Although we really like the vet we use now, we still miss Flick. He was a past wrestler. He was quiet, calculating and kind. When he was dying of cancer he stopped by after-hours to treat a cow who had “wooden tongue” on his way to see his son play ball.

When I saw this picture it reminded me of the time he pulled a hip-locked calf and the heifer’s uterus followed the calf out into a mud puddle. Flickenger meticulously washed that uterus and pushed it back into the cow (now a cow). It weighed about a hundred pounds and the intricate nature of the thing made the cleaning process excruciating. I doubt he did it for the money. He did it for the same reason Ed Snowden exposed our fascist dictatorship for what it is, because it was the right thing to do.

An article in a farm magazine stated Iowa State recommends that any heifer that prolapses should be euthanized. This should indicate what public education is worth. It is worth doubting. That heifer was put in the fat lot. And later, after feeding her along with the other cattle, she was sold at the Waverly Sale. Her group of five brought top dollar out of 600 other heifers.

Our kids were encouraged to join 4-H  but we told them they should stay home and learn to raise livestock to suit the market, not judges from the university. The market knows best.