It's Life

This is my backyard. This is our office. It's located in my backyard. So are the loading chutes, sheds, barns, silos and molasses tanks (tanks full of molasses that cattle find extremely tasty and nutritious.) Loading cattle here has been a common sight for as long as I can remember.
Tonight we loaded bulls. It started to snow when they were loading. I hope the driver and the bulls get to their destination safely.
The bulls have been in my backyard for several weeks. Getting fat. Getting ready to go north. Getting ready to...uh... go to slaughter, or should I say "harvest." Not too long ago that word reminded me of wheat. Kind of like the word "gay" used to make me think of someone happy.
Anyway, today our "politically correct" friends recommend we don't refer to the word that actually describes what has taken place since Adam and Eve. The word that describes what has taken place for centuries to insure human survival. No, today we must treat the word like candied fruit. Sugar coating reality. We might offend tender ears if light is shed on the gruesome origin of food, clothing and consumables.
However you want to say it, it still results with meat on my table, leather for my shoes, buttons on my coat, crayolas for my grandkids, deodorant for my underarms, perfume for my pulse points and footballs. It means I can carry a purse, wear gloves, eat ice cream, and enjoy butter on my bread.
I've watched this cycle of life and death from the time I was old enough to walk. I love cattle. I love animals. I was sad when those bulls loaded on that truck tonight. For the past few weeks I'd been watching them and listening to them. They fought each other. Bellered. Bawled. And dug up dirt here in my backyard.
Tonight their fate was sealed when they boarded the truck. It's part of life.
But it's not keeping me from praying for their safe arrival.

chainranchlady.com

Oh, Poop

It's been quite a week. I had the opportunity to spend the night with my youngest daughter, her husband, and their 3-- under 4. She made Christmas goodies and I organized cabinets. That night I had a new "teeth brushing" experience. Their bathroom lighting was a little dim, so was my sight- absent my glasses. The tube looked like Crest, felt like Crest, squeezed like Crest but it sure didn't taste like Crest. Boudreaux's Butt Paste just doesn't have that same fresh minty flavor.
After leaving their place, Brad and I had the opportunity to take 4 of the other 6 (3 under 4 and a 9 year old) Christmas lightseeing. Prior to the light viewing, begging resulted in a stop at the Golden Arches. The playground was just as you'd expect...packed with hoards of gleeful kids playing in a less than sanitary environment while parents watch on as their little ones perform grotesque antics.
After witnessing a boy of 5 or 6 laying face down licking the carpet I questioned our sanity in bringing them their during flu season. Nearly an hour into having more fun than anyone should be allowed, it dawned on me that I was missing a girl. I called her name, no answer.
The other 3 were alerted to scour the tubes. Nothing. Just as I was going in to search myself, the blond haired beauty appeared from behind the shoe stand. An angelic demure smile on her face. As I approached her the smell hit me. Brad motioned something to me."What?" I mouthed. He motioned again. As I picked her up, I realized why startled glances were being shared. I can only say it ended with a trip to the dollar store to get a new set of clothes.
After the dollar store stop we headed to the lights. The excitement was more than they could bear but soon dwindled as the lighting disappeared after entering the park. The entrance was beautifully lit but that's where it ended. The 80 mile round trip to view a few lights at the entrance of what used to be a lighting extravaganza, and the disappearance of the rest, was a little disappointing and hard to explain to two 4 four year olds---but nothing that ice cream wouldn't fix. The 40 mile trip home was quiet except for an occasional ice cream slurp.
The rest of the week resulted in more busy bodies spilling, pooping, dropping, breaking, crying, burping, laughing, stuttering, questioning, hugging, spilling, dropping, crying, pooping.............
Yea, it's been quite a week...and I wouldn't trade it with anyone, poop and all.

