What's in the Barn

Another writing prompt inspired short story to make you giggle a little bit.

What's in the Barn?
 

Jacci rolled over in her bed, arm flopping with her. She noticed immediately Brad wasn't there and she sat up with a start. She slid on her slippers and padded across the room and opened the creaky door hoping not to wake anyone up.

Jacci checked the children's rooms. Tina was sleeping soundly, her thumb in her mouth as usual and her bear tucked under her other arm. Billy was snoring softly, his robot tucked in next to him. She checked the bathroom and the guest room, but could not find her husband.

Wandering down the hallway to the stairs she called softly to see if Brad was in the living room. Hmm, she thought. Where is he? She walked slowly down the stairs using only the glow of the nightlight, holding tightly to the railing. Once on the lower level she checked went into the kitchen. The double swinging door swung back and gently patted her backside making her jump. There was a glass, still half-full of milk and the remains of a piece of pie on the table. She chuckled softly as she placed the dishes in the sink.

Brad, she concluded, was just not in the house. Looking out in the yard, she saw his old farm truck was still parked where he left it. The dog was missing, though, and he usually only left the yard when he was following Brad. She finally scanned the corn and soybean fields and then over to the barn. Lights were shining through the windows.

Jacci pulled on her boots and a jacket over her pajamas. She turned on a flashlight and walked across the dew soaked yard to the barn. She opened the door and nearly dropped the flashlight when she saw what he was doing. She broke up laughing as she watched her husband milking the cow at two in the morning. He didn't actually have a bucket; he was just going through the motions. The cow looked annoyed and mooed when she saw Jacci.

"Brad, what are doing?" she said, still laughing.

Brad looked her direction, without blinking and stood, patted the cows flank, and took the imaginary bucket. He walked right past her and out of the barn, turning the light off, leaving Jacci in total darkness.

"It's okay, Bessie; I think he is sleep walking." She turned the light back on and fed the cow some hay and then followed Brad back to the house. When she went inside, she found him back in bed, sound asleep.

Back-to-School Time: Are We Looking at It All Wrong?

We see it every day lately: It's back-to-school time! Sale on now! Buy the latest ______ (fill in the blank). The commercials inundate us at every turn and they use kids to push the point that they should be buying all the coolest clothes, the latest, most up-to-date gadgets, the neatest binders and notebooks (and not necessarily the paper kind). Some communities go pretty much year round, which is another issue altogether, but they still have all these sales in the fall in an effort to make big bucks off of you and to push the 'I'm cooler than you' attitude.

In the schools, kids are excited to go back, at first, but then the 'I don't want to go to school in the first place' kids start up and disrupt classes for those who do. Kids are texting back and forth, which in most schools is actually against school policy to even have a phone in class. (So why are you buying them the most expensive, does-everything phone?) A good many kids take it for granted that they will go to school, like it or not, and a lot of parents are involved enough to help them with their homework. Those who don't, again, is another issue altogether. The kids who take it for granted go along goofing off, sometimes learning in spite of their antics.

Now, flash to other countries where it is not a right to go to school; it is a privilege, and if one goofs off and doesn't participate and do well, they are out and destined to poverty and menial employment if any. Also consider the Middle Eastern countries, such as Pakistan, where the Taliban shot a young woman in the head because she spoke out against not letting women to go to school. That young woman was Malala Yousafzai. She survived the gunshots after surgery in the United Kingdom and months of rehabilitation. Still she fights on. The United Nations honored her bravery on July 14, 2013, and the speech to the United Nations Youth Assembly she gave was astounding. With great passion and eloquence she made a plea for all children, male and female, to be allowed to get an education. In her country schools are burned and the students are killed just for trying to learn. Those children aren't thinking about which clothing or robes, as the case may be, are the coolest, or who has the newest technology. They just want to go to school and learn.

If we look at going to school as a privilege and an education as one of the greatest assets we can give our children, and teach our children to respect the privilege, then we can make real strides in educating our children; not by teaching them to be ultimate consumers of whatever the 'coolest' trend is in blue jeans and tee shirts and electronics.

Watch Malala Yousafzai's speech on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SClmL43dTo