Sometimes you see something so often you don’t even really notice it, until it’s gone.
Such is the case with the Fayetteville donkey.
When my children were young, they always looked for a certain donkey that daily grazed in a big field in the city limits of Fayetteville. I also searched for him as I drove by, even until recently.
There was something comforting about the always-present donkey living in this busy city that is no longer the sleepy little town it once was, rather has become clogged with traffic, shops and people at all hours. The lazy donkey reminded us of simpler, slower times. We could count on the presence of that donkey to be languidly munching through the grass with his two equine friends as we hurriedly passed by on our way to “joust windmills.”
He came to live in his fenced field originally because somebody needed a temporary home after he was bought in Alabama at only 6 months old. He was weaned and taken away from his mother in one day. When he got to his new home field he cried for his mother.
A mare, named Nappy, had two foals and her heart went out to poor lonely little donkey. He was named Henry Dukakis King. His name indicates his royal lineage. The proof of that was that he proudly bore the mark of the cross on his back for his ancestor’s service to Our Lord’s mother before she bore the King of all Kings in Bethlehem.
In Henry’s eyes Nappy was the most beautiful mare Henry had ever seen and he loved her from that first day when she was there to comfort him. They were always together.
Once Henry wasn’t feeling well and lay down in the field. Nappy was right there with her head lowered over him as she faithfully waited for him as he recovered.
They were best friends and companions for years until she died, leaving Henry heartbroken and alone again. The presence of two other horses couldn’t replace Nappy’s love. Henry never loved another horse as he did Nappy, so when he passed away last December at 33 years old, they buried him next to his lifelong friends.
Henry Dukakis King taught us a lesson. He taught us that it’s important to have a best friend: to love and be loved. He will be missed by all the children who won’t have the pleasure of looking for him as they ride by, hopefully, on their way to making good friends.
Marie Williams
Fayetteville, Ga.
