can't we all just get along

Aug. 2012    i am here to tell you that if you have to slow down for a tractor hauling equipment, or hay or a trailer of livestock, or if you have to stop for cows to be moved down the road this is not to annoy you, make you late for work, or pretty much just tick you off. it is part of our job. we are so careful to try to do these things at the right time of the day. we are careful to move off the road when we see you coming. we are careful to move our cows as quickly and SAFELY as possible and to get you on your way as soon as we can. when we move cows we always wait until the normal morning rush hour is over. we don't stop the traffic until the very last possible minute. and when we do stop it is for mere minutes at a time. we have had the unpleasant antics of idiots too many times to name but i am reminded of a couple. while moving cows one morning on the road our business is on.... where you see cows all the time...... speed limit signs there for a reason.... cow crossing signs are there for a reason... we had the traffic stopped with proper orange vests and orange flags. well "mr. i have to get to work" comes high tailing up to the stop point and sees what we are doing. first of all he should not be leaving for work at 8:45, i would have loved to have been able to tell him that we started our job at 6:30 that morning and had already been working 2 hours before he even left for work. second he should not be blaming us for him being late when he probably left later than he was supposed too. and third i just really don't think his "bread is done" if you know what i mean. anyway, he proceeded to go around the stop point, cussing at our flag man (who just happened to be one of mine) and gunned his engine spinning out and making the cows spook. he then ran some of our cows into the fence tearing through and mixing with other cows. therefore producing more work for us. he continued down to the other stopping point for the cars coming from the other way and "flipped off" and cussed at the other flagman (another one of mine). needless to say we were mad, no not mad, we were very ANGRY. someone could have got hurt and public idiot number one did not give a flip. we did get a plate number and tried to take some action but not a lot can be done. we now have a sheriff deputy come when we move cows to keep things like that from happening.  we have seen "our friend" a few times since and he always gives us that middle finger wave. i just pray for him. he needs it, there is no way he has any friends or a good life. he has to be completely miserable all the time. Jesus don't like behavior like that and i say forget karma.... Jesus will take care of it and He will take care of us. i have always been told it is okay to clench your teeth and fists and say "God bless him!!!"  i have to say that the majority of the people we come in contact with on these occasions are so nice. they are intrigued by the cows and sometimes even take pictures and ask questions. to all of those people we thank you and appreciate your patience. we really so try to make it go as smooth and quickly as possible. we have had cows get out at night before and that is really scary. we have to try to get them back in the dark and some people won't even slow down when they see weird lights at night. we have had some close calls. some people are just idiots and are not aware of their surroundings. all we ask is that you respect us doing our job just as we respect you doing yours. so next time to get behind that slow tractor try to be patient and give that driver time to get out of your way, i promise he wants to make it as easy for you as he can. and if you see a pile of cows heading down a road there is a method to the madness, and there is a reason for it. everything works on a cycle. fields get planted and harvested and re-planted. tractors and equipment have to be moved from one place to another, cows get moved from one pasture to another and unfortunately they are sometimes on opposite sides of the road. there is a plan and as complicated as it sometimes seems....  it always comes down to the fact that occasionally we all just got to stop, be still, breath,  and smell the roses ....  or in our case the cow poop.