One Cow? by Cynthia Saladin

 

So apparently the vaccine line at one South Carolina location was hours long - inefficient, frustrating, and absolutely ridiculous. Somebody commented that no one handles drive-through lines better than Chick-Fil-A. So those in charge of the vaccine administration called a local Chick-Fil-A manager. He came down, looked things over, made adjustments, and decreased the wait time to a mere 15 minutes. Sandy, on JoyFM, was telling this story. And her take? When she finds herself in a pickle and things are not going well, she just wants to see one cow, as in Chick-Fil-A’s slogan “Eat More Chicken.” (The sign held by a cow.)

Doesn’t that make you smile?!

As I smiled, I was flooded with my own cow associations. I don’t automatically think of cows and Chick-Fil-A. I think of the Sandhills of Western Nebraska on my grandparents’ five-section cattle ranch. I think of the summers I spent on the ranch chasing cows, following Uncle Mike, milking cows, helping Grandma, putting up hay to feed cows, taking piano lessons from Mary Ann, riding on the feed sled, talking with Grandad, driving the scatter rake, checking salt, flying in the two-seater Cesena with Grandad to find a bull, cleaning out an autogate, changing the irrigation lines, picking potato bugs off the potatoes, taking the cows to the Dille (my great-grandparents’ homestead - 16 miles across country from the ranch), doctoring the cows for pink eye . . . Very quickly I get lost thinking about one of my most favorite places on earth.

I associate the Sandhills with peace, quiet, fresh air, sweet smells, sweet Sandhills water, precious childhood memories, and a more relaxed pace than my normal hurried existence. It is still a wonderful place, but there’s a sense of loss. So many people who are part of the fabric of my memories of the Sandhills have died. It’s just not the same without them; there’s a huge void.

It takes a lot longer to describe the thought progression from vaccine lines to Chick-Fil-A to cows to the Sandhills than it actually happened in real time. In just moments, a twinkling of an eye (so to speak), I was thinking of that time when I’m going to see all of those who have gone before. I’m going to experience a place more wonderful than the Sandhills, a place of peace and joy and the people I love so much. I’m very grateful to have that blessed assurance before me every day.

And I’m so glad that when I’m in a pickle, when things aren’t going so well, I think of the One who can make all things right, make all things flow more smoothly - my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I don’t think about a cow.