Life’s to short not to go big
-Josh Bender
In the world of small town kids, there are a few events that really stand out. This one is to be remembered well into the elder years. We roamed about the community on both foot and bike and decided at one point that sister Chris would tackle Murphy’s hill on her bike. Now Chris, being wiry and brave had a fine little racer type bike. It was both fast and agile and fit her personality to a T. I, on the other hand, had a sedate Schwinn with fenders and bigger tires, which suited my much less daring spirit.
Murphy’s Hill was so named because the house at the very top belonged to the renowned “Doc Murphy”. The good doctor treated all the local ills for miles around and was known to tip a few from time to time, so we never quite knew if he would be up to speed in an emergency.
Now a hill in South Dakota is a rare occurrence, except for the Black Hills of course. So cruising down Murphy’s Hill at top speed on your racer bike would be a wonderful achievement, almost Olympic in scope since the owner, Chris, was known to go at top speed almost all the time. We conferred a bit on the possibility of a wreck taking place and decided that I would wait at the bottom for her to come whizzing by.
Chris pedaled up to the top and got up to speed as she came careening down the hill. She pulled onto the sidewalk at the bottom and came to a rather abrupt stop by running into Grandma Parrish’s picket fence. We thought for a moment she might be seriously hurt but she got off the bike and let out a deep breath.
It was just an indicator that life is “too short not to go big”
She is still “going big” to this very day and headed straight into chemo today with the same bravado as her trip down Murphy’s Hill. We knew she would!.
Love you sister.
Country Comfort 