Welch: Leaving the cows to get away to Turkey in an RV

If I say “get away,” what comes to mind?

Did you think of a quick departure after a bank robbery? Or a vacation get away?

Or did you think I was asking you to get away and leave me alone? I wasn’t. You’re welcome to hang in to the end, assuming I come up with one.

Me, I was thinking of a vacation get away because I just got back from one. When I looked up “get away” to see how to spell it, I was struck by the various definitions. (It doesn’t take much to strike me.)

Getaway, get away or get-away? My dictionary says two words. Fine with me.

Notice I said “my” get away. It was also my husband’s get away, but he got away from our urban residence whereas I got away from the farm. We met in Turkey.

Turkey? What a far-flung place for a get away! . . . It wasn’t that Turkey.

But it was still a get away for both me and my spouse, Hugh. Our pilgrimage was to Turkey, Texas — Western Swing Music Mecca. I towed our RV. We listened to the music and made some.

Hugh plays guitar; I play whatever — sax, fiddle, French harp. He’s good. I play just well enough to be allowed to play.

For some reason, we have to meet in Turkey to jam. It would be easier to meet in the music room of our house. Duh. But there’s just something about getting away that provides the setting we need. Other people show up, too. Maybe they don’t play at home either.

Yep, the RV is my responsibility. I had it before we married, so I’m the one who takes it places like Turkey, Turkey being the only place we take it.

When you make your get away from a farm, you first have to be sure the cows will be happy without you.

Thankfully, this year’s spring grass is nice and lush. The only other thing the cows need is their mineral-salt blocks and water.

Water. When I unhooked our little RV from water, the faucet broke off the hydrant. Not good.

Rule of thumb: When you’re trying to get away to wherever with an RV, stuff happens.

If you break a hydrant, forget Yellowstone. You’ve got your own geyser.

Advice: Wherever you have a remote hydrant, it’s good to have an underground cutoff.

The good news: There was a cutoff.

The bad news: It also cut off water to the cows’ tanks.

Another rule of thumb: You can’t have too many water hoses on a farm.

Long story short, we had enough hoses to run the cow water from a different source. Whew!

Advice: When you’re on a get away, whatever’s broken at home won’t fix itself. If you’re somewhat broken yourself, the get away will fix you.

When you get home, you’ll be welcomed by whatever needs fixing. You’ll feel needed.

Hanaba Munn Welch sums up her weekly thoughts in exactly 501 words and dashes, a tribute to the old Fort Worth & Denver steam locomotive Engine 501 or Levi’s jeans. Take your pick. Farm life often inspires her writing.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Welch: Leaving the cows to get away to Turkey in an RV