Follow the Cow Leader, NOT the Chicken Man
Written and Authored by T. Lee Thompson
I am writing this in case you are unaware of the last Canadian Federal Election, which took place on April 28, 2025. It may have been one of Canada’s most influential and pivotal elections; a staggering 19,442,763 Canadians went out to vote, nearly half of the population. And I know you may be thinking, what does this have to do with hypnotherapy or spirituality? My answer is nothing except its effect on my spirituality and my use of my talents as a hypnotherapist. Mostly because I felt like I just got sucker punched in the gut because in my humble opinion, Canadians voted out of misguided fear rather than what would be good for the country, which was to vote for a Conservative government which could have saved us, but instead, they voted Liberal, again. We may now be facing the most challenging socio-economic times of our lives. In a terrifying prediction, I fear that the future of Canada may be coming to an end soon. And my spirituality and talent as a hypnotherapist are being put to the test because of my very negative emotions and feelings over this election, because I used to love my country. Now I’m left feeling sad, angry, and in a state of disbelief that such a decision could be made. I’m seriously considering the possibility of moving from the country that has been my home for 67 years. For this reason, I will tell this story to everyone who may be interested.
Before I recount my story, I’d like to discuss the recent election and the Liberal vote results. Many were concerned that a ‘certain US president’ threatened to make Canada the 51st state. This statement, as outlandish as it may seem, influenced some Canadians to vote for the Liberal Party, which they perceived as the only one capable of standing up to the US. This time, instead of a drama teacher as their leader, they picked an individual from the financial sector, a supposed investment banker. It’s a decision that has left many of us scratching our heads.
However, that’s my opinion, and I realize I’m not the only one sharing it here. We operate within a democratic system, which means we are open to voting according to diverse views, sometimes differing from one another. Still, I thought people would vote for what would be good for the country, not what they have been told by a fearmongering, biased mainstream media (CBC) owned by our federal government, providing a very one-sided POV, but I digress. It is what it is, and the misunderstood, compassionate Conservatives will have to live to fight for Canada yet another day. They continue to work tirelessly to prove to Canadians that they REALLY CAN HELP Canada return to what it once was: a Free, Financially Prosperous, Healthy, and Happy place to live once again. At least that’s what I remember from Canada before 2015, the times before the very litigious, social government-run, Trudeau-Liberal government nightmare began.
What bothers me the most is that PM Trudeau hung on for so long that the Liberal Party was on the verge of being non-existent with him as their leader, and the party was very much aware of its demise. Their very divisive policies towards our oil and gas, mining, and agricultural industries have nearly driven Canada’s economy to near extinction, and most of our Western provinces are threatening to separate from Canada because of this. The Liberals had to take drastic measures to get the party back on track, and even Trudeau’s resignation wouldn’t help.
And then they had a lucky break, and President Trump as flamboyantly possible opened his big mouth and threatened to make Canada the 51st state along with putting massive tariffs on all Canadian products, and that was all the Liberal party needed for their entire political platform for our ‘Chicken Little’ Canadians who voted for PM Carney to take the place of Trudeau. It quickly became the campaign issue that it’s all about, ‘you must vote Liberal because Mr. Carney is the only one who will stand up to Trump and protect us from being taken over by America!’ Because these same ill-informed people believe that the Conservative party is somehow connected to President Trump, a US president…just because he represents the Republican party of the USA and for some reason people feel it’s just like the Conservative party of Canada, huh?!* Nothing is further from the truth. We’re Canadian, eh…not American…come on! You know the place famous for Hockey, Maple Syrup, Timbits, Double-Double’s and Poutine. Yeah, that place, and it doesn’t have room for a Republican or Democratic party anywhere in our parliament! Take off, you Hosers! Let’s have another beer— pass me a Moosehead, Eh!
Doing the ‘Elbows Up’ was a phrase coined during the Liberal rallies. It was meant to symbolize standing up to Trump, but instead, it became a symbol of the party’s misguided approach to the election, resembling the ‘Chicken Dance’.
