The Oklahoma State Game Warden Association

Adventures of
Pete and Cody
SGW Dekota Cagle

0ne late August day Pete's dad had sent us out to the old milk barn to clean out the milk bulk tanks. The milk truck would come like clockwork every three days around noon and pick up all the milk that was in the large 1,0000 gallon stainless steel bulk tanks. After the truck would drain the tanks our job was to heat large buckets of boiling water on the old propane heater and sterilize all milking equipment and the bulk tanks. We would be meticulous in cleaning all the equipment both inside and outside. We did this to find grace with the king, Pete's dad.

On this particular August afternoon it was about 105 Degrees degrees outside. It was extremely hot in the old milk barn where we were working and the temperature inside the barn had to be close to 115 degrees. While cleaning the large metal syringes that were used to give the cows shots Pete managed to get one of the syringes full of cool fresh water that we were using to rinse the equipment with after sterilizing it. When he had the syringe full he caught me not working and sprayed me on my shirtless back with the cool fresh water that came from a well just north of the milk barn. Being sprayed with cool well water was actually quite a shock, but it felt really good at the same time.

Well shortly after this we started playing around shooting each other with cool water from the syringes. It was sort of like having a water gun fight without water guns. This went went on for about fifteen minutes then we became bored. It didn't really matter where we sprayed water because everything in the milk barn had to be washed down and thoroughly cleaned anyway. Well while spraying each other we decided to put a little competition in the water gun fight. I would stand against one wall and Pete would stand against the other wall and we would take turns spraying each other in the face.

About this time Red came through the door and began to cuss and yell about us playing around and not doing our jobs. So after a verbal reprimand we started back to our chores of cleaning bulk tanks and equipment. Red had gone into the back of the barn to shovel feed into the milking stalls. Like clockwork we would start milking at 6 o'clock sharp.

A short time later we noticed Red heading back toward the house. We had a somewhat distorted view through the old glass windows on the North side of the milk barn, but without saying a word to each other, we both knew he was probably headed to the house for an afternoon nap in front of the water cooled fan.

Not long after this Pete began to spray me again with the syringe filled with water. After a few burst of water from ,the syringes Pete made his famous statement. "Hey I've got a good idea!" Then he pointed to the 1 inch diameter hole on the East wall of the wooden milk barn by the door. The hole had been made there when Pete's dad had ran a copper propane line to another heater that used to set against the East wall of the milk house.

Pete made a suggestion that one of us go outside and look through the hole and the other guy could stand against the west wall of the barn, which was about fifteen feet away. Then whoever stood inside against the wall could attempt to squirt water into the eye of the guy who 'would be outside looking through the 1 inch hole.

Now I had known Pete my entire life so I knew he had more plans that he had not discussed with me. So I made the suggestion that Pete be the first one to go outside look through the hole. He agreed, so outside he bounced and quickly placed one eye up against the wooden circle looking across the barn floor at me standing against the wall across the room. My first blast of water wasn't very accurate because of distance and pressure. So the second shot I made I pushed the syringe closed very hard and fast. This made the stream of water a lot more accurate. Therefore, I managed to get a full blast of water I Pete's eye. After the shot I could hear him outside laughing and yelling. Pete suddenly burst through the door yelled, "Man that's cool as crap! You can see the water coming and all you have to do is close your eye. Pete's description of the previous events were enticing enough for to go outside and stare through the hole while Pete shot it toward my eye.

Pete was correct in his statement about it looking cool. cause you could see a large stream of water coming and your eye, and I was under the impression that one could shoot water quicker than a blink of an eye anyway so I wasn't really concerned about either of us actually having water shot directly into our eyes. This my first experience in learning that people have a dominant eye.

