This year is all about doing new things....
Yesterday I was the last speaker at the Chihuahuan Desert RC&D (that's Resource, Conservation and Development) Annual Meeting, following a great brisket dinner cooked by fellow board member Ike, and a talk by an aide for our congressman. I spoke about regional cooperation in developing tourism, our shared goals in strengthening and diversifying our local economies, and our plans to include agricultural producers in tourism development for the region. But that's the boring stuff....
Our RC&D is blessed with Ike, a long time rancher/cowboy, hunched over by too many rough days in the saddle. He has a quiet, droll sense of humor and a calming nature, and when not outside having a smoke, he's a steady leader of the board. And Ike's a sweetie. Ike would stick out in any crowd for any of these attributes, but he has one more measure of distinction....he has the most spectacular mane of hair coming from his neck I've ever seen. Page down on this link to see him a few years ago....his hair has grown considerably since then. http://www.jameshevans.com/Big%20Bend%20Pictures%20.html (You can double-click on his photo for a closer view.) We're lucky to have him; everybody genuinely likes Ike.
Every year, Ike donates a goat to raffle off as a fundraiser for the RC&D. You can win a live goat from his herd, or he'll butcher one and dress it for meat. After my talk, the last order of the day was to auction off two briskets Ike donated, and then draw for the goat.
Now, I've often thought about what I'd do if I won one of Ike's goats. Seeing as I don't have room for 20-30 pounds of anything in my freezer, and goat (or cabrito, as it is called here) is really a challenge to cook well, I wasn't ready to take a win as meat. They say you really need to have cabrito cooked by someone who knows how to do it, or you'll never eat goat again.
The pet option was more to my liking anyway, but I live on the second floor of a storefront building and I travel all the time. While I think Daisy would rather like adding a nanny to the family, and I've wanted one for a long, long time, it doesn't make any sense for me now.
So, I always planned to give away my win, if I ever got so lucky.
Now, attending the meeting yesterday was a nice young man who'd moved to the region three weeks ago from Baltimore to head the food pantry in Alpine. I thought, "brave guy." Aside from our scrappiness, Far West Texas and Baltimore are as unlike each other as you can imagine. I remember my first meeting with these ranchers, wildlife managers and government conservationists. I felt I'd stepped into a brand new world--a world of mostly men, a world of traditions and beliefs unknown to me, a world in which I had so much to learn. My transition was eased into the group by kind Annette, a young educated woman from The City (El Paso) employed by the regional council of governments. She shares my affection for the organization's work and admiration of its rancher members. Annette and I are still on the outside, but they're getting used to us.
So it was instantaneous when my name was pulled from the hat (a cowboy hat, naturally) that I announced I'd give my goat to the newcomer, the food pantry guy, thinking maybe he could use the meat.
He sat up straight, "a goat?" He paused. His face wrinkled up, "A GOAT?!?" Pause. And then with some measure of panic, he said, "I don't even know what to DO with a goat!"
Oh, and then I felt badly. Here he is...three weeks from the city and someone gives him a farm animal?!? After Ike and I talked with him, I think he's leaning towards taking the pick of the litter expected on Valentine's Day...as a pet for his girlfriend who apparently is brave enough to move here from Baltimore. And that makes me, and Ike, happy.
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