"The Grunt of a Pig"
Audra loved sleepovers at her friend Brittany’s house. Not
only were they best friends, but Brittany’s mom made the best lasagna, and
Audra and Brittany could find things to do on the farm that couldn’t be found
elsewhere.
Brittany and her family lived in the country, and her father
owned pigs. Not just a small barnyard-full of pink pigs, but a building that
housed 1,000 hogs. Because that’s what you called them, in that mile-long
building…hogs. Not pigs.
“Would you like to go along to the hog barn this morning?”
asked Brittany’s dad as the girls sat at the breakfast table, slurping milk and
cheerios.
“Mmm…hmmm!” Brittany perked up, knowing this was a rare
occurrence. Seldom were the children allowed to go along to the industrial
barns that bordered the property. They were allowed to gather eggs and other
chores in the small barn close to the garage, but the goings-on in the factory
barns were typically off-limits.
Audra didn’t know what to think. If Brittany was excited,
she probably should be, too. However, those long barns were intimidating from
the road. One couldn’t see inside, to know what was housed there. It seemed
mysterious.
Following breakfast they piled into the pickup and headed to
the hog barn. Once inside the barn, the girls were instructed to put on
knee-high boots and rain slickers. The tiny room hummed with a low level white
noise, as if what was on the other side of the big door held a secret that
might burst forth with a pull of the doorknob.
And it was true! The secret was: One thousand hogs contained in a barn was
deafening, smelly, and scary. Instead of the soft oink that Audra learned pigs
make from her childhood books, these 700 pound hogs squealed and snorted so
loudly the girls couldn’t talk. Audra couldn’t think. She had an overwhelming
urge to escape this chaos.
“Can we leave now?” she shouted to Brittany. Brittany
couldn’t hear her, she was too intent on following her father as he checked
gauges and leaned into pens. Audra felt claustrophobic, if one could feel that
way in a building the size of two football fields.
She ran back to the door where they had pulled on boots not
10 minutes ago. As she threw open the door and it slammed shut, she dissolved
on the floor to relative silence.
Brittany and Audra drifted apart and by high school were
just classmates.
"A Bench"
Julie found a bench in the park and plopped down. She was tired...too tired to continue to search for pine cones. Who thought of this stupid idea, anyway? Using nature in craft projects wasn't fun, in her opinion.
This bench was warmed by the sun, and comfortable. Thank goodness it was recently painted, no dangerous splinters to worry about. Julie felt she could even lay down on it, if necessary. It was just out of view of her classmates, and, for now, Julie wasn't thinking about what may happen if Mrs. Smith blows her whistle and discovers that Julie is the only 6th grader without a single pine cone gathered.
"A Bench"
Julie found a bench in the park and plopped down. She was tired...too tired to continue to search for pine cones. Who thought of this stupid idea, anyway? Using nature in craft projects wasn't fun, in her opinion.
This bench was warmed by the sun, and comfortable. Thank goodness it was recently painted, no dangerous splinters to worry about. Julie felt she could even lay down on it, if necessary. It was just out of view of her classmates, and, for now, Julie wasn't thinking about what may happen if Mrs. Smith blows her whistle and discovers that Julie is the only 6th grader without a single pine cone gathered.