It was rather funny to me that they would use the hockey player expression ‘Elbows Up’ during their Liberal rallies as a way of being tough on Trump! Unfortunately, instead of looking tough, everyone looked like they were doing the chicken dance by putting their elbows up at rallies. It was so embarrassingly funny to see. It was not cool or tough like they thought it would be, but instead it was just ridiculous to watch. Do people really believe that voting for Carney will save us? If the USA wanted to take over Canada, it would take more than a handful of retired government pensioner-boomers doing the ‘Elbows Up Chicken Dance’ and an investment banker-turned-Prime Minister named Carney to stop 346,790,860 Americans and a wealthy, multi-level marketing, real estate, tycoon, bully, turned President Trump from attempting a takeover of Canada, with its only 41 million frightened inhabitants and an impoverished, depleted, Canadian Forces military.
I’m guessing that by now, you understand why I’ve been feeling so defeated and sad about this election in Canada. So, I was inspired to share a story in hopes that the moral of this personal story might change the perception of people in Canada to help this country stay together and work for the betterment of ALL Canadians by learning to trust in our Western Canadians more than we do and the bounty of natural resources that we have to sell on our behalf in Canada as our gross domestic product, to bring Canada back into economic prosperity and unity again. Because let’s face it, social programs don’t create a domestic product to sell in the world market. Still, you Can Sell milled lumber, environmentally refined natural gas, environmentally refined oil, wheat, pork, beef, canola oil, and potash like crazy! We have tons and tons of it, but it just sits around or is sold to the USA at dirt-cheap prices, and then they resell it to China, who in turn sells it all back to us. To say it’s ridiculous is an understatement. But we have excellent healthcare, right? (I’m being sarcastic here for those without a sense of wit)
A City Slicker Goes on a Cattle Round-Up
I’m sure you’re wondering how this story will unfold, but here goes.
Way back when, I was only 16 years old and living in Medicine Hat, a mid-sized city located in southern Alberta, which is very similar to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in terms of its humungous gas reserves (with the tagline as ‘Having all Hell as its Basement’) and a sprawling ranching and agricultural community. My girlfriend, at the time, came from a cattle ranching family and asked me if I would like to stay on her family’s expansive cattle ranch for the weekend, where she could introduce me to ranch life. Also, it was late spring, and many calves were being born, so I was eager to witness a calf being born, which would also be a highlight for me, being a city slicker. I happily agreed to go on this new adventure, thinking about how much fun it would be, but also it would mean a weekend away from working at the family business, so I needed a break for myself, too.
I arrived at the ranch on Friday evening after school, wearing just my blue jeans, T-shirt, running shoes, and carrying a duffel bag with a few changes of clothes and toiletries only a teenage girl would think are necessary, not realizing what the weekend would be like, with horseback riding and watching baby calves come into the world. My adolescent self was surprised and taken aback by the hard work and dedication that ranch living demanded, and how quickly I became immersed in it.
My girlfriend, her younger brother, and her parents were incredibly hardworking ranchers. They seemed to be very down-to-earth people who viewed life in its most authentic, organic, and natural way, yet with an added God-loving, religious, stoic demeanour. I recall arriving at their ranch and feeling all their eyes on me. All of them had an air of both suspicion and mild comic disbelief that a girl like me would be able to last out the weekend they had planned. I don’t think anyone knew the young woman I was, including, surprisingly, myself, at that time, or how strong I am, both physically and mentally.
Up to that time, all my spare time at home, between working at the family business, attending school, and attending the JW Kingdom Hall, was spent on chores, as I needed to pull my weight and pitch in. Growing up in large families you don’t complain, argue, or whine because more work will automatically be given to you, so you have a quick acceptance of what needs to be done, and you ‘suck it up’ and ‘just do it.’
If ever given a choice of chores to be done, I would always pick working outside, digging in the garden, weeding, and trimming the trees that lined our house in the ‘Hat’ rather than doing vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, dusting, laundry and childcare. I remember having dirt digging contests with my younger sister, K, where we would each have a pitchfork and make a line in the dirt midway through the family vegetable garden, racing from the furthest ends to see who could dig the fastest and reach the middle first. We developed some impressive biceps and strong backs, too, back then, as it was a good two to three hours of digging. So even though I may have looked like a bit of a preppy, hippy, city girl, I had some hidden strength.
