I know I have mentioned that I truly have the best job in the world. Usually it is about the people that I get to work and interact with across the state. Generous, passionate, smart folks. But today it is also about the food.
Truth be told, I get to have some great food in this job. Last night it was grass-fed beef sliders, and they were delicious. I was with the Harnett County Community Foundation at the lovely Talbot Creek Farms, owned by Dal Snipes, who is vice president of the board and our gracious host.
The event was held to reach out to some of the professional advisors in the community to ensure they are aware of the community foundation and how we could help support their clients’ charitable interests.
NCCF statewide Board Chairman James Narron was there, and told one of his famous stories. Many foundation friends were in attendance, including Senator Robert Morgan, who talked a couple of minutes about the impact the community foundation has had on him and his community. And then in a way that only he could, he told us that his “tail was in a crack,” and he had to leave. He then went on to explain that was “farmer-speak” for having another meeting and needing to go early.
I realized that there have been many times when my tail is in a crack, so I later asked Mr. Narron to tell me more about what this saying means, and did this saying mean “ass” as in mule, or another meaning…
He began by basically saying “bless your heart.” In the Beatitudes, there is probably a provision, not included in the King James version, which goes something like: “Blessed are the Yankees and those not Southern, as they shall suffer ignorance through eternity.”
He carefully explained to me that this has nothing to do with “ass,” but with “tail,” and an altogether different part of a mule’s anatomy. The traces are hitched to a single tree, which is a part of the wagon. Especially where the traces are short, the single tree is not far from the mule’s back legs. Most wagons had a foot rest or plate forward of the seat, over the turning mechanism, to which the single tree was affixed. That kick plate or foot rest suffered from the weather and, just like any other wood, would develop cracks. As the mule would switch her tail, it would come across a crack in the wood and get caught. Hence, her “tail is stuck in a crack.”
This is why I love my job today!