CHAMPAIGN, IL (CHAMBANA TODAY)-The winds continue to blow across the prairie, and in the spring, it seems to not ever want to stop. The lane can be bitter and biting in the spring when the wind blows hard, and you better learn at a young age how to put an extra “twist-lock” on your hat, or it will end up in the next county. This year is of no exception, the cold brutal wind has blown for what seems to be 20 straight years and never seems to let up.
The lane was used for many purposes during the spring. From putting up an electric fence across the pasture so we can graze the cattle in rotation, and of course, making sure the fence is working. One of the times when young, my grandfather showed me how to test the electric fence while out in the field. You simply lay the back of your hand on the fence and the electric charge will throw your hand and arm off the fence. Now if you slip up and grab it, you will feel the eclectic pulse of a “week chopper” electric fence that will knock you on the ground and turn your arm momentarily into mush. Now the next generation was with me long ago, and I was passing on the information to my young son who had walked up the lane with me to check cows. I showed him how to test the fence by laying the back of my hand on the fence and Bingo, the charge threw my hand right off the wire. Now it was my young son’s turn. Now a small young son is always a little hesitant in what he does, as the dad, granddad, and great granddad had always said, “Be careful and watch yourself”. My son did exactly that and as he laid his hand on the fence, it threw his hand right into his face, and his nose began to bleed like a “stuck hog” (Now that’s farmer talk that came from butchering day on the farm). Well, needless to say, I grabbed by handkerchief and held it on his nose as I swept him up in my arms and headed for the house. Some crying was heard by my wife as we came around the corner of the tool shed, and when she saw the handkerchief …..oh my…..came pretty close to being divorced that day.
You see, even though it was innocent, and a part of learning, there wasn’t a day that my son didn’t re-tell the story any time we walked up the lane, regardless of the reason.
This spring is no different than those of the past. In my dad’s and granddad’s diary, they talk about the winds blowing, the chill in the air, the putting up fence in the pastures, and the preparation of the fields to plant another year’s crop. Now, in my diary? You betta know the testing of the electric fence was there for the spring. And even though my wife and sweetheart are gone, I will never forget the look on her face, that morning of the fence test. Later on, I’ll explain many of the trips that my sweet wife and I took “Up the Lane”. The reasons, the outcomes, the decisions made, and the prayers said together will remain in the fabric of “the lane”. My memory, and the diary.