{"id":1359,"date":"2023-06-24T17:41:03","date_gmt":"2023-06-25T01:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/?p=1359"},"modified":"2023-06-24T17:48:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-25T01:48:20","slug":"a-family-of-bobcat-wranglers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/?p=1359","title":{"rendered":"A Family of Bobcat Wranglers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This story might be a miniature version of a braided essay, there being at least three major strands to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, let us establish what I mean by Bobcat. I refer not to the 30-odd pound wild feline, but instead to the small-by-comparison piece of heavy equipment. Like this guy, which picture I found on eBay:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Second, let\u2019s establish the backstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 1980\u2019s my husband and I worked summers at a landscaper\/tree nursery in Anchorage, Alaska. Scott worked on the hydro seeder, and I spent my days pruning, watering, and repotting plants. And<\/em> driving a Bobcat, similar to the one you see above. Although no pictures of me engaged in this pursuit have come into my purview, I recall that I got pretty good at it. A Bobcat is a type of skid steer, which name references the fact that the operator can turn in an extra-tight circle by dragging the outside wheels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During these summers I spent some of my down time writing silly poems about my co-workers and bosses. My boss Peggie encouraged me to write them up and illustrate them. We produced a limited-edition chapbook which Peggie cleverly named \u201cNursery Rhymes.\u201d And not to be outdone, Peggie contributed this little gem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Here\u2019s a song about Bobcat Ev,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              And how she made her motor rev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Through the nursery she would fly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Under Peggie\u2019s watchful eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              You\u2019d think she had a souped-up Chev!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I learned a few years ago that Peggie had died, I dug through old pictures until I found this treasure, taken in Anchorage in the summer of 1987. It shows you that, besides appreciating my technical skills, Peggie also liked my puppy-tails. I of course would have called this particular hairdo \u201cponytails,\u201d but whatever, Peggie was Peggie, and puppy-tails they were. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Third, let us introduce my son Brooks, who has in his young life heard the above story a time or two, and who has recently entered the world of heavy-equipment operators. He is currently on the job in Ketchikan, Alaska. I texted him recently to ask him how his week was going, and he responded with just two words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Bobcat Brooks.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that\u2019s my cue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Here\u2019s a song about Bobcat Brooks;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              He\u2019s got the style, he\u2019s got the looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Through the streets of Ketchikan,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              He\u2019s always there to lend a hand,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Repairing the roads by hook or by crook!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the beat goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This story might be a miniature version of a braided essay, there being at least three major strands to it. First, let us establish what I mean by Bobcat. I refer not to the 30-odd pound wild feline, but instead to the small-by-comparison piece of heavy equipment. Like this guy, which picture I found on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings-about-language-and-life"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1359"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1366,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1359\/revisions\/1366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rightasrainonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}