Around the Bluhmin’ Town: We all need a little help finding our way

Have you ever been lost? Yes, I guess at some time or another most of us have taken a wrong turn, had trouble reading a map, or just gotten mixed up about where we are headed.

Being a realtor and often in rural areas, sometimes I find that street signs do not exist, landmarks change (the big tree where you are supposed to make your left turn looks the same as every other tree) and GPS works best in cities that are neatly platted out.

Imagine my surprise while driving on a dirt road (lost) and finding an old, black horse standing in the middle of the two-lane goat path. He looked as bewildered to see me as I was to see him. Evidently, he did not think I belonged there, because he made no effort to move. A roadblock of the strangest kind.

Pulling over to the side, I stopped and got out. The horse stood his ground, just sizing me up as I carefully approached him. He was pretty thin, well mannered and seemed curious, if not happy to see me.

Looking around, I pondered where the big fella came from. Not normal for a horse to be standing in the middle of a road with no one else around. About three hundred feet to the north, I noticed a driveway and walked, gently resting my hand on the horse’s backside, as together we headed up a long, narrow dirt drive leading to an old ranch house.

The black horse and I got up the driveway and we both stood still for a moment, while an elderly man ran out from the garage with arms open like he might hug me. Well, he did embrace his horse and for a few minutes seemed confused, then asked what I was doing here with Rocky.

When I said that I found Rocky standing in the middle of the road, the man looked shocked. He said, “Rocky is 34 years old and has arthritis, doesn’t eat much and barely walks any more. He usually just stands by my back porch or in his barn. He hasn’t walked this far in two years.” Clearly the man was flabbergasted, and then chuckled, saying that he better be sure to close his gates.

There might be another type of “lost.” A lady emailed me to say that she was married for forty-five years and every day “knew what to do.” When her husband died, she said she “drifted” for one year, with no particular reason or goal to do anything, except the basic chores of daily living. It can happen to us at any age.

A loved-one is snatched away too soon and we become bereft, struggling to find that new “normal” when all we really want is to go back to that place in time where we were before. This begs the question, can we be in the most familiar of places, yet be completely lost?

Life is one heck of a journey. Lost? It happens. Grab a compass, Dear Readers, because there might be times when we need a little help finding our way.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Have a comment or a story? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.