Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Do Not Climb Mount Wichita On A Horse Named Caution


This morning I rolled my bike's wheels south to Lake Wichita for the first time in a long while. Months ago I had had an incident of encountering way too many flying bugs bugging me as I rolled across Lake Wichita dam on the Circle Trail, followed by even more bugs bugging me when the Circle Trail got close to the lake.

But, that was a couple months ago and the heat of summers seems to have reduced the flying bug population. So, I had myself a mighty fine time riding my bike today. Even the temperature was pleasant, barely into the 80s, with that chill feeling like a hint of the fall which will soon arrive.

In that photo above you are looking at Mount Wichita. Some do not think this is a mountain, and instead refer to it as a hill.

Hence the sign which says...

PLEASE
USE CAUTION
WHEN CLIMBING 
HILL

Every time I see this sign I think the same thing, as in the sign is telling me to ride a horse to the summit.

My first Texas abode was a small ranch type venue in the north Fort Worth suburb of Haslet. That small ranch type venue had two cows (quickly sold) replaced by three horses shipped in from Washington.

I do not remember the name of all the horses, but I do remember the name of one of them.

A horse named Caution.

Caution tried to kill me my one and only time of trying to ride that beast. It was the 4th of July of the year 2000.

The mistress of the house insisted I should learn to ride a horse so I could join in on the horse rides. I got on Caution, rode the beast out of the barn, but I had no control, the steering mechanism would not work, Caution kept returning to the barn.

At high speed.

On one of those returns Caution ducked under the partially closed barn door, almost causing me to be knocked off. On the final attempt to kill me Caution galloped into the corral deal which was attached to the barn, which had a narrow entry, not meant to be ridden into. My legs were squeezed tight against the corral fence, or whatever one calls it. I was able to free myself before my legs were torn off.

It was then determined that the reason for Caution's behavior was the beast was trying to get back to the carrot which that aforementioned mistress of the house had strategically left in the barn, knowing that Caution would try and get back to that carrot, and would be unruly in the process.

It was on that 4th of July that I began to feel like my life was in danger the longer I remained in Haslet. I soon found new, safer, accommodations in a location with no horses...

No comments:

Post a Comment