BABIRUSA

I remember one neo-pubescent August dawn. The thundering of a train about to break through the bedroom wall shattered my dreams. What a heartstopping sound that yanked me out of my bed in the wee hours. It took me some chest thumping moments to realize that the nearest traintracks were four mile off. Faint whistle whispers wafted through the dead of night occasionally. This was another matter altogether.

The sound of the hogs squealing to beat the band set my feet into motion. There was something surreal about the monstrous livestock truck laying on its back, wheels still spinning, filling up our yard. I stood in my nightie, watching the sleepy eyed driver crawl through the window of the cab, cursing a blue streak.

His story cracked off in chunks. "…Up all night loading prize hogs at the state fair…" They are running as fast and as far as their little legs will take them, in all directions. "Must've fallen asleep….." eyeballing the guardrail he had ripped through, and the embankment that had flipped his rig. "Holy shit, my boss is gonna KILL me…" He looked as if he were hoping it was a bad dream.

The early morning calm had been transformed instantly to adrenaline laden chaos. To six kids living an isolated country existence, this was a reprieve from the mundane. Add the County Sheriff, lights flashing, radio crackling, brass badge gleaming, holster bulging. Wow.

I guess my parents had a different view of things. "No, you can't chase the pigs." "Stay away from the truck." "Get back here." "I SAID GET BACK HERE!!!" "Leave that poor man alone..." We were every bit as excited as those hogs.

That was the first time I ever saw a grown man cry, when he called his boss. The Grand Champion Boar had been crushed beneath the trailer. It took all day to put the truck right, catch & load the livestock, mend the guardrail.

And I sat vigil with that boar, watching it swell in the hot August sun, waiting for the rendering people to come. It took on gargantuan proportions. People driving past slowed to a crawl and gawked at this pig the size of a hippopotamus. I guess if it had taken much longer, the poor thing would have exploded. They stuck it in the gut and it made a funny sound and spewed pink foam and a smell you only want to smell once, a smell that changes you forever.

~finis~