Faulkner
Member
Another intriguing incident a few weeks ago to add to the Faulkner Files:
This summer has been uncharacteristically less hot (can't exactly say cool) than normal in the Arkansas Ozarks, and wetter too. The flooding in the Arkansas River valley earlier in the summer had a detrimental impact on some home owners in the flood prone areas, and row crop farmers have certainly suffered. But those of us who cut hay have had a banner year. During hot, dry summers we usually get one good hay crop. Some years, we get lucky and can squeeze in a second cutting before the first frost if the weather is hot or dry, but not both. This year, many of us are about to embark on a rare third hay cutting for one season.
Another consequence of this years' less dry and less hot weather is we've experienced a lot more foggy mornings. I'm telling you, there's hardly anything more beautiful in nature than the sun breaking through across the rolling hills on a foggy morning in the Ozarks. Unfortunately, foggy mornings also can create travel hazards on the roadway from time to time, especially when folks don't slow down like they should. You never know when you might round a curve and find someone's livestock or a deer or elk standing in the road on a foggy morn.
It was one of these foggy mornings recently I was dispatched to a call that came in not long before 8:00 AM.
"S.O. to Unit 4"
"Unit 4 to S.O., I'm on Rooster Bottoms Road, go ahead."
"S.O. to Unit 4, need you to proceed to the Red Angus Farm out on Route 17. John Allison Jr made the call but he said you need to see old man Allison Sr. Got a report of a UFO stirring up the livestock."
Okay, so it's going to be one of those kind of days. "10-4 S.O. I'm in route. Did they report any green aliens?"
"Ah . . . negative Unit 4. But they did say if it made another pass near the livestock they might shoot it down."
"S.O., advise them I'll be there in about 15 minutes."
It was still pretty foggy and I didn't really see any reason to run lights and siren. Besides, running blue lights in dense fog can sometimes play havoc on your vision.
I know the Allison family in passing, one of Allison Jr's boys played Little League baseball with my oldest son a number of years back, and old man Allison and his wife were dedicated grandparents who showed up for most every game rooting for their grandson. I'd see the Allison's out at the county fair every year showing some of the Angus stock, but otherwise they were good farm family doing their thing who didn't bother anyone.
I turned off of Route 17 onto the chip seal main road leading into the Allison farm, crossed over the cattle guard at the main gate, and then proceed up to where I knew the main barn was. I could see several folks standing around or leaning on pickup trucks, so I pulled up amongst them and got out.
Allison Jr. walked up and extended his hand, "hey Faulkner, good to see you."
"You too John," I replied. "What's up?"
"The old man is over here, I'll let him tell you. He's fired up, but don't take it personal none. He's awful protective of that high dollar stock he's got."
We walked over to the barn and I spoke to old man Allison. "Good morning Mr. Allison, what you got going on this morning?"
As we shook hands he said, "there's some darn fool out flying some kind of contraption out in this blamed fog and it's got my livestock all stirred up. I've got a bunch of new calves out there and a couple have already been trampled, and they've got so excited they've run through one of my fences. I got some boys out there now fixing the fence, but the cows are just as likely to run through it again if that contraption comes back for another pass."
He held up his hand for all to be quiet as though he were listening for something, then he said, "I thought I heard it coming back but I guess not."
I asked, "what kind of contraption is it? You think it's a drone?"
"Not a drone," he says. "We have drones we use here. This thing is bigger. I got a quick glimpse of it and it's manned. Maybe a gyrocopter or something, from the sound of it it's got a gasoline engine."
We stand there a few minutes listening. All I can hear are bellowing cows and they sure sound upset. Then I hear a faint buzz, seems to be getting a little louder . . . then a crashing sound and abruptly the sound stops.
"Uh oh," I said. "Sounds like the darn thing hit the ground hard."
Old man Allison says, "hop in the truck, let's go see . . . ."
*** More to come, I gotta run but I'll finish the story later.
This summer has been uncharacteristically less hot (can't exactly say cool) than normal in the Arkansas Ozarks, and wetter too. The flooding in the Arkansas River valley earlier in the summer had a detrimental impact on some home owners in the flood prone areas, and row crop farmers have certainly suffered. But those of us who cut hay have had a banner year. During hot, dry summers we usually get one good hay crop. Some years, we get lucky and can squeeze in a second cutting before the first frost if the weather is hot or dry, but not both. This year, many of us are about to embark on a rare third hay cutting for one season.
Another consequence of this years' less dry and less hot weather is we've experienced a lot more foggy mornings. I'm telling you, there's hardly anything more beautiful in nature than the sun breaking through across the rolling hills on a foggy morning in the Ozarks. Unfortunately, foggy mornings also can create travel hazards on the roadway from time to time, especially when folks don't slow down like they should. You never know when you might round a curve and find someone's livestock or a deer or elk standing in the road on a foggy morn.
It was one of these foggy mornings recently I was dispatched to a call that came in not long before 8:00 AM.
"S.O. to Unit 4"
"Unit 4 to S.O., I'm on Rooster Bottoms Road, go ahead."
"S.O. to Unit 4, need you to proceed to the Red Angus Farm out on Route 17. John Allison Jr made the call but he said you need to see old man Allison Sr. Got a report of a UFO stirring up the livestock."
Okay, so it's going to be one of those kind of days. "10-4 S.O. I'm in route. Did they report any green aliens?"
"Ah . . . negative Unit 4. But they did say if it made another pass near the livestock they might shoot it down."
"S.O., advise them I'll be there in about 15 minutes."
It was still pretty foggy and I didn't really see any reason to run lights and siren. Besides, running blue lights in dense fog can sometimes play havoc on your vision.
I know the Allison family in passing, one of Allison Jr's boys played Little League baseball with my oldest son a number of years back, and old man Allison and his wife were dedicated grandparents who showed up for most every game rooting for their grandson. I'd see the Allison's out at the county fair every year showing some of the Angus stock, but otherwise they were good farm family doing their thing who didn't bother anyone.
I turned off of Route 17 onto the chip seal main road leading into the Allison farm, crossed over the cattle guard at the main gate, and then proceed up to where I knew the main barn was. I could see several folks standing around or leaning on pickup trucks, so I pulled up amongst them and got out.
Allison Jr. walked up and extended his hand, "hey Faulkner, good to see you."
"You too John," I replied. "What's up?"
"The old man is over here, I'll let him tell you. He's fired up, but don't take it personal none. He's awful protective of that high dollar stock he's got."
We walked over to the barn and I spoke to old man Allison. "Good morning Mr. Allison, what you got going on this morning?"
As we shook hands he said, "there's some darn fool out flying some kind of contraption out in this blamed fog and it's got my livestock all stirred up. I've got a bunch of new calves out there and a couple have already been trampled, and they've got so excited they've run through one of my fences. I got some boys out there now fixing the fence, but the cows are just as likely to run through it again if that contraption comes back for another pass."
He held up his hand for all to be quiet as though he were listening for something, then he said, "I thought I heard it coming back but I guess not."
I asked, "what kind of contraption is it? You think it's a drone?"
"Not a drone," he says. "We have drones we use here. This thing is bigger. I got a quick glimpse of it and it's manned. Maybe a gyrocopter or something, from the sound of it it's got a gasoline engine."
We stand there a few minutes listening. All I can hear are bellowing cows and they sure sound upset. Then I hear a faint buzz, seems to be getting a little louder . . . then a crashing sound and abruptly the sound stops.
"Uh oh," I said. "Sounds like the darn thing hit the ground hard."
Old man Allison says, "hop in the truck, let's go see . . . ."
*** More to come, I gotta run but I'll finish the story later.
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