Merry Christmas
Andy
chainranchlady.com

Not So Far Away

Consolidated Six (Con 6) , the country school where most of the community received their education was a large lonely looking blond brick structure that sat solitaire in the middle of a field several miles from our house. My dad and his sisters attended school there. When the school was closed in the late 50's the building became the hub for community activities ranging from serving as a voting precinct to the gathering place for many, many holiday get togethers, the grandest being the Con 6 Christmas Program. The faithful Con 6 Club ladies met monthly to organize these activities which were anything but mediocre. The dinners were served on white linen tablecloths with linen napkins. Emmense effort was put in every detail.


"The Con 6 Men's Quartet" consisted of (L-R) My Uncle Lloyd, our good friend and neighbor Bud, my dad, and our mailman, LeRoy. These guys could really sing. My dad and Bud can still carry a great tune. Uncle Lloyd and LeRoy have since passed on.
Those days were filled with wonder and excitement. It was a simpler time, a time I thought was gone forever. Well, I was wrong. Our daughter & son-in-law, and their three children have moved home from back east and are managing a portion of our ranching operation. They now live in a community much like the one I grew up knowing. The hub of their community revolves around a country church in the middle of nowhere...but don't let that fool you. The citizens in that area are many and they turn out religiously to celebrate holidays, assist those in need, and hold bake sales & auctions to raise money for missions, all with generosity and open arms.
Our kids had a house warming/ blessing this past week. Our family traveled over to this community to join in the celebration. It started with a meal of chili and stew, homemade cornbread, pies, and cakes at the country church and ended up with everyone traveling to their house where the minister blessed their home and family. It was a wonderful experience. Each visit to that community takes me back to a time I only thought had disappeared. I can't wait til next week-my daughter is in charge of the community Christmas Program. My contribution:
Making C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s letters.

Grateful

After venting in "Wasted" a voice of positive gratitude is in order. It's easy to complain about life's problems, it's a little harder to take the time to be thankful for what we are blessed with. I try to thank the Lord each day for all he's blessed me with. We're supposed to thank him for our trials too, those make us stronger. I have a hard time with that one, but that's what we are suppose to do...I'll try to do better.
I'm Grateful The Lord Has Given Me:
His grace, forgiveness, and mercy; Brad, my folks, my 94 year old grandmother Hazel, my kids, my sons and daughters-in-laws & their families, my 9 grandkids, our health, living in the U.S., being raised by christian parents & grandparents, our secretary-Linda, our abundant supply of food, my dishwasher, my washer and dryer, running water, Ronald Reagan, our great employees, the fact my house has heat in the winter & is cool in the summer, my church family, my vehicle and fuel to go in it, country churches, small town grocery stores, electricity, the fact that I can walk, talk and get around, laughter, small towns, big towns, beautiful sunsets, beautiful sunrises, pets, Marty Robbins & Johnny Horton, education, traveling, eating out, growing up in the 50's, being able to fix Thanksgiving dinner, having all our kids and grandkids living nearby, good preachers, good music and being able to sing along with it and listen to it, dreams, growing up country, good coffee, good tea, pumpkin pie, fresh water, Glenn Beck, books, thrift stores, babies, little kids and their great stories, big kids & any morsal of conversation they might share, old people and their great stories, people excited about life, weddings, good restaurants, being able to run, good running shoes, comfortable boots, swimming pools, having 8 years with my Aunt Mo, warm clothing & Cuddle duds, small town commitment and loyalty, our founding fathers, veterans, Woody Guthrie's ability to write great ballads, good teachers, good friends, good chocolate, horses, spring- summer- winter- fall, the Bible, good bread, hot springs, massages, pedicures & manicures and the people willing to give them, did I say living in America?, living in Kansas and getting to know and appreciate it, our banker, my sweeper, my Total Gym, the air I breath and life. These are just a few of the things that I'm thankful for. I would write more but he's given me a beautiful day to enjoy- Sunshine and No Wind!

