Arts, Crafts, Music, & Events of Breckinridge County Issue 8, January 2016 | Page 34

Spitting down into it and looking at the canyon from behind a high, sturdy
fence will suit me just fine. So, if you are on the mule tour down
underneath me when I spit, sorry, Charlie. It was not rain drops; it was
me spitting.
Now, I am going to tell you the main reason I am fond of mules. I am
warmhearted toward those critters because they taught me lessons that I
am glad to have learned. In the life of people, just like the equine world,
there are beautiful thoroughbreds racing horses and there are mules.
Most people would choose the thoroughbred over an old mule. Most
people, unfortunately in the world today, will also pick a person to follow
that looks good or sounds good over an ordinary plain person. A movie
star, a famous football player, the richest person on Forbes 400, the most
beautiful girl or most handsome man, or the person who can talk the
smoothest [ but is not sincere] are the ones that gain admiration and
fame today. Sadly, they are the ones whose every move and word are
watched and reported to us. Racehorses look good in the ring when they
wear the saddle of roses, the movie starlet looks glamorous when she
wears the low cut designer gown and lots of diamonds, the rich people
look important when a chauffeur drives them up to their office or
appointments in a limousine, but, most racehorses and celebrities don’t
last long in the spotlight. They age, they burn out, they go bankrupt, the
stock market crashes or drops overnight, or they are replaced with the
newer, younger model. They have a short time to bask in the limelight.
Mules on the other hand, will plow all day, from sunup to sundown, year
after year, crop after crop, on only corn and water. They are loyal and
dependable like most ordinary people are.
The point of this essay, besides just honoring mules, was this. Most
people, thankfully, have more traits of a mule than a racehorse. Most
people never earn fame, most never accumulate great riches, a villa in