The Origin of Frickaseed
A cherished childhood memory is the summers my brother and I spent working on my grandparents’ small cattle ranch in an upper mountain valley of the Rocky Mountains. We always got paid at the end of summer for all our hard work, which we spent on school clothes and such items. It was a huge boon to our working class parents with their large family. However, my brother and I ended up with the bigger benefit because of the strong work ethic we both developed.
Grandpa’s ranch extended over a thousand acres and we often loaded the horses in the pickup to drive them 20 miles to where we needed to work that day. Frickaseed was one of Grandpa’s working farm horses. Grandpa let me and my brother name Frickaseed, which was in honor after Grandma’s famed Sunday dinner–Chicken Fricassee and Dumplings. It was delicious and worth waiting for all week long. Grandpa loved Grandma’s Sunday dinner, too, so the name stuck.
Of course, ‘Chicken Fricassee and Dumplings’ was a mouthful for a horse’s name, and it was quickly shortened to Frickaseed. Grandpa had no problem either, when he was mad at the horse for one of his shenanigans, about threatening Frickaseed that he really would end up as Sunday’s main course. I never knew we pronounced his name wrong, let alone spelled it wrong, until I was grown up and looking at recipes one day.
Frickaseed was not a purebred, or even a particular breed. He was just an American farm horse. He was expected to work every day, except Sunday, just like everybody else on the farm. It was not a fact that he appreciated and he often pulled stunts to get out of work. If you weren’t paying attention and he got away, he’d head straight for home, where his oats, hay, and warm barn were waiting. The one thing Frickaseed did love to do, though, was run.
Fourth of July was a big deal in that small mountain community. It was a day that everyone looked forward to and it was one of Frickaseed’s shining moments. The highlight of the day was the horse races that took place on the old airstrip up on the flats.
Frickaseed knew as soon as the other horses nosed up beside him that it was his calling and destiny to be the first down there at the end. The gun would fire and he would take off. Frickaseed ran with every ounce of strength and spirit he possessed for he had the heart of a champion—and the legs of a midget.
I often forgot how small Frickaseed was until he lined up against the other horses. They were a good foot taller than he because of his short legs, but it didn’t stop him from trying. In fact, he would have been heartbroken if he hadn’t been allowed to run. Frickaseed never won, it was physically impossible for him to do so. But, he loved the trying and everybody loved watching him try. It was a joy to witness his unstoppable spirit when it was something he wanted to do.
Frickaseed.com originally was a web design company started by a group of friends, but that didn’t go so well. So, the name went dormant for years. I decided to use Frickaseed.com in honor of my grandfather’s old farm horse.
The name just seemed to fit with what I am doing here. I am very much a David against the Goliath insurance companies. I may not make much of a difference in providing the uninsured insurance options, but I am going to try…in spite of the improbabilities…just like my old friend, Frickaseed.