Come Boss!

I met my ex-wife and best friend today for lunch over at one of our favorite restaurants, a little American Mex place in A – frame building we probably been going to for almost 30 years. However, as great as the afternoon was that is not what this blog is about today. The restaurant is in our old neighborhood which means I take the bus and train to get there. But I got on the bus this morning a grand and curlyhaired South Sea Islander driver said, “what's up Boss, where are we going today?” I was intrigued because at the next bus ride the driver almost said the same thing. When I first noticed this interesting salutation I thought it was kind of cute but then I began to realize in many ways the drivers I think are serious when they address me as “boss” . It's as if these guys are recognizing the fact that everybody on the bus pays his salary and they are respectful on that level. I mean, I don't really believe these guys are kowtowing to the bus riders but still it's kind of interesting to me anyway. I kind of like it.

As the diver fastened me down to the bus I begin pondering about the term boss and now I used it in my life. I was intrigued as a kid when we moved out to the farm that we had actually a cow by the name of “Boss” a great big brown and white Guernsey. I'd never thought about her name but she was the oldest of our little heard in fact she was the boss of our little heard. In the mornings, and evenings, before milking you actually sing out from the corral by the milk barn “come boss, come boss are co-boss, co boss”. And forever the cows were in the morning are in the afternoon, many times at the far end of the pasture, Boss would shake her head and begin wandering up towards the barn. Boss was the boss and the other cows knew this. She led the way I never really noticed that until I thought about it today. There were seven or eight cows over that period of time that I milked but never any more than five at one time. Big old lumbering beasts that you had the love if you pent as much time with them as I did anyway. For the most part these beasts were docile and just wanted to be milked, treated fairly and have enough grain and paid to be happy in the place to sleep that was warm and dry.