The Catholic Defender: My Hog Story

Deepertruth Member Mark Kiser was a former college football player at Arkansas Razorback country. Even today he supports Arkansas even against Alabama. This year, the Hogs won their first three games until they went to Georgia and as a result are 3 and 1.

I expect the Hogs to do well the rest of the year and perhaps earn a bowl game. I use to live in Arkansas in the early 1980's and so I can relate to supporting the Hogs while under Coach Lou Holtz before he moved on to Notre Dame.

Growing up in southern Missouri in the 1970's, our farm consisted of hogs, cattle, horses, chickens, and other animals that we had to care for. When I was in grade school my mother was in a serious car accident that broke her back in two places so I lived for a year with my Aunt Terry while my mother recuperated. They had a farm with lots of hogs and cattle. One day, I saved a Chester White piglet at my Aunts Terry's farm and they gave me this little pig that I named Sam. Some times a sow will kill their own and that was what was happening here. Sam became a pet that we had to kick out side when she got too large and so she learned to live like a normal hog.

Even so, she was always like a pet to me as I moved through high school. My parents bought a farm not far from where Aunt Terry's place was. I was responsible to take care of all our animals including the hogs and most of them were more wild, clearly not domesticated as Sam was. If a sow had her piglets outside in the pasture, I had to collect them and place them in an open pen and that was always a feat. I had to be fast to be able to grab the piglets and put them in the pen. The mother sow would always respond going after me when they heard her piglets squeal.

Just before I was about to leave home for college, I went down to slop the hogs one last time when I slipped and fell amongst the hogs. Sam protected me against the other hogs and I will never forget that. She defended me in a very potentially dangerous situation. That would be the last time that I would ever see Sam as sometime after I left for school, she died.

I remember these things especially watching movies like "Old Yeller" and "Where the Red Fern Grows", I'm not ordinarily a crier, but I do have a heart for animals. I guess this was a major reason I chose St. Francis of Assisi for my Confirmation.

I believe that growing up on a farm is a great way to raise children where they can learn many experiences that I would call character builders. I think this is so lacking today with many youth who have no fathers, who have little moral guidance or responsibility. Many of them end up in gangs where they feel a sense of family. God the Father is diminished in many of these young minds who have either a poor image of their father, or men in general. The government tries to subsidize people due to their lack of fathers and family with all kinds of pork.

While serving at Fort Hood Texas, one day I was standing in a bank line when these ladies were debating Abortion. I just could not help myself from getting drawn in to their discussion. To this particular lady who was supporting Abortion, I told the story when I had found a piglet that had been injured by it's mother. I wanted to save it but my Uncle gave me a hammer and ordered me to kill it.

There was nothing that could be done to save it. That was a very difficult thing for an eight year old to have to do. Not only did I get sympathy from the Pro-Life women, but even the Pro-Abortion lady as well. My point I made is that it is interesting that people can find such sympathy for animal life, but yet, have no concern for human life.

I think that is a main issue today because so many people have lost the importance of all human life, all are created in the image of God. Even now, parents all across the country are having to stand up against this "woke" indoctrination. Like the Pied Piper, our children are systematically being swept down stream taking them farther away from God's grace. It is a miracle when anyone survives college these days and hangs on with the Lord.

God is a worker of miracles so that is our ultimate hope. I pray that parents will rise up for the sake of their children because our nation depends on it, souls depend on it. We must get back to the roots of our Baptism and Confirmation. Parents, not all of you can teach the kind of experiences I learned growing up on the farm, working summers in the hay fields for 3 cents a bale, but you do have much to offer. Giving them the firm foundation of the Catholic faith is the greatest of gifts to give your children. The family that prays together, stays together.