Life and Random Thinking

My nephew Sam brought his wife and son to visit our ranch. Kingsley, Sam’s little boy, was barely three, but already a very good talker with an impressive vocabulary and clear pronunciation.

I offered to take him out to the pasture to see some animals while his parents talked to Sugar because, well, Kingsley and I are men of action. We don’t much cotton to sitting around jawin’ in the courtyard. We set out on our own. Kingsley rode on my shoulders.

He commented on what he was seeing from on high. We talked about various things. We walked about a half mile before we found the livestock, him on my shoulders and me with my bum knees. But I tell you what — I was enjoying myself. I love hanging out with children. I do not get to see my own grandchildren much. It was a real treat to…

Lewis stared at his creation, and then over at his date.

While Gretchen was, by far, the more attractive of the two, he could not keep his eyes off of the Snowman he had just built.

Okay, it was technically “their” Snowman, but Gretchen’s only real contribution had been to pack a couple of snowballs that Lewis eventually turned into the head and body.

Yes, he had decided to defy convention and go with a two piece Snowman, rather than with the traditional three piece one.  He had just wanted to show Gretchen that he was different from all the other guys who asked her out, but now he was beginning to have his doubts.

Everyone was used to the Snowman with a head, an upper body, and then a wide base.  Lewis had originally pegged Gretchen as a woman who liked to go against the grain, who preferred a…