Josh
Nine Years Ago
Sometimes at the end, you think of the beginning. My end was right around the corner, and it would be my upcoming freedom from this ranch and the small town it was near. September could not get here fast enough, and I planned to live my life the way I wanted.
I couldn’t wait to get out of this conservative town. That’s the thing about being stuck in the middle of nowhere in America, it’s typically full of conservative people. And Cody, Wyoming, was no different. Cody was a town of fewer than ten thousand residents, located smack in the middle of the United States where being a Patriot is front and center of your identity. Come the fourth of July, you better have a flag waving somewhere on your property. If not, well . . . you may as well pack up your shit and leave town. The label of commie or heretic wouldn’t be far away the next time you hit Main Street. The ranchers talked mostly about God, country, and family. No flag on your house? You’re just not aligned with these parts and they’re going to run you out of town soon enough.
Having finally attained the age of eighteen, I was going as far away as I possibly could. My college life would begin in Seattle come mid-September. Dad wasn’t happy about my choice, but he rarely was about anything I was involved in outside of the ranch.
“Computer Science? How you gonna use that on a ranch?” he’d asked the day I got my acceptance letter. “We don’t have any use for one of those contraptions.” A congratulatory hug would have been nice.
“It’s the future, Dad. You might want to get on board,” I responded. “You took to your cell phone just fine, didn’t you?”
“Your momma made me get one so she could reach me out in the pastures,” he defended.
I thought about asking him how we’d communicate when I was in Seattle but knew we probably wouldn’t. I think he actually believed I’d be coming back to the ranch, but I wasn’t planning on that happening as long as I could help it. I was an only child, the fourth and final generation for the West family and for West Ranch. My father had also been an only child and I always thought what a risk that had been for our ancestors who’d valued continuation. Everyone knew you needed an heir and a spare, right? Mom and Dad didn’t understand who I was, so why bother continuing the legacy.
