We were wandering around the French Market in New Orleans on Thursday afternoon, when we came upon a line-up of mule-drawn carriages, waiting to give tourists a spin around town. I, of course, had to stop and visit each of these critters and give them some loving.
One of them was a very noticeably elderly mule named Andy. I commented to his driver that he must have been working for more than a few years. The driver said that he had, but that Andy had plenty of years left in him! I agreed, but asked, out of curiosity, "Just how old is Andy?" "Sure, he's old, he's 14," replied the driver, acting offended. I just looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, thinking to myself, "14 isn't old. I do believe he's more like 40!"
One of my friends told me afterward that he was ready to get me out of the fight that was about to start - he was sure that I was going to open up that mule's mouth and prove the driver wrong! I'll tell you what, I was sure tempted! I hate it when someone assumes that I am stupid. But, I'm sure that he gets lots of comments from less knowledgable folks that might think that Andy is too old to be working. Quite honestly, steady work will keep an equine young! I hope that Andy stays healthy and keeps right on pulling a wagon 'til his final days.
2 comments:
I'm glad I wasn't there...probably would have made an ass of myself! :-)
We've drive by New Orleans many times but have never checked out the city. I think we've missed a lot!
You have missed a lot! It's a really fun city to visit and we only did a small portion of it...
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