During my 10-13 age years, we owned several horses that would occasionally escape from their enclosure, necessitating my father rush home from his medical clinic to corral them. In the process, he would become fatigued, hot, sweaty, and his business attire would get tattered and dirty for return to his office to see patients. This ordeal was expensive and annoying.
Over a period of about 15 years, I repeatedly told this story to friends and associates around the Orlando, Florida area. My office manager, Ellen, heard me tell this story numerous times. The last time I told it, I inadvertently changed the story from “… several horses that would occasionally escape…” to “… several horses and cattle that would occasionally escape… ”
Ellen noticed this inconsistency and later pulled me aside and interrogated me.
Ellen:
I’ve heard you tell that story many times, and I’m certain that you have never before included any mention of cattle. In fact, as long as I’ve known you and heard stories about your family, you’ve never said anything about your family owning cattle. Did your family really own cattle when you lived in Texas?
Ken:
Yes.
Ellen:
So how many head of cattle did your family own?
Ken:
One.
Ken (age ~13) and his younger siblings with their pet, Gumdrop: After he grew much larger, we butchered Gumdrop and dined on him daily for about six months. Each evening we would ask our parents, “Are we having Gumdrop tonight?”
Poor Gumdrop 😢…
English is a wonderful language.