BY JOHN A. SHERRILL

As I sat in my recliner one evening, watching some useless television show, I noticed movement through the picture window out on the front lawn. It was Bessie and Gertrude, the neighborhood cows, taking a stroll.

In North Iredell, this is not a rare occurrence. I live on a fairly busy road, and the “girls” like to take their walk just around dusk.

I’ve been afraid that one of these cows was going to get hit by a car eventually, or worse yet, a tractor-trailer. 

That’s why I was so glad to see local cowboys, Jake Osborne and Connor Brumley, show up last Saturday morning. By the time I knew they were in the neighborhood, they already had Bessie and Gertrude roped and tied, with the help of their horses, Poncho, Bambam and Hayday.

Jake and Connor work for Harward Brothers Livestock Market on Turnersburg Highway. When I say work, I mean it. Cows and horses are large, powerful beasts, but these fellas knew how to handle ’em.

Before Connor took the immobilizing ties from each cow’s legs, Jake made sure that he had a rope around the cow’s neck. Connor then ran that rope through the trailer and out the side where Jake and Poncho waited to “gently persuade” the cow into the trailer.

As I watched the cowboys drive the cattle truck off, I knew Bessie and Gertrude would be okay until I see them again, although that could be at the steakhouse.

Thank God for hard-working young people like Connor and Jake. Keep up the good work!

John A. Sherrill lives in North Iredell.