Stupid Human Tricks

This could have been far from funny, but we can look back and laugh now.
One hot summer afternoon my folks took my brother and I to the Little Sahara Sand Dunes, an area covered with acres and acres of sand used for recreational purposes. In the 60's the dunes didn't have much there. Today it's covered with dune buggies and thousands of people...I still haven't figured that out--what draws a person to want to get hot and sandy in the middle of the summer. Anyway, that day 40 plus years ago, my folks met another couple there and we had a picnic. This couple had no children and we soon became bored. The picnic area was a good distance from where the car was parked. After lunch we headed back to the car. The car was new and we were infatuated with its new unique gadget. We thought we'd go experiment with it. The push button trunk opener was one of the most amazing things we had seen. Being bored kids we weren't satisfied just popping it and shutting it, and popping it and shutting it, and popping it and shutting it. We decided to take turns getting into the trunk. I got in first. He shut the trunk and popped it. Out I came. Now it was his turn. He got in, I shut the trunk, pushed the button...nothing........nothing at all. I pushed and pushed. We had popped it one too many times. In a muffled voice he said, "Aren't you going to let me out?' I said, "Mont, it won't open." He frantically piped, "don't tease me." I told him I wasn't teasing. He began to scream, and kick and scream. That was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, leave him yelling and screaming locked in that sweltering trunk and run to get help. Today we both are claustrophobic.

Wasted

I'm too simplistic. I like to see the big picture. I keep trying to paint one in my mind of what's going on. When an artist paints a landscape he needs a viewpoint. A viewpoint is the height from which the artist sees the subject they're painting. It determines where the horizon line is. A consistent horizon line is fundamental to accurate perspective. When I paint this picture in my mind there's no viewpoint, no consistent horizon, no perspective. It keeps resembling Evard Munch's painting " Scream." Does anyone else feel like the creature clutching his head in that strange picture?

I don't like to waste anything...you can ask my kids. If we had pot roast for supper you could bet that we'd be having roast beef sandwiches the next day and stew after that...and what wasn't eaten I froze. Discount stores were the norm, and the mall was pretty much off limits. I didn't have an outside job, (just a pretty intense inside one). That was my contribution to the family. For us it just made common sense to scrutinize every possible way to save a penny so I could stay home and raise our family.
In the past year I've watched dumb founded, at the lack of common sense and the " taste for waste" that is becoming the norm within our society.
The incidences I've personally encountered have become so numerous that I just decided to sit down and list them. My aggitation because of them has hit a crezendo.

I first witnessed willful slothfulness when I went to purchase a new pair of glasses last fall- just after the election and on the cusp of the first big government bailout. I sat in line for nearly two hours as I watched people in sloppy t-shirts, sweat pants and house shoes enter the office, wait maybe 10 minutes then waltz on back, government cards in hand, ahead of me. I didn't have a government "member's only" card. Don't get me wrong. I'd give you the shirt off my back if you asked me. But these people were rude and had an attitude of ingratitude. That incident got me going. My tax dollar was being wasted. Not only was I watching the government waste my tax dollar to pay for eye wear for individuals who hadn't had the gumption to get dressed before coming to town, I was also watching them pay off homes people had no business buying. All the while my kids and friends were struggling to pay off their home mortgages- husbands and wives both working their rear ends off to do so.

Another irritating waste problem concerns a water issue we've had for the past three years in a neighboring state. On our ranch which is located in this state, we have abundant water. Everyone wants that water, including a city that has been using it for years free of charge. We would like to have a little of it to irrigate an area of ground to raise alfalfa. Routine 8 hour round trips to the agency which decides the matter have resulted in us being ignored, lied to, threatened and told "no way-that area is over appropriated." A few months back I stumbled upon the fact that the city was knowingly wasting thousands of gallons of water a day because of old lines, and the agency which does the regulating was issuing permits all the while. That got me going too.

