Day Nine d. WEEK TWO, 

Wednesday, September the 14th, 2011

Cows are cool!  They can teach us a lesson!

As we are Trekking North on M-18 to Gladwin, the "folks" along the way offered us a wide variety of viewing options!  

These 'characters' above noticed us as we walked along... we saw that they were just 'parked' out in the field along the side of the road!  As we traversed up the highway...they actually turned and looked at us curiously!  Folks don't usually think that cows pay any attention to much but let me tell you, they are aware or their surroundings!  By the looks on their faces, it was as if they had never seen anyone 'walk by', out here, like this...!  

I have to tell you from experience, cow are curious creatures!  At one time when I was younger, we owned about 25 of them. I can tell you that if they see something that is unusual they will just stare it down!  Have you ever been stared at by a cow?  LOL!  You should try it sometime!  Cows have huge eyelashes and sometimes while they are looking at you intently... their tongues can come out of their mouthes and slides up into their nose like a big ole' snake!  It will freak you out, if you are not prepared for that kind of  'thang!"  

But that is the nature of a cow!  That is what they do!  And they will 'mooo' at you too!  They are like having a 'watch dawg' around...!  What a concept!  A 'watch cow!'  They are interesting creatures!   It doesn't make me mad because they are like that... that is just the nature of a cow!  So I deal with it!  

But if I impose my cultural values over on the cow... it makes me feel better about myself because the cows are 'uncouth' and they use their 12" tongues to clean out their noses and... 'they are not as cultured as me!'  But in reality, if I don't get close enough to notice... the cows, which are always different than me, I will always misunderstand them!  

I told you that they stare!

For most of us, it is convenient and time saving to just keep our distance!  It is less trouble too!  We end up flying past folks so fast that we don't really notice anything outside of our point of reference and if we do notice... it is because something has usually inconvienced us and the 'outsider' is just there staring and moooing and cleaning out their noses!  And we mindlessly see them as just 'folks on the other side of the fence.'  

This is why walking is such a good thing!   In a car; as you speed by, life is happening all around you; you hardly even notice what is on the side of the road... but when you walk, it gives you time to focus on what you see because you are not speeding along at 70!  Life is really too precious to just be speeding around from here to there and all the while missing those who are on the way!  So slow down!  Ask yourself!  "Why am I in such a hurry?"

With my feet on the Ground... 'slowly'

Simply Trey