The Trouble With Suzie

I think she loved me. We had known each other for almost six months and I really liked her too. Suzie was very well built for her age, although she was quite short. Whenever we were together, she talked a blue streak and when she talked, she liked to look you right in the eye. If we were walking, she had a habit of walking a little bit ahead of me so that she could turn partially around and look me in the eye as she told me all kinds of things. The trouble with Suzie was she talked in a language I could not understand! Despite this barrier, I usually knew what was on her mind. One thing I really liked about Suzie was that she was a good listener. Whenever I talked to her, she would stop and cock her head to one side and pay attention even though I don't think she knew my language any better than I did hers. This was very flattering to me. Although she was not allowed, she came to my house whenever she could. She would bang on the door and call out until I or someone else came to the door. If I was home, I would walk her back to her place and she liked to walk so close that sometimes I would trip over her.

I could not help but notice Suzie was starting to really pack on the pounds! Each week she had obviously gained even more. When she reached an astounding weight of about 220 lbs. I heard my father say to mom that Suzie and all of her family were getting too fat!!

That week-end I was allowed to go visit my other big brother for a "vacation". He was out of the army now, married and had a new baby (Jane). Jane was my first niece since my sisters kids were all nephews at that time. After a few days I got homesick for the farm and was taken home.

Much to my surprize and dismay, when I got home I found out that Suzie and her entire family were GONE. They had been "shipped"!!!!

It was not unusual at that time to take the runt of the pig litter to the house where it would be kept in a cardboard box behind the stove for a week or two so it could be fed (with a baby bottle) until it got big enough to return to the barn and it's mother. In most cases, that was the end of the matter, but not with Suzie. She had been kept in the house longer than usual because she was born very small. During this time I guess she "bonded" with me and she never did want to return to the barn. She never mixed in with her siblings and whenever I went to the barn, she would rush over to see me and "talk" to me with her grunts and squeals. It was as if she was saying " get me out of here", and "why are you keeping me in here with these pigs?"
In the summer when the litter was allowed outside in the barnyard, if the gate was left open even for a minute, Suzie would make a mad dash for the house and bang on the door looking for me. She never paid any attention to anyone else!

When they shipped Suzie the old man had her placed on a separate shipping order from the rest of the litter and the order was in my name. After a week or so I received a cheque. The accompaning statement showed deductions for shipping costs, and a fee for the hog marketing board. After these deductions, I got a cheque for $21.57 (for a 223 lb. pig thats about .10c a pound).

I took my cheque and went along with the old man when he went to the bank to deposit his money from the sale of the rest of the litter. This was the first time I actually had a banking transaction and I still remember standing in front of the tellers cage. My eyes just managed to peek over the counter and right into the end of the barrel of the teller's loaded pistol which was laying inside the cage and pointed right at me. Both the old man and the teller wanted me to open an account and deposit my cheque (I guess that was the lesson for that day) but I wanted the cash. I stood my ground and ended up with one new $20 bill and the rest in coins. Idon't know what happened to the $1.57, but I kept the $20 bill in a small box under my mattress until I was 16 when I made an important purchase. This purchase may be the subject of a future blog.

Just last monday, while driving home on the highway, I came upon a tractor trailer full of pigs that were being "shipped". Because of the traffic, I was forced to drive alongside the truck for a while. I could see the frightened pigs looking out of the ventilation slits along the sides of the truck. Even though it was some 60 years later I immediately remembered Suzie and I wondered how we humans can be so cruel to raise an innocent animal until it is in the prime of it's life and then slaughter and EAT it. ( Iguess I am getting senile).

Next-- The fishing trip.

Motto ofAustrian writer Karl Straus
"say what is"