A "Sharecropper" is a farmer who works the land for a “share” of the harvest. The landowner receives a percentage or portion from the top of the harvest. My dad (pictured on his combine) was a sharecropper. He was responsible for the labor, equipment and the cost of planting and the harvest. After harvest, at …
Tag: god
Everything Started Off Great, Then #*@###!
It was just a simple thing like nailing the board when… pain took over my life. My finger was pounding. This led to throwing the hammer, putting my finger in my mouth and words from the gutter came roaring out. As my finger was throbbing, I asked myself, “How could this happen?” Isn’t this like …
Lessons From The Farm: The Coffee Can of Nails
It was a milestone of an era. Everyone I knew kept a coffee can of nails. There were all types & sizes… roofing, finishing, 10-penny, and framing nails. And they were bent. But why keep bent & used nails? Why not throw them away? My parents, my friends’ parents & families had experienced the Great …
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Rain or Shine…Hot or Cold…
Last week I noticed these ducks in our yard at the lake. It was pouring down rain, yet they went about the morning as if it were bright & sunny. When you think about it, they have no warm & safe shelter or control over the weather. They do not have a pantry, refrigerator & …
“Boy, You Are Getting Too Big For Your Britches.”
I heard my dad tell me this more than once. It was not directed at my size but my attitude. He recognized my weakness and loved me in a way that I can still hear his voice of correction. An attitude of “Too Big For Your Britches” is a heart for me first...”my way” that …
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Lesson From The Farm: “What Do You See?”
I asked a dear farmer friend, "What are your thoughts when you plant?" He quickly replied, "I see the harvest!" Think about that. My friend is a seasoned farmer. He has “put-in” a lot of crops. He knows the hard work that lays ahead. He has experienced the enormous risks of poor crop prices, insects, …
“Username & Password”
I don’t remember the first time I set up my “Username & Password,” but it seems that most of my adult life has been a series of Usernames & Passwords. At first, I thought it was silly. I didn’t know any dark secrets or vast amounts of assets that needed protecting nor was I conducting …
I Thought…
I must have been 4 or 5 when I had the bright idea that I was faster than my dad. I remember we were outside the farm shop; it was an open area when I “popped off” with one of my, “I’m not going to do that!” responses. Then the “He’s too old to catch …
I Was A Flag-Boy
Once the rice was about knee high…when it’s hard to see the snakes, my job was to be a flag-boy for the pilot flying fertilizer, herbicides, or insecticides. It was always just after the sun came up that I would wade into the rice field with the mosquitoes. A flag-boy is the focal point or …
“Spoon Fed…”
We all start the same way, somebody spoon feeding us. It starts with a plan or strategy of selecting what “lil” Johnny needed, what he would eat, creative ways and time for the “event” and the clean up afterwards. For Mary & me, the sooner our children learned to use their own spoon, the better. …
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