Like I told you yesterday, we were living on the Stroh place right outside of town. One day Dad went to the sale and came home with a Shetland Pony. Oh, we were in seventh heaven. We had our own horse. Now why we needed a horse is more than Mother could fathom. Years later as I put the pieces together I came to the conclusion that Dad was probably drunk and meant to buy a milk cow since ours had died. In his befuddled mind he decided that we would get more use out of a pony then a cow any way. The mere facts were that my father did not know he had children most of the time and while he did provide for us, the pipe and slippers and kiddies on his knee were not pictures I recall of my childhood. Back in those days, men were not "soft" like they are today and I was not the first nor the last kid in those days to only feel my fathers hand in anger, never love. More about my father in a different blog, when I can deal with it fully.
But all that aside, a horse it was. I remember seeing it unloaded in the moonlight. It was the most beautiful horse I had ever seen and coming down the ramp from the trailer it looked very tall. Daylight would bring many surprises. I could barely sleep that night as Jake and I talked into the night about the wonderful horse our wonderful father had brought us. From sounds drifting into our sleeping area we gathered that Mother was not near as happy as we were.
Morning found us gazing into pen where the horse was. He was spotted and not very tall. He had a long mane and it was spotted too. There was a sort of star looking spot on his forehead so we named him "Star." He came with his own saddle and blanket, but we were not allowed to saddle him or ride him until Dad was there to show us how. We had never been this close to a horseso the chances we could saddle it up and ride away were very slim. Unfortuneately Dad was not feeling well that day, so we only got to stare at the horse through the fence. I think that we thought if we looked at Star long enough he would grow taller. Ever see a Shetland pony? They are by nature much smaller than the big ones we watched Dad work with. See, my Dad was one of the last men in the area to give up the "team of horses" and go to a tractor, but more about that later. This is about Jake and his scar.
Mom and Dad played cards once a week with friends and that evening the friends came and brought there kids and we were left to our own devices. Of course we wanted to show off our new horse, so we gathered at the corral. I do not remember the exact chain of events, but I do recall the chaos that followed. Jake was always curious and tonight and the showing off for the kids was no exception. I remember the kids all screaming and Jake holding his face as blood squirted every where from his right cheek. Very quickly Mother and Jake were loaded in the back seat of the car and the couple visiting whisk them off the 11 miles to Hutchinson and the nearest medical attention.
I do remember being so afraid that Jake would die. We were sent to our beds and the visiting children were made pallets in the front room. I surely drifted off, because some time in the night Jake woke me up to show me his bandaged face. I cried. He had been such a handsome boy and now he had this horrible injury and he would carry the scar the rest of his life.
Over the next few weeks the story of what really occured that night in the moonlight came out in bits and pieces. Dad was going to shoot the horse and Jake confessed that maybe it was not all the horse's fault. Seems one of the boys visiting "dared" Jake to creep up with a stick and "goose" the horse. The horse reacted just like one would expect a horse to react and kicked backwards at the offending stick. Jake just happened to be on his hands and knees right behind the horse. And no one could see that coming?
Over the days and weeks ahead Jake slowly healed. Star remained in the corral because we were all afraid of him. Sometimes I would try to pet him and he would let me. Dad did finally saddle him and ride, but the horse was way to short for Dad. Josephine finally ended up riding him most. She would put us on his back and give us a ride around the yard, but we were always terrified that Star would kick us so that was really not much fun. I do not know if you know about Shetland Ponies, but they are mean by nature and I think they were looking right at Star when they wrote that definition.
So, my dear brother carried a very ugly scar on his right cheek until the day he died, but no one seemed to notice. He was such a charamatic kid that the scar never mattered. Nothing could have detracted from the personality that was my brother. And why am I telling you about him today?
Today is October 29, 2012. On October 29, 1965 I lived in Garden City, Kansas. I had two daughter's ages 2 & 3 years old. I had a daughter who would turn 1 year old tomorrow. I had a son who was 25 days old. Tomorrow would be my 5th wedding anniversary. And today, October 29, 1965, my brother, Jake, was returning home from a day at work and the driver of the pick up he was riding in went through a stop sign near McPherson, Kansas and ran into the side of a loaded gravel truck.
Tomorrow I would not have parties; tomorrow I would travel to McPherson, Kansas to visit my brother as he lay comatose in a hospital bed with his right leg kicking as if to apply the brake. He would not know I was there. He would not know my mother sat by his bed from the moment he was brought there. Or would he? I like to think that on some level he knew.
He died early the next morning....Halloween.
My dear brother, Jake
Delbert Leroy Bartholomew
10/ 4/ 1937-10/31/1965
