishing
what year is this?