EPISODE 472 THIS IS OLD DICK, GRANDDAD FREEMAN’S LAST HORSE
alan skeoch
Nov. 2021
OLD DICK….REMEMBERED
“WHAT IS THAT horse skull doing up on the cross beam in the dining room?”
“That is granddad’s last horse.”
“Sick thing to do”
“Not really because I attach the skull to a touching story.”
THOSE WINTER EVENINGS ARE UNFORGETTABLE
“My brother Eric and I heard the story on a winter night when
we were all huddled around the wood stove while the night wind
howled and snow filtered through The window gaps. We heard lots
of stories that way but the tale of old Dick was so touching…so unforgettable…so revealing….”
“So what?”
“So, when spring came, Eric and I walked though the bush to the burying ground and found Old Dick.”
“Your grandparents allowed you to put that skull up there?”
“No, that was my idea long after grandma and grandpa were gone…we gutted the old farm house….renovated
the place complete with exposed hand hewn beams….which seemed a good place to put Old Dick as a reminder
of that winter story.”
WHAT STORY?
This is the way I would like to tell the story. The bare bones are true…the flesh of the story is mine.
“AS the Freemans got older, they reduced the farm livestock until the only living creature in the barn
was Old Dick. He wasn’t used anymore but he was kept around because they loved him. Or, at least,
I assumed that was the case.
Then Old Dick reached some kind of crisis where he could no longer function properly…perhaps he went lame,
or his teeth failed, …whatever. Granddad had to face a tough decision… he had to take action. Miserable time.
Edward Freeman called up Angus Mcechern, a close neighbour and they both walked Old Dick east to the
very back field…the burying ground. Angus led Old Dick by his halter. Granddad carried the gun. When they
got to the place granddad asked the dreaded question. “Where should I shoot him, Angus?” And Angus
pointed to a place somewhere on the skull. Angus used his finger …”right here”
At the very moment granddad fired the gun. Angus’s finger was still in place.
“Why did you do that..you could have blown my finger off.”
And granddad looked at Angus and said, “If I didn’t fire then, I would not be able to fire at all.”
“You see my point? You see why Old Dick is up there on the beam?”
“No, I don’t really understand.”
“Think about it…think long and hard…think about the old times when horses were an integral part of farm life…think
about the tough decisions that had to be made…think about Old Dick…and think what granddad Freemn meant
when he said ‘if I did not pull the trigger then, I am not sure I would ever be able to do so.’
Empathy is necessary to understand. You either have it or you don’t have it. Empathy.