Of Bulls and the Bear

 

Man Boobs, a Gut, and toothpick Arms

Of Bulls and the Bear

Death as a Spectator Sport

By Stephen L. Wilmeth 

 

            The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.

                                                                      ~  Volodymyr Zelenskyy

           

The war raged on this week.

            As of Saturday morning, the press was reporting over 2,000 Ukrainian citizens had been killed in the war they didn’t want, didn’t need, and didn’t deserve. That is probably only a prelude, though, to what will be witnessed in the coming weeks.

            Seemingly, the problem for the Russians, the Bear in this fight, is being stymied by an unexpected resistance demonstrated by a citizenry that has decided there are some things in this life worse than death. The watching world should take heed of such unexpected resolve.

            In an article by Rachel del Guidice this week, that subject is elevated from a mere play by play of the violence by the press. She prefaced it by describing the invasion as tragic, wicked, and evil, and then offers an emotional and emerging truth.

            … Zelenskyy is testifying to what it means to be a man, draw a line in the sand, and fight for what is his.

            Truer words are rarely crafted.

            It has been far too long since a public exclamation of such relevance has been lodged in print. It is a core problem of society, and … its absence has put our country in jeopardy.

            Of Bulls and the Bear

            We gathered and started processing bulls this week.

            This is a biannual affair as bulls are either removed or reintroduced into the herd. In the interim, a health protocol will be followed and, this year, a full fertility review is scheduled.

            Dealing with bulls is a real-life reality show.

            In our world, the term docility has become a measure of increasing genetic consideration. It has implications for a several reasons not the least of which is safety in handling these big and powerful characters.

            Most will say cattle are gentler than they used to be. The trend is important. There are just too many more things to worry and deal with than a hot animal that creates problems for everybody.

            Those who can remember the bulls of long ago have stories to tell. Those old Hereford bulls that dominated our southwestern herds were notorious for fighting and we were taught to use caution around them. There were some that were just mean, but the most common warnings were always to watch the bull that either breaks and runs from a fight or the bull that is isolated from the rest of the herd and is placed in a situation where his path of escape is reduced or eliminated.

            There is danger under those conditions, and it is real.

            A glimpse of the old days is also being reenacted in the surge of feral cattle. The videos that exist in dealing with feral cattle in Hawaii or Australia are simply recapitulations of experiences of recent events right here in New Mexico. The look of those bulls and their actions are universal.

            Terrell remembers loading 37 head of similar bulls in a sorry corral. He stayed horseback outside the run up to the chute just to keep slapping would be jumpers in the head with a coiled rope as they started up the incline.

Leonard and I gathered a bunch of remnant cattle three times in successive days only to have the same three bulls explode in three different directions in the same mesquite thicket that had to be traversed to get down a canyon bottom. We finally trapped one by himself and got him in the alley at Alamo Springs only to have him turn and charge leading to a getaway horse race of some renown.

            We gathered another one by himself at the Monterrey pens one morning. We got the gate shut and went in horseback to put him in the load up. He first challenged the horse and rider, and then he left that place like he was on fire. He hit the corral fence and splintered it like it was cordwood. The immensity of the power and the fury was something to behold. He was why we were taught at a young age to watch particularly for the bull that breaks and runs. He will run blind, and it matters not what is in his way.

            Yessiree, there is great danger in isolating bulls in precarious situations, but they aren’t the only dangerous beast. As the world may soon learn, there is even greater risk in isolating and putting in the corner, the real bear …  the Russian Bear.

            Man Boobs, a Gut, and toothpick Arms

            The image assigned by Joe Rogan to that self-appointed man about world, the computer genius who can’t keep viruses out of our lives, was hilarious. Joe blasted Bill Gates for lecturing people about their health (and other matters) when the rich guy has man boobs, a gut, and toothpick arms.

            Certainly, the comment was disparaging, but it has implicit merit in so many ways.

            There is more to leadership than an image, a war chest, a mouth, an agenda, and a teleprompter. Too few leaders have demonstrated the full array of something special that sets them apart from the rest, that beckons them to a particular time and place, and subordinates their moral character to that which is best for those who have legally called upon them to govern. Moreover, there is a time to lead and there is a time to stay the hell out of the way.

            This fellow, Zelenskyy, is flashing signs he may have such rare character. His eyes are a clue, and his actions are contagious. If he is slaughtered for the singular defense of the Ukrainian homeland, we will all be complicit.

We would join the Romans who, along with their own morally decrepit and corrupt leaders, cheered death as a real time spectator sport. 

            Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico.