Sunday, July 26, 2009

And Now A Word From Jack

our frend billie what hails from a carolina ast for a update on my life and times so here i am. the little fella finds my dialec a tad hard to translate so i figgered i'd jest do it miself, tho words ain't no spechulty of mine .

things here is reel good fer a ole man like miself and i'm feeling like a donkey reborned - not a day over four an a haf. mi coat went back to bein a shiny blak colour this summer and mi feet is jest perfec and i'm tole i even have some extra paddin over mi ribs. all i kno is i got so much energee that i jest has to cut loose mos evenins and rip snort around like a rebel. the young lad - i usualy calls him sonny on account his name is so high class no one can hardlee spell it or say it. well anyway he says i'm near to givin him papatations cus i rassel so good. holy smokers, that boy breethes some heavy when i git him runnin.

i tell him he needs ta relax his mind cos its spinnin a mile a minit. he studies everythin and gits hissself in a state over pritty near whatevers goin. theres so much nowlege crammed in between his ears im serprised there ain't smoke comin out. that caint be good for a body. mine you, he aint lost no weight threw all his frettin. that boy packs her in good at dinnertime. he's a fine boy tho and a grand frend to me. i near to give up on everthin til i met him and now he fills up a big space in mi hart.

heres how i come to be here. i was a grown donkey when i was took to a place what give rides to people (some of em too heavy fer me) and i went in perades and so on. i done this fer twenny seven years with my fren Hoolio, a real small fella who was my age. it were a bizzy place with young folk workin there in the summer and in the evenins when the boss didn see, some rough type young fellas used to play rodeo on mi back - they yelled and kicked me and smacked at me til i threw em off. i guess they had fun but i sure as heck didn. thas another reason mi back is so swayed.

then about six, seven year ago me and Hoolio and some ponies what had werked fer all them years was what they call retireed. we was took a mile from the place to a fiel and cut loose. old Hoolio took it so hard he jus lay down an died after three weeks an my heart jus folded up to the size of a pebble. i stood over him til the humins came and took him awy - i didn want no low down coyotes gettin at him. i et nothin fer days an them ponies picked at me and kep me outta the small shelter and mi teeth got neglected and mi feet too and then i stayed so wet fer so long i got a rot type thing on mi body and some lice set up shop an mi feet growed all funny and i near gave up hope.

one day in the middle of the cold seeson that lady from the primrose donkey place showed up and took us all away. they spoke kind and carried me into the moving box caus i was too shakee to do it miself. then she commenced to restorin mi health. i hav a thing called a murmering hart and was eemaciatied so they cooked me all kinds a stuf to git me some weight on. a few week later along come a vitinery gal - no red hare on this one - and they doped me up and went to cleanin mi teeth. i tel ya the smell even made me turn green. that vit gal had tears in her eyes cos she never seen nothin lik it and it took three sessions to get all the plaks off mi teeth an to haul out the rotten ones. i had a buncha abcessssess and all in all eatin wernt easy. then they got after the things that was growin on me. i began ta git some hope goin but i never palled up with none of them other donkeys. ta be onest, i was still missin Hoolio.

then one fine day in earlee summer las year bak i go in the movin box. oh no i sez to miself, i'm goin bak to that fiel. but no, we drove and drove and when the door open, i was at this heer place. and who do i see in the fiel? fer sure its Hoolio i think. i git closer an it aint Hoolio but sonny boy and after a few minits i start to like his company a lot - hes quiet and gentel and excep fer all that thinkin, he's a jim dandy charakter. we been close buddies ever since.

him and the woman argues all the time tho her and me get on real good. she says to everyone - give jack whatever he wants an they do it. i git spechul food and lots of it and have mi own room with a big bed. fer all there bickerin as soon as the woman or sonny boy are outta site of each other, why, arent they lookin for the other one. makes me believe ones as crazee as the other. sonny boy aint never lived no where else an he thinks he has it hard like here - i tole him about what i wen threw and he caint hardlee believe it. between you and me and the fencepost, he's jest a bit what ya called indulged.

the molly mare is fine - she's a full sister to the woman from what i can tell - look the same, ack the same - bossee but frenlee. doc is big boss and looks out for us all - ya jest gotta do what he sez and everhthins smooth. i like the dog jest fine and spen lotsa time tryin ta straiten her tale. cats is good too but who ever knos what a cat is thinkin. the male humin gotta a lot a time fer me and him and me are real close.

so there ya go. this here is mor words then i used in a lifetime but now ya kno some a mi storee. the woman took some piktures a me today so you can see mi new blak coat.