After about 8 or 10 turns each we started to get bored again and we both knew that it wouldn't be very long until was time to milk. We both knew we really needed to get back to our chores and be finished before milking time. I made the suggestion to Pete that we each take one more turn and then get back to our chores. He quickly Jumped at my offer and suggested that he be the first one to go outside. I finished my shot quickly and met Pete at the door Then I handed him the syringe as I headed outside. Making it outside I placed my eye over the hole and looked across the room but I could not see Pete. I yelled at him through the wall and asked what he was doing and what was taking him so long to fill the syringe. He yelled back and said, "Wait just a minute. I'll tell you when you can look." I had my eye against the hole looking for Pete when felt a hand grasp my shoulder. I turned around to look face to face with Pete's dad. I was standing on an old washtub. Red looked me square in the face and asked, what are you looking at through that hole boy." Then he leaned forward and stuck his eye against the round wood hole to look inside. At about this time unknowingly to me, Pete with the syringe in his hand, had move to about inches away from the hole in the wall. Also, Pete had me up with the brilliant idea to fill the syringe with scalding hot soapy water that we had been using to clean the milk tanks. So as soon as Pete's dad placed his eye against e hole he was shot full force directly into the eye with a stream of scalding hot soapy water. He immediately fell back away from the hole screaming and holding his hands over his right eye. I could hear Pete in the barn laughing because he thought he had just shot me in the eye with hot soapy water. It wasn't long though until Pete discovered that I personally didn't know that many cuss words nor could my voice reach a level that was somewhere close to glass shattering thunder. It was then that he realized he had shot his dad in the eve with the scalding soapy water.

As usual since I was the closest, I was the target of Red's rage. He first tried to physically grab me but he missed. Somehow, in his rage and confusion he hadn't made a final decision as whether to grab me and then start punching, or just punch me as I jumped from the washtub. Then as I lay helpless on the ground, kick me to death.

Therefore, I was able to escape across the yard and head East to the blackjack trees across the road. As I looked over my shoulder I could see Pete headed west over the big sand hill behind the barn. I thought to myself how thoughtless of Pete to not even come and check out the damage he had done to his dad's eye. At least I was taking the common courtesy to see if I could recognize any real damage as I was running for my life.

Over the next hour I would venture to the edge of the blackjacks and scan the area around the house and milk barn. On two of these ventures out to the edge of the twilight zone, I could see Red pacing restlessly between the house and the milk barn. I also noticed a large white patch covering his right eye. The patch had a huge X made of white tape that covered it. I was also paying particular attention to what appeared to be a mop handle or some form of stick that he held in his right hand while pacing. I stayed in the blackjacks as long as I could. I could hear Pete's dad calling the cows. It was milking time and I was going to have to go back and face my punishment. As I walked-slowly toward the milk barn I rehearsed my
confession. Especially the part where it had been all Pete's idea!




