The Bull's Out!

I was a naïve twelve
or so when Harry Randall’s
folks gave me a job at their little
dairy in western most El Segundo.

It was a small herd
and they had one bull
penned away from the girls
and all I knew was if that beast

got out of his pen,
there was big trouble. He
was one ferocious stud who
scared the hell out of the adults.

I had zero understanding
of what the bull had to do with
the girls producing milk, only that
he was dangerous and seemingly a

threat to our very lives. I
would stand by the thick planks
of his pen and look at him in awe
when I had finished running the bottle

sterilizer, always with a
warning from Oren or Harry’s
father about the steam. In his pen,
he seemed nonthreatening, complacent

even, as if his huge muscled
body would just as soon sleep as
do harm. He was actually beautiful
like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger.

With strong memories on this August 28, 2012