Riding the Red Monster

He was going to ride the combine with his Dad for the first time! Dad lifted him up into the cab of the big red machine and climbed in himself. They drove out to the field. The tow-headed three year old was wide-eyed and silent. He watched and rode, very patiently observing everything in silence. They were harvesting milo, a reddish-colored grain used for feed. The young child had seen this crop planted in the spring, cultivated and growing over the summer, nurtured along by his Dad, who was now cutting it down. The heads of the milo were cut and the grain went into the mysterious depths of the monster machine, where it appeared to be ground up and spit out the back. Milo dust filled the air and made the boy and his father cough and itch. Not wanting to appear less than intelligent about this seemingly brutal process, the boy turned to his father and asked, "Dad, is this good for the milo?"
Rococo