by Julie Carter
It's the time of year again. Every high school in America is planning their Junior - Senior Prom and all across rural America, the pig sales are on the calendar.
"Perfect opportunity to put lipstick on a pig," one bystander chortled.
Pig
and prom time is an age-old conflict of scheduling. Throw the topic out
in conversation and be regaled with the memories of the many who
experienced it.
One
mother recalled the day her family had gone to pick up a trailer load
of pigs and while in town, they stopped by the dress shop to purchase
their daughter a prom dress. Parking the pig-laden rig right in front,
they traipsed into the interior of the shop, selected the gown and
hurried back home.
"We
got home, she got pigs settled in, was showered and ready for her prom
date by 7 p.m.," her mom said. "And, I'm sure the dress shop has never
smelled the same!"
Pig sales
The ring of a cell phone could be heard just barely over the roar of the F-350 flatbed as it rolled down the highway.
"I'm on my way to a pig sale," she said loudly into the phone.
Cell
phones invite callers into a rural world that is completely foreign to
many of them. This caller was a hi-tech computer jockey working on a
network of computers at an office belonging to the woman he called.
He
politely tried to reason why in the world would she be going to a pig
sale? It is sometimes difficult for "regular" people to grasp the
concept of livestock projects for FFA and 4-H youngsters that, in a few
months, will be headed to the county and state fairs.
Their
deductive reasoning finds no logic in driving great long distances to
buy just the right pig or three of them, spending the next three months
buying feed and dispensing it to said animals, knowing the odds are for
losing money in the end.
The
value of this effort year after year is not tangible because it really
isn't about the pig. It isn't about how much he ate, how well he showed
or how many cents per pound he'll bring in August.
It is all about the kid.
It
is an investment in responsibility. From now until fair time, the kid
will be required to daily feed, groom, exercise and clean-up after his
pig. And the most surprising part to those same amazed regular people is
that the kid really does like it and so does the pig.
Something
happens within a youngster when an animal becomes part of his daily
life and dependent upon him. Psycho-babblers would call it bonding. The
pig has no idea about that but he knows that the short person that shows
up every day is bringing chow and some attention.
That's good enough for a pig.
And
the proms? Another investment in growing up except in a venue with a
little more glitz and glitter. Still, the chatter will argue the
conflict.
"Go with the pig sale. You've seen one girl in a dress, you've seen them all."
"The pig sale would cost less."
You
can dress the kids up in tuxes and dresses with matching satin in both,
send them off to a decorated ball room and serve them punch from a
crystal bowl. However, underneath it all, they're still the same kids
who will spend a whole lot of time this year hanging at the pig pen.
God bless the wonders of rural America.
4/10/11
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