When I was a Junior in high school my parents decided that they were going to get me a steer to show at the fair for my FFA project. My steer (Jingle) was a really pretty Black Angus/Texas Longhorn cross. The people that my parents bought him from spoiled him when he was a baby so he was kind of a pest from the get go. As the fair got closer my dad and I would go out to my uncle’s farm where we were keeping Jingle and take him for a walk on his halter to get him used to the pace we would be going in the arena when we were showing and all the extra fun stuff that went along with getting a fair project ready so they DON’T freak out on you at the fair. The only downside to taking him for his walk was that while we were walking him we had to interact with my uncles heifers also. They liked to tag along on our walks around the cowyard.

On the night that I sustained my rope burn, we were out walking and one of my uncle’s heifer’s was in heat and jumped up on Jingle’s back. This sent him into panic mode. Somewhere between Jingle’s pen in the barn and where he went into panic mode, I managed to get my left hand tangled in his halter. When he took off running trying to get away from the horny heifer I got knocked down and was actually under Jingle….Let me tell you it’s scary when you can count the spots on your fair projects belly! As he was running dragging me along cause I’m caught in the lead on his halter, it kept tightening around my hand. He stopped dragging me when I hit a pile of rocks in the cowyard and jerked to a stop….that’s when Jingle managed to jerk the lead and my skin on my left hand where the lead had been away from me. Trust me it hurt like HECK! He did such a good job that he actually ripped the skin off all the way down to the muscle (that’s what the ER doctor told us anyway)! My aunt happened to be up at her parents house at the time (they share a driveway) so we calle up there and relayed what had happened to her and she came back up to her house and gave me some Tylenol 3, then we called home to let my mom know that I had been injured. Then after my aunt’s dad and my dad got Jingle back into his pen we loaded up the car and headed for home. Promptly upon arrival at our house I was shuffled from my dad’s car to my mom’s car for the journey to the ER.

In the ER I was entertained by an “interesting” version of Cinderella….Complete with gay mice and a Ferrari. Apparently my name was not taken off the board of people who have been “seen” because I saw approximately 5 different ER doctors who just could not grasp the fact that a large farm animal had injured me. Then we got both a doctor and a nurse who raised on farms who “got” how I was injured. The final prognosis after 6 doctors, an “interesting” story, and 4 hours later….was third degree rope burn. I had to have two trips to a plastic surgeon to make sure that there wasn’t any nerve damage from the injury. I was also not allowed to touch Jingle for 2 weeks to keep the risk of infection done.

When I got back to school I fell two weeks behind in my class work because I was unable to write because I had injured the hand that I write with (I’m a lefty), and nobody seemed to even give a crap that I was hurt. Now I was two weeks behind, have a permenant scar on my left hand and people are giving me crap because I wasn’t turning in any home work! Needless to say I spent the last month of my Junior year playing catch up because of this injury….Not fun at all!

And now you know the rest of the story!

Jamie

Tenth Grade

As I sat there in English class,I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called best friend. I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before and I handed them to her. She said “thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love but I’m just too shy and I don’t know why.

Eleventh Grade

The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broken her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn’t want to be alone, so I did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After two hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, and said “thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Senior Year

The day before prom she walked to my locker. “My date is sick” she said; he’s not going to go well. I didn’t have a date, and in seventh grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together just as best friends. So we did. Prom night, after everything was over, I was standing on her front door step. I stared as she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t think of me like that, and I knew it. Then she said “I had the best time. Thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Graduation Day

A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said “you’re my best friend, thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

A Few Years Later

Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married now. I watched her say “I do” and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said “you came” She said “thanks” and kissed me on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

Funeral

Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my best friend. At the service, they read a diary entry she had written in her high school years. This is what it read: I stare at him, wishing he was mine, but he doesn’t notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love him but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me.I wish I did too… I thought to myself, and cried.