My mother called me a bean stalk. She said, "You would be a good looking boy if you were not so skinny. This probably was because I was a picky eater At age 16, it was arranged for me to spend the summer on Uncle Will's farm. Both of his boys were in the service as was every able body person. He could use the help and I guess the folks thought it would do me some good. I learned to milk cows, ride horses and handle a team of monster Belgium work horses. We cut, raked, stacked alfalfa, and roped and herded cattle just like the old time cowboys did. There was a lot of interesting history of the area, as the ranch is located near the Crow Indian reservation and half mile from the Little Big Horn River. Custer Battlefield is just up the road. I was kicked by a cow while milking, and thrown off a horse when learning to ride. I had a wild wagon ride by runaway horses when they are frightened by a close lightening strike. After the harvest , and at the end of the summer, we were herding cattle. I was thrown off when the skittish horse was frightened by a rattle snake. I did survive the summer with only a few scrapes and bruises. Uncle Will was hard on me, but taught me some valuable lessons. He said I was the best hired help he ever had. I got tanned, my shirt filled out with some muscle, and I gained ten pounds . This was the summer that I felt I grew up.
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