The Cows of Hobson’s Pond: Mostly True Stories of Growing Up Kansas

For a bored child living in rural Kansas in the sixties, frolicking in Hobson’s Pond was as adventurous as being Jacques Cousteau on the Atlantic Ocean. In a country kid’s imagination, the pond teemed with exotic marine life, pirates and sunken treasure. In reality, the pond was a muddy hole filled with finger-length catfish and grumpy old bullfrogs. In addition, The Cows of Hobson’s Pond believed they had the inalienable right to soak their udders in the water like it was a spa. Whenever Rick and his buddies went swimming, they had to run the cows out first. This frequently backfired and, instead, the cows chased them. Rick pokes fun at himself, his family, the cows and life in rural Kansas. There are stories about how the cows were responsible for starting the streaking fad, the reason little boys should never practice medicine, why his brothers called him the Elmer Fudd of hunters and the day his Mom washed his mouth out with soap. Laugh along with Rick who claims the stories are mostly true but, to avoid being sued, he changed a few names and made up the parts about the cows.