Coyote Calling

	MENSIGHT Magazine
		COYOTE CALLING
	A continuing series of stories & commentary by Coyote.

		COYOTE ARCHIVE Dick Prosapio aka, Coyote is a member of the TMC Advisory Council, ceremonialist, psycho- therapist (ret.), author, leader of men's experiential workshops, & Co-founder of The Foundation for Common Sense. He lives with his wife and daughter in Stanley, NM For more info about Dick Prosapio, visit his web-site: Spirit/ Earth Path		Moovin' on and Movin' Out by Dick Prosapio © 2007 With teens, gone, living in the Land of Oz is more idyllic and softer. Or at least, it seems that way on the surface. But hey, what's wrong with "superficials" anyway? I mean I liked leather seats in my Miata, and that weird and wonderful, two-color paint job that turned blue when viewed from one direction and emerald green from another. And beneath those surface niceties a very fine Mazda engine and smooth shifting five speed transmission and responsive handling.yeah, that was nice. Of course the reality is that I sold the Miata 'cause it rode like a brick on New Mexico's cheap composite highways, but I do still have the memories of the fantasy part. By the way I've noticed that this fancy-dancin' with reality is also the secret of the attraction of porn for guys. Who would really want to get involved with any of those performers in a one-to-one relationship? The "shine" would be nice but the ride would prove very unsettling long term. Even short term. Besides being done with up-close-and-personal child rearing our realities here on the range have shifted quite a bit in another area. For the first time in fifteen years, we do not have to consider The Cattle. Except for the finished product sort in a "free-range, no-steroid sirloin" or a really good hamburger we no longer have to do the cow chasing routine. Why? Because our cow punchin' neighbor to the east of us has fenced off our land. This is a very big WOW! because here in New Mexico, and probably in any other state that has been run by the ranch faction since statehood, the law is, if you don't want cattle-in-your-face.fence-'em-out. It's cattle country after all, not people country. But our, very good, neighbor to the east saw that to keep his cattle anywhere nearby he was going to have to repair miles and miles of broken fences all across his pasture land. Putting one fence up, a long straight line that only runs about a mile north and south, keeps 'em all on his landthe solution was simple. Fence 'em in! All these years of cattle driving strategy on our part; including, but not limited to; hurled fireworks, bottle rockets launched horizontally in bazooka-like attacks, .22 pistol firing, drum beating (more effective than any of the aforementioned) truck chasing, whooping and yelling.we finally get "gifted" with just what we needed all along, one long fence. Now we can sleep all night and go away any time and not worry about coming home to a decimated garden, smashed downspouts, and six inch deep cattle prints everywhere. Not to mention the "pies" of course. But then that is part of the flavor of country living. By the way, our cow chasing dog never did. He thinks they are very BIG dogs and doesn't want to mess with 'em. Anyway it's over with the cows."steers" actually. The latest variety, after years of mostly Black Angus and Charollis, are the rangy Mexican types. When they fatten up they look like Long Horns, which, in case you're not up on your cattle, are really very nice to look at and brighter than those Old World breeds introduced to the west when big, fat "beef" was all it was about. Now that "organic" has come into vogue, and Long Horns have become the subjects of watercolors, we see a higher class of beef on the range. Meanwhile, the free range teens are learning all their lessons the only way possible, from Life. This is much better than close-up parenting and I'm pretty good at it from a distance. It's not nearly as physical and there's no door slam emphasis from them at the end of the "advice" part. And no "up-yours" turn up of that pounding stuff they call "music" emanating from their caves for hours on end either. Regarding the Miata, we have a neighbor who has told us she will lend us hers whenever we want to put that fantasy to rest again. If we could find a smooth road around here I'd do it. In the meantime, we'll cruise to town in our Tundra and maybe get a good organic salmon for the grill. I'm kind of over the beef thing for awhile. Dick Prosapio ©2007, All Rights Reserved CoyoteCall@spinn.net