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Chapter 30
One beautiful Sedona
day blended into the next for the next few weeks as Ream perfected his
riding. Clouds floated across the sky, constantly changing faces, while
the memory of Sally faded into their midst.
Ream had dedicated
himself to his own resurrection through riding Biff. His wounded spirit
was like a fledgling bird ready to leave the nest. The embers from an extinguished
fire had been rekindled into a delicate flickering flame.
In mid-June Ream invited
Bob Howard to see his progress. Bob arrived at Ream's cabin and Mrs. Mead
gave him directions and a picnic lunch of Buffalo chicken and potato salad
to take to Gus's.
As he drove up, Gus
was working with Ream in the arena which was a large fenced pen. It was
a sight Bob could hardly believe. One of those "you have to see it to believe
it" moments. More to be beheld and marveled about than to be scrutinized
and digested.
Guided by walkie talkie,
Ream rode down the center of the arena. Gus had placed six foot poles
standing in coffee cans of cement for anchors. Ream weaved his way through
the poles which were placed about 20 feet apart without touching any of
them and appearing for all the world as a sighted rider. It was magnificent.
As he circled the last
pole, Ream brought Biff into a trot and returned through the standing poles
at this gait. He then urged Biff into a canter and made another pass.
Bob remarked they ought
to put it to music. "It really belongs with the spirit of the bag pipes,"
said Bob as he took his bagpipes from the trunk of his car. Gus approached
Biff taking two pieces of red knitting yarn from his pocket. He tied one
to each side of the bit. He told Ream to lay the reins behind the saddle
horn as he handed him the strands of yarn to be used as reins. ""OK,"
said Gus. "Remember we talked about using a piece of thread instead of
the reins? Let's try it using some knitting yarn." Ream smiled, knowing
his riding skill was in place and solid.
Ream and Biff began
the exercise again; Bob's bagpipes resonating at the far end of the arena.
They rode at an elegant trot. Biff was guided more by Ream's instinct,
than by his pulling on the make-shift reins. They rode as one, sensing,
feeling each other intuitively, the red yarn reins held slack. Stirring
small red dust clouds, they glided with music from the bagpipes underlying,
resonating all in glory.
Ream rode Biff in a
series of refined maneuvers, graceful serpentines, and slow swirls, weaving
through the arena. There were prancing pivots, and sharp turns around traffic
cones at the end of the arena. The red rocks towered around them like a
great sleeping tabernacle.
All the while the ride
was being choreographed by Gus from a distance, sounding like he was an
army drill sergeant. Next came skip-hops to twirls, roll backs, and slow
serpentine arcs. Gus spoke crisp directions into Ream's headset, Spin left;
Shape right, GO; medium swirl left, GO; glide 3/4 right, GO.
Ream was so occupied
with his new found skill, he had not recognized the quantum leaps of progress
he had made. "Whoa," spoke Gus, finally.
The pieces of the puzzle
fit together. There were the elements for the Cowboy Poets' entry into
the 4th of July Parade. Ream asked Bob if he would join them in the parade,
and Bob agreed.
Gus remarked the whole
thing seemed more like the living answer to a prayer than marching in a
parade. Struck with this emotion and the beauty of the moment, Gus made
a great decision.
He turned to Ream and
said, "The way you two ride, I think Biff really belongs more to you than
he does to me. I'd like for you to have him. To me Biff is a very special
horse, but to you, he is your soul brother. Your owning him allows you
to give him more than I can."
Gus smiled softly and
winked a wet eye at Bob Howard who said, "You know Ream, you should do
some exhibitions with Biff; maybe there are others who would be inspired
by it. I have a couple of classes at the university you should talk with.
Might give you something to do with your life."
"Thank you," said Ream
simply. He couldn't find words to go beyond it. Then he walked away
a few paces with Biff to be alone, and bowed his head in silence.
Bob turned to Gus and
said,"You'll give that horse away, yet I bet you wouldn't sell him."
"That's right," said
Gus.
"Some say everything
is for sale," said Bob.
"Had one of those corporate
boys try it on me one time. Offered to make me inside manager of the Circle
J Ranch, since I'd gone to the university. Said if I would change
my ways, work like a city fella indoors, he would give me hospitalization
insurance, a new truck, get my teeth fixed, and double my wages, but I
would have to give up my Arab horse.
Said a cowboy couldn't
afford a rich man's toy."
"What did you tell
him, Gus?"
"No thank you,
and forever no thank you."
"Sounds like you've
found things more important than money."
"Don't have much use
for money beyond the freedom it gains. If you have more, you start solving
problems by throwing money at em. Pretty soon it starts takin' the place
of what's real, pacifying you, like a horse feeding on loco weed."
"You mean you
don't want any more than what's necessary to have peace of mind, and to
live simply?"
"That's right, got
to earn it the hard way, to learn how much is enough. If you don't,
the success you have doesn't belong to you, it owns you. I don't
play the lottery because I might win. A little poker is OK, but start filling
your world with fancy things, and you'll miss livin' cause you've got yourself
cluttered up with junk."
"I'm beginning to understand
what makes a cowboy so free."
"Better off drinking
out of a tin cup, and enjoying the company of a good wood burning stove
in a log cabin. One with a window so you can see the flames flickering
and the embers glowing."
"I'd say that's what's
real, but it isn't for everybody. A lot of people prefer TV. But I'm still
curious, why would you give Biff away?"
"Seems like Biff
was a missing part of Ream. Some things you just do, even when there ain't
no reason, just heart and soul. Maybe it has somethin' to do with
life occasionally giving you a chance to be a saint. You might say it's
a golden moment." Sorry
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