We hope everyone is finding their own way to cope with this summer heat. May it pass quickly. You know it is bad when it is so hot that the schools do not let the children outside for recess. Many thanks to the various candidates that have dutifully gathered up their campaign signs. Silerton Baptist Church sang happy birthdays to Mary Lynn Lambert and Desmond Tidwell. Prayers are requested for Grady Stack as he continues his treatment.
Gwen Lindley enjoyed the recent visit from her daughter Robbie Understellar from Cincinnati, Ohio. Robbie accompanied Joe Stack to Muskegon, Mich., for the funeral of Joe’s bother-in-law, Dave Reagan.
Jennifer Wilson has opened the Wilson Family Cafe in Toone. She is pleased with the progress of her new business adventure. If you are in the Toone area, the cafe is across from the Kilgore plant. She would appreciate your business and promises tasty food.
On the goat front: A reunion (of sorts). Joe Stack, Silerton’s preeminent goat farmer, was called away on family business last week, putting Marcus Fry back into the never boring world of goat tending. Before Joe left, the herd was reduced from over 30 to a very manageable seven. Anything under 10 is almost a pleasure to deal with. Almost. Marcus and the remaining goats reminisced about the good ol’ days and the goats that are no longer with us. We remembered the old alpha buck and all the others. We were especially pained by the absence of Maverick (yes, you read that right – Maverick, a surprisingly fitting name), the miniature goat. Dare I say Silerton’s mascot? While Maverick was an adorable fellow, he was also rather mischievous and had more than a little bit of the devil in him. Enough of the devil in him to match his miniature horns. He was also rather bright, sometimes too bright, which led to his eventual downfall (e.g., he already had a well-established reputation as a gate opener). Besides constantly and stealthily insinuating himself to always be first at the feeding trough, he also had the very annoying habit of sliding between your legs, either to be first in line for anything, to attempt to trip us while carrying the food bucket or just to mess with you. It also did not help Maverick’s case that he obviously had absolutely zero fear of humans. Being so bright, it was also strongly suspected – though to be fair no concrete proof was found – that he would conspire with the other less bright but bigger goats to create chaos and mayhem. Funny how animal interactions can sometimes mimic human interactions. So after several last straws, it was decided that Maverick’s time had come to get acquainted with the auction block at the Scotts Hill Stockyard. To show that goat farmers are not heartless, Maverick and the others were told they were going to be auctioned off to a children’s petting zoo.