15 comments:

Gale said...

Mr. Jack Joy, I have tears in my eyes.

robert5721 said...

Sir Jack,
you certainly are a great lookin specimen now, thanks to the care ya are gettin from the mad woman and the primrose lady! Bein as Sheaffer and I are great buddies, I want to ask you to take good care of him for me .. will ya? Hoolio and he are close relatives, and Hoolio wants ya to look after him too I thinks. You have a great place to live for the rest of your days I think, but if anything wierd ever happens, you can always come down here to Olde Towne Farm and have a place with 16 other Donkeys that will love you to death.. SMILE ....
Mr Gale

ponymaid said...

thank you mrs gale. you are a kind one to be sure. an i like the name mr. jack joy a whole lot becos i feel full a joy these days fer sure.

mr gale, i keep a close eye on sonny boy - niver let him outta mi sight even when he goes unner a low tree for his alone time. i aint takin no chances at losin anuther one. im glad you lik mi blak coat - your spechul creme did wunders fer me. you has 16 donkeys with ya? crimminey are they all the size a sonny boy? i hope they don all think so hard.

Buddy said...

Hay Jack - oh my - what an awful life you had before you came to live with my fren Sheaffer. I'm so glad you are happy now. Your coat sure is shinny - you are looking good for an ole guy.

Your new fren,

billie said...

My word, Jack, what a wonderful treat to get an entire treatise in your very own words and dialect!

I was riveted to the story of your history - and am sorry for the loss of dear Hoolio. It must be something to have landed in such a fine place as you are now.

You look absolutely marvelous - it is obvious life is agreeing with you. Sheaffer is lucky (as are the woman, Doc, Molly, and the man plus canine and feline family members) to have you there, telling stories and helping keep things lively.

I suspect it was in your honor that young Redford "cut loose" this evening and jumped over the wheelbarrow full of muck that was parked in the doorway of a stall.

It all came about because Salina was taste-testing the new round bale, Rafer Johnson was taking himself a dose of his "alone time," and the mower was driving around the barnyard. Redford decided he needed to get from Here to There without further ado and he went airborne.

Take care and thanks for the update. We wish you would consider putting out an audio book so we could hear your voice telling the stories!

ponymaid said...

buddy thank you fer your complemint i feel like a young lad these days. sonny boy is jest what the doktor ordered as a tonic. im workin at gettin him in shape.

billie im glad you ast me fer mi storie tho words don come easy lik they do to sonny boy. young Redford has a spark to him that i lik the sounds of. i jest might jump over a wheelbarroe miself. mabe one a these daze i'll do that talkin book you mention. i got a lotta stories. i sent some more piktures to the picasso album so you could see me walkin and eatin todae before the storm hit.

Smokey33 said...

Mr Jack.
Your story has made me have tears. When I think about the time I spent at the same riding place, (I guess you knew me when I was just a baby!) they were much happier than yours. I was raised there and left at four years of age, I have only good memories as most of the time I was left in a very large pasture to my own resources, with many friends around me. When my new tribal leader came to take me to her home, I could not believe how much better life could get. I have also known Sheaffer for over 10 years now and truly know what a special donkey he is. I know you will both continue to look after each other and it's really a small world that we all still have connections. I hope to see you both one day. Although, our tribal leader says Tucker is going to the cancer ride with Molly and I must stay home and take care of this foot I injured in the mountains... Molly can fill you in.
Your friend, Smokey

ponymaid said...

smokey, i hear from the little fella that you can lay claim to bein the most commical horses in histrey. oh my, the stories i herd frum him. no wunder yer ankel is hurtin some. i cant wait to see ya agin. the last years at the place what we came frum was hard ones but me and Hoolio had some good times together in our younger years even when the days was long. i hope you can pull that stunt when ya come here - the one where ya sit on the groun and leave yer front legs in the travellin box. i git to shakin and laffin jest thinkin on it. i met yer wummin and i can tell ya shes a good one.

