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When A Bull Calf Takes Charge l Besides the farm my parents owned, my father also ran an implement business. He sold tractors, combines, disks, plows, and every other conceivable item used in the farming industry. Sales had been slow one year, and, though Dad wanted to give bonuses to his employees to show appreciation for their loyalty and hard work, there just wasn’t anything more that could be squeezed out of the budget. But the mechanic, Jed, who worked for my father, did have a small pasture behind his house that had grass growing about a foot deep. The neighbors had complained about it, and Jed had even been given a citation from the local authorities for not keeping the weeds down. This gave my dad an idea. He asked Jed if, as a bonus, he would like to have a calf to eat down the grass. Dad suggested Jed raise the calf for meat for his family. “I’m not sure the fence would hold him,” Jed answered. “And I don’t know the first thing about calves or fixing fence.” “No problem,” my father answered. “I’ve got a son that can help there.” 39