Jake and the Kid

Millarville, Alberta

Who Teaches Whom

Leo doesn’t drink alcohol, he doesn’t smoke, and I have never heard him swear.  I am not sure how we are going to relate.

Our logical, but not biological, grandson Leo is staying with us for a few days. Leo is Adam’s stepson; they live in B.C. Leo spends most of his holiday time down east with his bio-dad, so we feel very fortunate to have him in captivity this week.

… Who Teaches Whom

Jake and the Kid

Canadian author W.O. Mitchell wrote a popular radio program in the 1950s entitled “Jake and the Kid“.

“The Kid” at the centre of the stories is a boy growing up on a farm near the fictional town of Crocus, Saskatchewan. Ben’s father has died, and his mother is operating the farm with the assistance of “Jake”, the hired man.

In each episode, Jake and Ben explore the complexities of life, love, maturity, and death, as they work around the farm.  Jake deploys earthy wisdom laced with humour to guide Ben through his formative years. 

I am going to attempt to emulate Jake over the next few days.  An irreverent old farmer with an opinion on just about everything is a role I should fit into easily. I hope that Leo will find something worthy, in our rendition of …

… Jake and the Kid

The Stink Hole

The objective of Leo’s visit is to get to know one another while we conduct a major spring clean-up at the ranch, but one important item had to be taken care of before we could go to work.

I gave Leo an antique cribbage board for his birthday several years ago. Time and circumstances intervened, and we have never played a game.  We talked about it once or twice, and Leo threatened that, if we ever got around to playing, he would “kick my butt”.

That challenge has plagued me ever since.  As soon as Leo got settled, we pulled out my geriatric cribbage board and cut the cards to see who dealt. 

I have 50 years of experience playing the game and Leo is still in the learning phase, so I expected an easy victory.  I wasn’t going to go easy on The Kid.

Leo’s skills surpassed expectations and the game progressed like an evenly matched horse race.  Our pegs jockeyed for the lead, all the way through the first and second turn.  As we neared the finish line Leo was ten points ahead of me, but I had a killer hand, and I was in position to count first.  I cut Leo a card that fit nicely into my hand, which gave me sixteen points to fill seventeen holes.  All I had to do is peg one for a victory.

When the game was over, Leo cruised by me while I was sitting in the most humiliating cribbage position possible,  …

… the Stink Hole.

Where You Begin

We played a cribbage rematch every night of Leo’s visit. My luck improved, but I never fully recovered from the stink hole episode.

“The prairie was more than just my home, some days I felt like I couldn’t tell where it ended, and I began.” – W.O. Mitchell from “Jake and the Kid”

At nineteen, Leo is embarking on that most difficult of journeys, the one where you transition to full independence. It is a challenging and confusing process.

The foothills of Alberta are a good place to exercise independence skills.   If you can’t find yourself here, there is some doubt you can be found.

The trick is to work out …

… where the foothills end, and you begin. 

All Hat and No Cattle Ranch

I told Leo we were going to be doing spring clean-up work around “the ranch” in conversations leading up to his visit.  When he arrived, Leo asked what kind of animals we have; I had to explain to him that we no longer keep livestock – we don’t have so much as a tame cat anymore.

Leo seemed a little disappointed to be working at the …

… “All Hat and No Cattle Ranch” .

Cowboys

I tried to demonstrate that there are ways to be a cowboy, without cows.

The Cape

“He did not know he could not fly, so he did”. – Guy Clark

The kids gave me a drone for Father’s Day a few years ago; it lasted for 45 seconds – I crashed the chopper into a tree on its inaugural flight.

I replaced that drone, but the new one gets very little use because I am nervous about flying it.  I have to retrain myself every time I do.

We wanted to take some aerial photos while Leo was here, so I passed what little knowledge I have on to him and let him fly it.  Leo had never flown a drone before, but he confidently took the controls; within two minutes he had mastered it.  Leo guided the aircraft up over the trees, flew behind the garage, hovered over the garden where Aaron and Emma were working, took some photos, and brought it back for a perfect landing.

“He licked his finger, and he checked the wind, It was gonna be do or die, He wasn’t scared of nothin’ boys, And he was pretty sure he could fly”

Guy Clark – The Cape

Fallen Tree, or a Metaphor for Life?

Statistically, the chances of a tree falling on a fence is probably no greater than falling anywhere else, but Statistically must have been on vacation the night after Leo arrived.  About 8:00PM, a menacing black cloud rolled in from the west and unleashed a microburst. The downdraft persisted for a couple of hours; it knocked down trees in a wide path across the foothills. We didn’t lose as many as we might have, but every tree that fell at our place landed on a fence.

Leo and I ventured into the back 40 to remove a tree that had fallen and blocked the path. 

Doing my best Jake impression, I explained that the fallen tree is a metaphor for every challenge he will ever face in life.  If you look at any obstacle in its entirety, it might seem insurmountable.  But, if you reduce the problem to manageable pieces, anything is possible.

Two chain saws and two hours later, the problem was nothing more than a heap of firewood, and …

… a Metaphor

Alberta Style

Leo’s music of choice is Heavy Metal.  We did our best to accommodate him this week, …

…Alberta Style.

Maggie May

Leo is in the process of setting a direction for his life.  He has some decisions to make that only he is capable of fulfilling. I don’t have answers for him, but I can relate.

Rod Stewart – Maggie May

Leo took Rod Stewart’s old car for a cruise while he was here.  With any luck, he found some of the answers he is looking for on that drive.

Tractors

Leo is an intelligent young man, a quick study at anything you throw at him, polite, humorous, and willing to help others. He will figure it out. If all else fails, he can always come back to the farm.  

“My daddy said son put your guitar down
We gotta build some fence… gotta plow some ground
I told my daddy, “try and understand…
This John Deere tractor don’t fit my plan…”

Tryin’ to Get to New Orleans – The Tractors

Summer Wages

Leo went home today.  There is no doubt in my mind which of us benefited most from his visit.  Leo might have found some answers in the foothills, and he has a pocketful of summer wages to show for his labour, but I have gained the world. 

I’m going to work on them towboats
With my slippery city shoes
Lord, I swore I would never do that again
Through the great fog bound straights
Where the cedars stand waitin
I’ll be lost and gone
Like summer wages

Ian Tyson –  Summer Wages

---

---