Thomas Kidwell

Lang's Paradox Thomas Kidwell

The driver of the dilapidated and dented old pickup truck who had just turned northwest onto highway eighty-seven, was none other than Andrew 'Drew' Lang, and he was one very exhausted late-night traveler. Turning off of the busy four-lane highway that he had been driving on for most of the day, he pulled his truck and the attached two-horse trailer to the far end of an interstate highway rest area. It was well past midnight, and until he had an opportunity to study his roadmap, he wasn't exactly sure where he was, he only knew he was somewhere in South Dakota. At first glance, a passerby could have easily mistaken him as being another one of the many transient cowboys that frequently drove through the area. Perhaps they would think he was returning from the big rodeo in Tulsa the previous week, or heading up to the next big rodeo in Freemont. In making such a hasty assumption, people would have been mistaken. Drew Lang was a cowboy at heart maybe, but that's about as far as his cowboy persona extended. Owing to the lateness of the hour, it seemed unusual for such a large volume of traffic to be on the road, especially on a weeknight. Vehicles pulled into the rest area briefly, occupants used the restroom, mothers changed the diapers on their infants, beverages were purchased from a vending machine, and the weary travelers were soon on their way again. The stream of traffic seemed monotonous and endless. Drew used the restroom and then assisted an elderly man by holding the door for him while he negotiated his way with a walker. The older gentleman offered a sincere 'thank you, ' as Drew tipped his hat in respect, smiled, and walked back to his truck. One at a time, Drew took each of his two horses out of the trailer and walked them into the grassy area, across the field from the busy traffic at the rest area. The horses needed to stretch their legs and graze, but the lawn there at the rest area had been freshly mowed that day, and there was precious little remaining for Drew's horses to nibble upon. He spoke to his beloved horses apologetically, for he knew that the long hours of traveling in the confinement of a small two-horse trailer had not been pleasant for them. He knew that his horses were just as frustrated with the monotony of travel as he was, and he tried to offer a small measure of consolation to them. "Sorry girls. I know how much you hate all of this constant riding in this cramped up old horse trailer. Keep your chins up, girls. We're more than half way there now. When we get there, you're gonna see country more beautiful than you could ever imagine possible, I promise you." Drew knew that the late night walk in the open would be of much benefit for both him and the horses.