ACCESS ADVENTURE VOLUNTEER

"Come on out to Rush Ranch" my wife, Brenda, kept telling me. Little did I know that when I started following her out to the Ranch that most of these experiences would serve to remind me of some of Life’s Lost Little Lessons, and help me to reconnect with what is really important, and what really matters.

"Come on out to Rush Ranch, and don’t wear your good boots" Brenda tells me. It’s my introduction to “manure management”. I’m told it’s extremely critical work, and not everyone can do it well. Sounds kind of important I’m thinking, Hey, I can do this, I’m used to “management”. Regardless of your title or station in life; whether you’re a prince or pauper; rich man or poor, this particular ranch “management” activity is a great equalizer. Just how important can you think yourself when you’re slip-sliding behind one of God’s noblest creatures with a giant fork, just picking up his, excuse me, poop? Heavy on the manure side, and real light on the management end I’m now thinking. It finally dawns on you that one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who’s the important creature in this arrangement, and just who is managing whom.

As I spend more time out at the ranch, hanging out around the blacksmith shop, barn, and orchards I can’t help but notice all of the old tools and farm equipment and other implements that remain scattered around the ranch. For now my lesson is just learning about and connecting to the world of my fathers, and all those who came before me.

Access Adventure is surely a good thing for Brenda’s daughter, Libby, and for many others with mobility issues. The doors it opens for these folks are a blessing. Access Adventure and Rush Ranch are particularly good for grumpy old men like me. I’m learning to slow down and to listen more. I’m learning to stop thinking so much about myself, to care more for the needs of others, and to appreciate the life that I have, gifts I’ve been blessed with, and the opportunity available to me through this program to simply do something good for others. My life is much less boring than it had become, and it once again seems new and exciting and altogether more interesting. Much like it was so many years ago when I looked at it through the eyes of a child, and had no fear. And this is a good thing.

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