Bill
Type: Standard BLM Jack
Born: 1977?
Height: 11 Hands, 3"
Weight: 375 lbs.
Color: Black w/ BLM Freeze Brand
Position: Packer First Class, getting old
You know Wimpy from Popeye, Garfield the Cat and Fred Flintstone. Now meet Bill the Donkey. He can eat more than all of them put together. He often gets what they call "The Choke" from trying to swallow faster than he can chew. He also has a funny-sounding voice - he is all Hee and no Haw.
Bill is one of our most reliable packers, along with his buddy Slim. He may not be greased lightning, but he will carry anything you ask him to across any kind of terrain. And he is not herd-bound so he can be taken off by himself. This is especially impressive considering he was once wild on the plains of Nevada.
BLM stands for Bureau of Land Management. They are in charge of the Federal open space that is not Forest Service or Parks Dept. They conduct regular round-ups of wild burros and mustangs, then offer them for sale to good homes at a bargain price. Bill was one of these burros. This probably accounts for his voracious appetite; when he was young he never new when his next meal was coming.
Bill is also an excellent riding donkey. And he doesn't get spooked by having a wriggly kid on his back. Maybe we can retire him to this capacity someday.
Epilogue: Bill passed away in February 2009, presumably of old age.