Yesterday's Hearty Laugh

And it came from an unexpected source, too. I've been reading for my book discussion group a book called "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. As with several of the other books I'm reading for this group, this one is certainly not something I would have selected to read on my own (although I have read at least one of Kingsolver's fiction novels).

Basically, this tale is about Kingsolver and her family moving from Tucson to somewhere in the Appalachians (in Virginia) where her husband has a farm that's been in his family for generations. They resolve themselves to spend one year eating only a) things they have grown themselves (including meat) and/or b) things that are from other local farmers/neighbors.

Although interesting at times (and well written), it is a bit preachy. I was struggling through it Friday night and gave up to try and finish reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" (I'm ALMOST done with that one!) Yesterday, though, I opted to give "the farm book" (my pet name for it) another whirl.

I was out in the sun room stretched on the couch with Lucy at my feet, Lily on my chest and Pete curled up in one of the rocking chairs. It was raining like heck outside; a good day to be INSIDE reading, I thought to myself as I read about Kingsolver and her family picking wild mushrooms (that, if not cooked, can kill you). Good to know!

Anyway, the story moved on to a scene with Kingsolver and her youngest daughter (probably 10 or so) named Lily. Lily, who loves chickens and raises them (and doesn't like her family to eat them) and who also has a pretty decent head for business for her age, has decided she wants a horse. Kingsolver realizes the best thing to do is not say no, but, rather, strike a deal with her.

And thus follows the passage that had me laughing so damn hard I couldn't stop for well over ten minutes, tears streaming down my face. I tell you, it has been a very long time since I've laughed this hard. I hope y'all get a kick out of it, too!

When I was a kid, I would have accepted these incalculable vagaries without a second thought, understanding that maybe a horse was out there for me but I'd just have to wait and see. The entrepreneurial gene apparently skips generations. Lily got out her notebook and started asking questions.

"How much does a horse cost?"

"Oh, it depends," I hedged.

"Just a regular mare, or a gelding," she insisted. When it comes to mares and geldings, she knows the score. I'd recently overheard her explaining this to some of her friends. "A stallion is a boy that's really fierce and bossy," she told them. "But they can give them an operation that makes them gentle and nice and helpful. You know. Like our daddies."

Mrs. B