I used to participate in an Utne Reader "Salon" or less formally, a discussion group, in the '90s. It was a philosophically diverse group; although primarily white men; who met once a month, rotating discussion leaders among the participants. Topics ranged from political to theoretical; science fiction to spiritual. We met at the same place each month: the home of Bob, a retired government employee with advanced diabetes that was slowly taking his eyesight and mobility, but not his irrepressable spirit. Because there were 2 other Bobs and a couple of Eds who attended regularly, I sometimes called it the BobandEd group.
Once, when it was my turn to pick the topic, I asked the group to describe an experience that had impacted their view of the world: perhaps something that had formed a base for future decisions or beliefs. I had a story in mind of my own to tell, but was taken by surprise at the similarity to it in one of the stories shared in the group. One of the Eds was a mid-sixties Jewish doctor and gentleman farmer. He related how one day he and his wife were out mending fences in a pasture where he kept several cows. One had recently given birth to a calf. As they were busily working, this new mother began to moo repeatedly at them. Each time they would look up in her direction, she would turn and walk away from them. After several instances of this, his wife said, "I think she wants us to follow her." The doctor was dubious, but after a few more times, he realized that the mooing sounds were becoming more agitated and desperate sounding and that her calf was no where around. They decided to follow the cow. She moved quickly over a small hill, to a spot in the pasture where an old well had been covered over with lumber. As the 2 walked closer, they began to hear what he described as crying, coming from the old well. Her calf had fallen into the well and could not get out. They were able to rescue the calf and reunite mother and baby.
Dr. Ed, being a man of science, related how he had never believed that farm animals were sentient beings. This cow changed his mind.
Once, when it was my turn to pick the topic, I asked the group to describe an experience that had impacted their view of the world: perhaps something that had formed a base for future decisions or beliefs. I had a story in mind of my own to tell, but was taken by surprise at the similarity to it in one of the stories shared in the group. One of the Eds was a mid-sixties Jewish doctor and gentleman farmer. He related how one day he and his wife were out mending fences in a pasture where he kept several cows. One had recently given birth to a calf. As they were busily working, this new mother began to moo repeatedly at them. Each time they would look up in her direction, she would turn and walk away from them. After several instances of this, his wife said, "I think she wants us to follow her." The doctor was dubious, but after a few more times, he realized that the mooing sounds were becoming more agitated and desperate sounding and that her calf was no where around. They decided to follow the cow. She moved quickly over a small hill, to a spot in the pasture where an old well had been covered over with lumber. As the 2 walked closer, they began to hear what he described as crying, coming from the old well. Her calf had fallen into the well and could not get out. They were able to rescue the calf and reunite mother and baby.
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