GROFF MEDIA 2024© TRUTH ENDURES IMDBPRO
Presented by benandsteve.com By: Benjamin Groff II©s
Pa Elmer’s Ride
The winter had been relentless. The worst sandstorm in memory had swept through the region the year before. It buried the land in towering drifts of dust and sand. In some places, these drifts were waist-deep.
It marked the beginning of the Dust Bowl. This was a devastating era of dust storms. These storms crippled agriculture and reshaped life across the American and Canadian prairies in the 1930s.
Few families had stored enough food from the past year’s harvest. Even fewer were sure how long this disaster would last.
They say two things in life are certain: death and taxes. And for Elmer, tax time had come knocking. He had no choice but to ride nearly forty miles to the courthouse. He needed to pay his property taxes in person. He risked default if he didn’t. Despite the hard times, he had always kept his land in good standing. He intended to do so now, even with their dwindling savings. With three young children to feed, responsibility was heavily on his shoulders. His two sons and daughter were too young to fully grasp the hardship that had taken hold of the land. The struggle was real for Elmer and his wife, Ma Ma.
The night before his journey, Elmer told Ma Ma,
“I’ll be up by 3:30 and gone before sunrise. There’s no need to let anyone know I’m carrying money. Hard times make people desperate.”
While he trusted his neighbors, he wasn’t about to take unnecessary risks. He planned to make it halfway and camp near the Washita River before reaching the courthouse the next day.
At dawn, Pa Elmer saddled his pony, Smokey. Ma Ma handed him a small bundle—a few slices of fresh bread and beef jerky from the smokehouse.
“It’s not much,”
she said, touching his knee as he mounted up,
“but it’ll hold you over till you’re back. Ride safe, and don’t take any risks. Smokey can outrun any trouble that comes your way.”
Pa Elmer bent down in the saddle and kissed her.
“Two days there, a day and a half back. I’ll be fine.”
The parents didn’t know it. Their three children watched from behind the screen door, their little faces pressed against the mesh. As Ma-Ma gave Smokey a firm slap on the hip, Pa clicked his tongue and hollered,
“Yaw!”
The journey had begun.
Back inside, Ma Ma found the children still watching. She shooed them back to bed. Then she settled into her rocking chair with the Bible. It was her source of comfort through times of uncertainty.
The Ride to Town
Pa made good time. Smokey, eager for the open trail, trotted strong beneath him. By evening, they had covered thirty miles. Elmer found a spot near the Washita River where the grass was matted down—a daytime swimming hole. He unsaddled Smokey. Then, he tied him to a long rope to graze. Elmer stretched out beneath a tree, using his saddle as a pillow.
Sleep took him fast; it was a blessing he had dozed off facing east. The first light of dawn warmed his face, stirring him awake. After a quick breakfast of beef jerky, he saddled Smokey and continued.
By mid-morning, he reached the county seat. He tied Smokey to the hitching rail and strode into the courthouse. The county clerk barely glanced up from her papers.
“You here to ask for an extension on your taxes like everyone else?”
she asked.
Elmer tipped his hat.
“No, ma’am. I’m here to pay my taxes for this year and next.”
The clerk blinked, then scribbled out a receipt, her expression unreadable.
Paid this date: $28.33 for two years of property taxes.
Elmer folded the receipt and tucked it into the same safe spot where his money had been. Simply saying ––––
“Thank you, Mam!”
Pa had finished his business.
Trouble in Town
As he walked back to Smokey, a man loitering nearby gave a slow nod.
“That’s a fine-looking horse you got there. I’d buy him off you for $25.”
Elmer stiffened.
“No, you wouldn’t.”
The man’s eyes darkened, and his tone shifted.
“Maybe I just take the horse for nothin’.”
Elmer didn’t flinch. He met the man’s stare with steely resolve.
“No, you’d be lyin’ dead if you tried.”
A tense silence hung between them before the man forced a crooked smile.
“Mister, I was just jokin’.”
He backed away.
“You have yourself a nice day.”
Elmer wasted no time. He swung into the saddle and galloped out of town.
The Journey Home
The Journey Home
Elmer has made the ride back in a day. Still, he took his time. He stopped by a few relatives along the way. In this part of the country, it was tradition—when you passed by kin, you paid a visit.
Late in the afternoon, as he approached home, he saw Ma Ma and the kids waiting at the gate. The children ran to meet him, full of questions.
“Well, Pa? How’d it go?”
Ma Ma asked, relief washing over her face.
Elmer grinned and swung down from Smokey.
“Would’ve been home sooner,”
he said, stretching his legs,
“but I kept runnin’ out of pipe tobacco.”
Ma Ma shook her head with a chuckle. As the family led him inside, the weight of the journey melted away. Home had never felt so good.
benandsteve.com 