So, when I arrived at the ranch after some quick introductions, my girlfriend took me for a walk around, and as we were walking, she noticed a cow in the nearby field that looked like she was ready to give birth. Hence, we snuck up to her and a few of the other cows nearby as she made the motions, sounds, and actions of a cow about to give birth to a calf. Of course, I wasn’t as covert as my ranch hand girlfriend and made too much noise, so we startled the cow, and when she spotted us staring at her, she got darn mad.
Next thing you know, we’re running like two crazy women out of an IKEA store commercial, yelling at someone repeatedly to start the car! If you know what I mean. I was utterly shocked that cows got so protective and angered; I had assumed they were always patient, calm, stoic, and compliant animals. But there was very little patience from this pregnant cow, as she chased me so close I could feel the heat from her nostrils on my back while I narrowly made it to the nearby fence and swiftly jumped over it. I wish I could jump that quickly at the high school track meet. Isn’t it striking what fear will do to a person?
So, we watched patiently by the fence as this mad momma cow went back to the patch she chose to give birth in, and sadly, she struggled unsuccessfully to give birth. We watched for quite some time, and then she caught us again and got up, charging at the fence, so we had to high-tail it outa of there. It was a few hours later that evening that the ranch hands and my girlfriend’s father rounded up that cow to the cow barn, and I was informed that they would all need to pull the calf. I said, ‘Pull the calf, what is that?’
It was explained to me that this Heifer (name for a female bovine experiencing her first birthing), who was only a Hereford breed, was bred with a giant breed of bull that was an Aberdeen Angus. So, the calf was too large for the Heifer to birth on her own and would need help in the way of placing a chain around the hoofs of the calf (yes, calves come out with their hoofs first) that we could hook onto a link and then physically use our strength to pull the calf free.
So, my girlfriend, her father, and a ranch hand all hooked into the chain around the hooves of the calf and pulled with all their might, but with little to no movement. So, they looked at me and said We need your help, and I said, ‘Who me?’ And so, with my help and another ranch hand, we hooked on a couple of links, and all five of us pulled with all our strength together, and finally the calf came free, and a wonderful little, or should I say big calf, came into the world quite miraculously. I was awestruck by the entire experience, something that I still remember to this day as I share this story with you.
As you can imagine, the Cow was unable to stand and lick her newborn calf due to all the trauma from such a birthing experience and such a large calf. So, it was up to all of us to help the calf get close to the mother’s teats so that the little, big guy could have his first meal. A crucial step for new calves is that they drink from their mother’s teats within four hours after birth, which helps their digestive system absorb antibodies. This first milk is called colostrum, I believe. I was so honoured to be a part of such a wondrous experience, helping to bring a new life into the world.
Of course, this was nothing new to my girlfriend and her family, but for me it was an incredible experience. But because we had a hectic day, the next day we would be rounding up cattle and checking on any new births in the field, so we needed to get to bed early to wake up at 5:00 am and get started for a long day of riding. Something I didn’t know anything about, as I have never ridden a horse before, so this was going to be a day of days for me for sure.
Learning How To MOO Right
It was five AM, and I was outside getting instructions from my girlfriend on horseback riding. Of course, I attempted to mount the horse on the wrong side, which, as it turns out, a person must always mount on the left side, or the horse gets pissed off with you. This was my experience as the horse didn’t like me being such a greenhorn and knocked me off, which I slipped and fell right into a giant cowpie (bull shit for those who don’t know), and everyone was laughing at my city slicker moves, of course. I had to change my jeans as they were filthy from the fall. I had to wear a pair of my girlfriend’s jeans, which, as it turned out, were quite a bit longer in the legs than mine, so I needed to roll up the hems.
While I was changing in the house, my girlfriend saddled up a different, older, more patient horse for me to ride. This horse was used to greenhorns like me and would be gentler, she felt, since I knew nothing about riding at all. When I returned outside, having learned my lesson this time, I mounted on the left, and this horse was much more appreciative and allowed me to carry on with my inexperience as a rider, it seemed. Which, as it turned out, we became close buddies, me and this old mare by the end of the day.