And yet more irritating tales. This summer we went through a fire on our ranch which destroyed over 50,000 acres of grass in our county. The outrageous encounters that came with the fire ended my naivete. During the days that followed the fire I was told by one government agency that no help could be expected for the fire victims-- urban areas only (i.e. New Orleans)- not rural, were the only ones that could seek assistance during a disaster. The director of that government agency asked me to help in gathering numbers on losses as he was understaffed. He also explained that his unit had to have two phone lines while in the fire field; one to orchestrate help for fighting the fire and one for reporting endangered wildlife species back to the main office. He was exasperated. After talking with that government agency I contacted another government agency asking questions about the cause of the fire. This conversation ended with the secretary of that government agency outraged at the director of the other government agency(which she had no affiliation with) all because he asked for my help. While these crazy conversations were taking place, over 50 local fire departments were doing all they could to keep the fire under control...until another government agency came to help...the head agency. This government agency insisted on pulling local fire fighters out of the field, away from fighting fire, to take inventory counts of all the firefighters. Local firefighters were exasperated when that help arrived. This was the same government agency that had earlier insisted on fighting with the other government agency.
Then to add insult to injury... A meeting was formed of all the landowners who had been affected by the fire. Another government agency attended that as well. They were there to help too. That meeting ended with an invitation to all of the farmers and ranchers in attendance who had lost cattle, fencing, houses, barns, and machinery to attend a Prescribed Burn Seminar??? And to add more insult to injury...that government agency director read the list of programs we could attend that coming Saturday. Among the list--- "Will Cedars Burn In July?????" Sound absurd? This is absolutely true.

And lately... While attending a serene place I go to escape from all of this waste and absurdity, I had yet another irritating encounter. A roaster full of chili which had been made to feed football boys wasn't used and was left in the refrigerator of this serene place. We don't have many helpers at this serene place. I usually make sure the frig is cleaned out there but I was gone for two weeks. On the second week when I returned and open the door I nearly fainted... the soup had rotted. Those who knew the soup had been left in the frig just shrugged and replied "Oh Well." $75.00 worth of chili wasted. My serenity disappeared.

And this weekend I attended yet another meeting where waste didn't seem to be a big deal. This group is in charge of the utilization of other people's money for an industry promotion. I learned at this meeting that an advertising project costing thousands of dollars had been scrapped because a few people were unhappy with it's results. A new and improved project would begin...utilizing someone else's money.

I'll say it again. I don't waste anything...even to a fault...just ask my kids. Maybe I learned it from my Grandad Lenard, who made soup out of nothing at all. Or maybe Brad's mom, Barb, who never let a bowl travel to the dishwasher without a good spatulan (cleaning every particle from a bowl with her signature spatula, old and slightly limp) Her frugality gave me a husband who never complains about what I serve, won't make a trip to town to buy a machinery part until he's exhausted every possibility of making the repair himself, and who's thrifty to a fault...just ask his kids.

I still can't explain what's going on in this world. But I think I'm finding my viewpoint. I just needed to get it off my chest and on paper. My horizon is a little more defined and my perspective a little clearer. I can sum it up now: I'm not going to stand for waste and I want answers to common sense questions. I'm tired of big government taking my tax dollars and putting it into the hands of people who lack the ability to use it wisely. I'm not going to back down, I'm going to keep voicing my opinions and offering my suggestions. I'd urge you to do the same.

I think Benjamin Franklin put it quite nicely.
"Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industriousness and frugality, nothing will do, and with them everything."

A Servant's Attitude

Once upon a time I had a friend named Maria. She helped me clean house. When we first met our friendship was instantaneous. I didn't speak her language and she didn't speak mine. But that communication barrier didn't bother us. We were from two different countries, two different churches, and two different cultures, but that didn't matter, come Friday we would hug each other like long lost sisters. Maria didn't have to speak English and I didn't have to speak her language for both of us to convey this message of friendship.
You see Maria was easy to befriend-- because of her gift. Maria loved to serve. She never tired of serving. Each week she couldn't wait to serve.
Maria never complained, never called in sick, was never rude, never mad, she was never slothful in her work, never insolent and she never gossiped about anybody... not to me anyway! I didn't have to tell her what to do, she always saw what needed to be done and jumped in. Often times she would bring me homemade goodies from her kitchen. She shared her food, her friendship, her all... wearing a beautiful smile every Friday.

I wish I was more like Maria, I wish there were more Marias in my life. I wish our country had more Marias. I wish our church had more Marias. I wish our government had more Marias.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Anyone can be great because anyone can serve."
Maria was great.