Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Wisdom of Uncle Alex


This felt like a good week to spend some time in the pasture with Pumpkin the Goat and Smokey the Sheep. I needed me some Critter Peace.

The radio had been telling me about the latest of many attack ads that one Republican presidential candidate was airing about another (all those ads cost a lot of money)...and there was a story too that comedian Bill Maher had donated a million dollars to the Obama campaign. Meanwhile, here in my state, the legislature is struggling to find the money to fund basic education.

“Be-gone!” I said to the demons of negative juju that were pressing in on my tender soul. I turned off the radio, put on my work boots, and wandered out to the pasture.

Pumpkin greeted me, breathing sweet goat-breath in my face. I went to work, gathering sticks and branches that had blown down during winter’s wind and rain storms. The sun came out. Pumpkin and Smokey found themselves comfortable spots, Pumpkin contentedly chewing her cud in the sun, Smokey the black sheep napping the shadows under a leaning tree.

I hung out with the critters, taking a few pictures, but mostly just being. I was thankful for the fine day, the good critter-company, and the time I had to enjoy them.

I remembered something I read recently, part of a commencement address that Kurt Vonnegut gave at Rice University in 1998. Vonnegut talked about his uncle Alex, saying:

"A Harvard graduate, Alex Vonnegut was locally useful in Indianapolis as an honest insurance agent. He was also well-read and wise.

"One thing which Uncle Alex found objectionable about human beings was that they seldom took time out to notice when they were happy. He himself did his best to acknowledge it when times were sweet. We could be drinking lemonade in the shade of an apple tree in the summertime, and he would interrupt the conversation to say, 'If this isn't nice, what is?' "