My girlfriend stayed with me for a few miles as we rode together, looking for cows, steers, and calves roaming about on the ranch. There were 500 head of cattle to round up, apparently, and I was holding up the show, you might say. So, when we came upon a new cow and her two calves, my girlfriend asked me to be responsible for rounding up just the one calf that its mother had abandoned. This happens sometimes with new cows that birth twins, as the cow may not have enough milk for two calves, or they just reject the calf altogether, and unfortunately for this calf, his mother outright left him stranded all alone.
My heart went out to this poor calf, and I was reminded about the fact that he needed to be fed colostrum within four hours, or he may not live. This became my only job right there and then. Expecting me to join the rest of the crew and do a round-up was next to impossible due to my inexperience with riding and the round-up. My girlfriend asked me to round up this one and only calf to go back to the ranch, and their milk cow, named Ebony, who had plenty of milk to spare, would adopt the calf as her own, since she has done this many times before. I didn’t want my girlfriend to have to babysit me while she could be doing so much more with the rest of the ranch crew, so I agreed to do this one job to the best of my ability.
I was left alone with a horse and a calf in the middle of miles of dry, hilly terrain, much the same as you would see in an old western movie. I was missing the cigar in my mouth and the poncho at this moment—a little bit of spaghetti western movie trivia for you. I was thankful that my horse was a mare and that I too was female…don’t know if that made a difference to the calf, but somehow, I had to convince this calf to follow me back to the ranch because I didn’t want to have to drag the poor calf with a rope or something back to the ranch. He was already so frightened and sad because his mother had abandoned him.
What happened next, I can only say that it’s a good thing I don’t embarrass easily. The only thing I could think of to do was to Moo like a cow. And so, I did. I Mooed and Mooed and Mooed all the way back to the ranch. And the little calf followed me and the mare, accepting that we were like his momma. The mare was so helpful with all of this, as I feel she understood what I was trying to do for the little calf. We made a great team, I think.
As you can imagine, I had quite a dry hoarse mouth and throat by the time we reached the ranch, but we did it, and the calf followed me, with my mooing skills on the horse, directly into the cow barn and immediately to the milking cow Ebony. Everyone was waiting for us to arrive back at the ranch, as we took the longest, and they witnessed me mooing and the calf following, and of course, everyone was having a great laugh at me and my cow’s mooing skills. It was a hilarious sight indeed.
So, the moral of this story is this. Never assume by the outward look of someone the actual size of a person’s heart, or the strength of their character, or the creativity they will use whenever it comes to helping to save the life of an innocent one.
I know that in Canada, many have made assumptions about the Conservative Party, about Western Canadians living in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Much of it is just that, assumptions not based on any facts. But what is a known fact about Western Canadians is that they love this country, they want to work the land, farm, mine, fish, and treat the land ecologically as it should be. If they could only be allowed to sell the fruits of their hard labour, it would help to save this country from extinction.
Those of you who voted Liberal because you were afraid of Trump and assumed that Conservatives are just like Trump, couldn’t be more wrong and are devoid of any facts on this subject. Trump is American and represents the Republican Party. We are Canadian and we don’t have any Republican Party or Democratic Party in our parliamentary system. That’s a fact. Please don’t make that mistake again, because we are running out of chances to correct many wrongs done by the many corrupt policies created by the Liberal party over the last ten years. Bill C69 and C-5, need to be entirely abolished if we are ever to sell our resources to countries other than the US. It’s plain and straightforward, and if it doesn’t happen, then we are losing hope for this country to continue.
So, I hope you enjoyed my story and that you might have a change of thought about your assumptions about the Conservative party and what it represents in Canada.
And I hear congratulations are for Pierre Poilievre on winning the by-election today, August 18th, in Battle River-Crowfoot. Hooray! We have our leader of the opposition back in parliament once again! My heart is glad today, and hope restored that we might still have a country left to fight for again.
Tracy Lee Thompson enjoys living and working as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Spiritual Blogger, and Tarot reader in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Tracy’s primary goal as a hypnotherapist is to help people feel better by letting go of their past blocks and learning how to enjoy life. She’s a ‘humanist’ in her belief in life and looks for what is positively human in all of us.