	Back to the Magazine Index Adventures of Pete and Cody SGW Dekota Cagle 0ne late August day Pete's dad had sent us out to the old milk barn to clean out the milk bulk tanks. The milk truck would come like clockwork every three days around noon and pick up all the milk that was in the large 1,0000 gallon stainless steel bulk tanks. After the truck would drain the tanks our job was to heat large buckets of boiling water on the old propane heater and sterilize all milking equipment and the bulk tanks. We would be meticulous in cleaning all the equipment both inside and outside. We did this to find grace with the king, Pete's dad. On this particular August afternoon it was about 105 Degrees degrees outside. It was extremely hot in the old milk barn where we were working and the temperature inside the barn had to be close to 115 degrees. While cleaning the large metal syringes that were used to give the cows shots Pete managed to get one of the syringes full of cool fresh water that we were using to rinse the equipment with after sterilizing it. When he had the syringe full he caught me not working and sprayed me on my shirtless back with the cool fresh water that came from a well just north of the milk barn. Being sprayed with cool well water was actually quite a shock, but it felt really good at the same time. Well shortly after this we started playing around shooting each other with cool water from the syringes. It was sort of like having a water gun fight without water guns. This went went on for about fifteen minutes then we became bored. It didn't really matter where we sprayed water because everything in the milk barn had to be washed down and thoroughly cleaned anyway. Well while spraying each other we decided to put a little competition in the water gun fight. I would stand against one wall and Pete would stand against the other wall and we would take turns spraying each other in the face. About this time Red came through the door and began to cuss and yell about us playing around and not doing our jobs. So after a verbal reprimand we started back to our chores of cleaning bulk tanks and equipment. Red had gone into the back of the barn to shovel feed into the milking stalls. Like clockwork we would start milking at 6 o'clock sharp. A short time later we noticed Red heading back toward the house. We had a somewhat distorted view through the old glass windows on the North side of the milk barn, but without saying a word to each other, we both knew he was probably headed to the house for an afternoon nap in front of the water cooled fan. Not long after this Pete began to spray me again with the syringe filled with water. After a few burst of water from ,the syringes Pete made his famous statement. "Hey I've got a good idea!" Then he pointed to the 1 inch diameter hole on the East wall of the wooden milk barn by the door. The hole had been made there when Pete's dad had ran a copper propane line to another heater that used to set against the East wall of the milk house. Pete made a suggestion that one of us go outside and look through the hole and the other guy could stand against the west wall of the barn, which was about fifteen feet away. Then whoever stood inside against the wall could attempt to squirt water into the eye of the guy who 'would be outside looking through the 1 inch hole. Now I had known Pete my entire life so I knew he had more plans that he had not discussed with me. So I made the suggestion that Pete be the first one to go outside look through the hole. He agreed, so outside he bounced and quickly placed one eye up against the wooden circle looking across the barn floor at me standing against the wall across the room. My first blast of water wasn't very accurate because of distance and pressure. So the second shot I made I pushed the syringe closed very hard and fast. This made the stream of water a lot more accurate. Therefore, I managed to get a full blast of water I Pete's eye. After the shot I could hear him outside laughing and yelling. Pete suddenly burst through the door yelled, "Man that's cool as crap! You can see the water coming and all you have to do is close your eye. Pete's description of the previous events were enticing enough for to go outside and stare through the hole while Pete shot it toward my eye. Pete was correct in his statement about it looking cool. cause you could see a large stream of water coming and your eye, and I was under the impression that one could shoot water quicker than a blink of an eye anyway so I wasn't really concerned about either of us actually having water shot directly into our eyes. This my first experience in learning that people have a dominant eye. After about 8 or 10 turns each we started to get bored again and we both knew that it wouldn't be very long until was time to milk. We both knew we really needed to get back to our chores and be finished before milking time. I made the suggestion to Pete that we each take one more turn and then get back to our chores. He quickly Jumped at my offer and suggested that he be the first one to go outside. I finished my shot quickly and met Pete at the door Then I handed him the syringe as I headed outside. Making it outside I placed my eye over the hole and looked across the room but I could not see Pete. I yelled at him through the wall and asked what he was doing and what was taking him so long to fill the syringe. He yelled back and said, "Wait just a minute. I'll tell you when you can look." I had my eye against the hole looking for Pete when felt a hand grasp my shoulder. I turned around to look face to face with Pete's dad. I was standing on an old washtub. Red looked me square in the face and asked, what are you looking at through that hole boy." Then he leaned forward and stuck his eye against the round wood hole to look inside. At about this time unknowingly to me, Pete with the syringe in his hand, had move to about inches away from the hole in the wall. Also, Pete had me up with the brilliant idea to fill the syringe with scalding hot soapy water that we had been using to clean the milk tanks. So as soon as Pete's dad placed his eye against e hole he was shot full force directly into the eye with a stream of scalding hot soapy water. He immediately fell back away from the hole screaming and holding his hands over his right eye. I could hear Pete in the barn laughing because he thought he had just shot me in the eye with hot soapy water. It wasn't long though until Pete discovered that I personally didn't know that many cuss words nor could my voice reach a level that was somewhere close to glass shattering thunder. It was then that he realized he had shot his dad in the eve with the scalding soapy water. As usual since I was the closest, I was the target of Red's rage. He first tried to physically grab me but he missed. Somehow, in his rage and confusion he hadn't made a final decision as whether to grab me and then start punching, or just punch me as I jumped from the washtub. Then as I lay helpless on the ground, kick me to death. Therefore, I was able to escape across the yard and head East to the blackjack trees across the road. As I looked over my shoulder I could see Pete headed west over the big sand hill behind the barn. I thought to myself how thoughtless of Pete to not even come and check out the damage he had done to his dad's eye. At least I was taking the common courtesy to see if I could recognize any real damage as I was running for my life. Over the next hour I would venture to the edge of the blackjacks and scan the area around the house and milk barn. On two of these ventures out to the edge of the twilight zone, I could see Red pacing restlessly between the house and the milk barn. I also noticed a large white patch covering his right eye. The patch had a huge X made of white tape that covered it. I was also paying particular attention to what appeared to be a mop handle or some form of stick that he held in his right hand while pacing. I stayed in the blackjacks as long as I could. I could hear Pete's dad calling the cows. It was milking time and I was going to have to go back and face my punishment. As I walked-slowly toward the milk barn I rehearsed my confession. Especially the part where it had been all Pete's idea! Back to the Magazine Index
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