South Valley Girl said...

Mr. Jack Joy, what a wonderful treat to hear your story in your own words; I've often wondered what your life was like before you joined Shaeffer and the others. You are certainly a good influence on him - on everyone, really - as one would expect of an elder statesdonkey like yourself.

We make our families as we can, don't we, Jack? There's the family of your blooc, the one you're born into, and then there's the family of the heart, the one you collect as you go through life, the ones you can't do without. It sounds like you've found your family of the heart, and have become a cherished member of the clan.

I look forward to hearing more from you, my friend.

SVG

Dougie Donk said...

Mr Jack

My woman tells me that good spirits are drawn together & that any bad bits are just rites of passage. Having read your story, I now think she may have a point.

I am so glad you now have the family you deserve & that Sheaffer has someone to show him how to burn a little energy... that way, he can eat gummy worms & stud muffins without incurring damage :))

ponymaid said...

south valley gal, i give a lotta thot to yer words and i believe yer right. this here place is where im supposta be and it feels reel comfortabul. not one a us looks like another but we all git along good and keep a eye out fer each other. i think that maks us a hart familee like you say.

dougie i heer you had some misadvenchures yerself before landin where ya are. we just gotta focusss on where we are now an enjoy our selves evry minit. sonny boy gotta reel sweet tooth but he dont like his vitimin and minural feed at night so mch. i try to keep a good pace on him evry chanst i git so he wont jest blow and and keel over.

BumbleVee said...

Awwwww Mr. Jack..... it breaks my heart to hear the worst of it...but, at the end I have to remind myself that there are some decent humans too. the wonderful Primrose lady and your woman... honestly, they are the best!! good for them is all I want to say.

I could cheerfully strangle the ones who mistreat any animal and walk away feeling pretty damn proud of myself let me tell ya.... two of the episodes I've had with animal cruelty have produced cops... luckily, they saw things the same way I did.... ..

I'm so happy that your coat is now healthy and shiny.... it looks great. It warms my heart to know that you are having some fun times now and have a great little buddy in Sheaffer..... rock on old guy!

ponymaid said...

bumblevee i know of ya - ya sent that litle grizly fella to help out with the aukshum for the primrose sankshury. he done a good job to. mrs primrose was near tickled ta deth with the proceed that come of it all. i kno i cost a lota money to get renovated up an im sure glad shes aroun to help persons like miself. an im sure glad she got supporters like yerself. keep up yer good werks helpin animals what got no voice fer themselve. i usta worry some when i first come here in case i hadta go away but now i kno i kin live here forevr with the little fella. he needs me ta watch over him.

Finn the Wonder Pony said...

Dear Mr Jack,

Your history is so intense! I can't imagine how awful it must have been for you those many years. Hoolio will live forever in your heart though.

I'm so glad you have found your forever home with Sheaffer, his crew and staff! Your shiny new black coat is most impressive! Proof that you are happy and healthy in your position as Senior Donkey Management. Sometimes Sheaffer does fret a bit too much. Your rasselin' and runnin' should help him quiet his mind a bit... and it may eventually take a gram or two off his weight. (Please don't tell him I said that.)

I've got to sign off now, so I can supervise my woman doing the chambermaid duties. She must take frequent breaks to scratch some fly bites I can't reach; it's an important part of her training. (Yes, training is something we must keep up; humans tend to forget some things if we don't keep reminding them)

Have a great day; thanks for sharing your story with us. It would be great if you could post occasionally with your view of happenings at your residence. You say words aren't a speshulty of yours, but I think you are quite eloquent in your own way.

CLW

ponymaid said...

cindylou you nailed it pritty good on all acounts. i wont never lose site a Hoolio in mi mind fer sure. this is a real good place fer me and i gotta job watching ovr sonny boy so all in all mi days is kep busy. im glad you like mi new coat - i growed it miself. it shines lik a peece a blak glas tho i dont use no hair oil atall. this writin is hard wurk but i mite giv er a go now an then if sonny gives me some room to xpres miself on his blob thing.