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Consider this quote from Abe Lincoln

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

 

 

Where has May gone? Summer is here as is June so let’s start out with a few random thoughts shall we?

  1. There is certainly nothing like the years’ first taste of a rhubarb dish. Especially if it has a little vanilla ice cream with it. It seemed to set the mood for a summer of good tasting things and really only makes me in more of a hurry to find a piece of sour cream raisin pie.

  2. It would be a lie to say that the youngest of the children were as excited about attending the National Cattle Dog Trials this last weekend as I was. They did make it through almost three hours, and a hot dog, hamburger and super nacho later. As a farm kid I marveled at the dogs working and secretly wished I had spent more time with our old Australian Sheppard when I was a kid. To hear their owner whistle calls over the field gave one a sense of where these dogs work every day. If you missed it, be sure to look for it on RFD-TV the next weeks or month.

  3. I sat out on the porch the other night watching the fireflies dance just above the grass. Summertime always meant fireflies in a Mason jar next to the bed at night. When I closed my eyes I could hear the voices of cousins and friends as we chased them around the yard in those few minutes just after dusk each night.

  4. My garden isn’t sure that it wants to grow. Some of the plants are coming along and others are stubbornly deciding to give the weeds a head start.

  5. Only two months to State Fair. Sorry kids, I know that means the start of school again.

  6. There are days when one wonders what going through the motions are really for. One works harder and harder and yet seems to get further and further behind. It makes a person thankful for the encouragement of a good friend, and especially one you haven’t heard from in a while.

  7. Graduations are behind us now and beyond the fellowship and fun of the party, it is a sure sign of the continuation of life. Another generation steps forth into the world to lead on and make the effort to find their dreams. It made me think a bit as I sat there with a red cup full of strawberry punch in my hand on Saturday just how important the people in my life who mentored me were. What kind of a person are you to a young person? Do you share with them your knowledge? Do you encourage them to try something new to them, even if you know that the only result will be failure? Something to think about isn’t it?

  8. Next weekend is the White Pole Road garage sales. Miles and miles of junk people no longer want in their homes, finding a place with people who can’t believe the seller is getting rid of it. Sounds like a fun time to me!

  9. Have you noticed that no one writes letters anymore? I can’t remember the last time I got a letter from someone that didn’t include a bill or a plea for money, or a notification that someone I have never met died in a freak water buffalo accident in Kenya and has named me the beneficiary of his million dollar estate. In these days of email and texting, letter writing is almost a lost art. The sad part of this is the fact that emails are so disposable that they don’t leave any history around. Nothing that can be picked up in fifty years and read over, poured over, dissected. Something that shows our kids and grandkids what our handwriting was like, the way we thought and who we were. It’s a shame in a way that the delete button is so final. Although I can think of a couple of people who are probably really glad for that button as it gives them a good place to hide from taking responsibility. I think I’ll sit down this evening and write an old friend a letter just to see how they are.

  10. Finally this week, I’ve given a lot of thought to organ donation lately. Oh sure, I’d like to wait until I’m gone from the face of this earth to do so, although if things don’t start to improve in this economy I’m sure most of us will start thinking about selling off body parts. If you haven’t done so, have a talk with your family about becoming an organ donor. It’s as easy as just making a check mark on the back of your driver’s license when you renew each year. And the life you save may just be the one lasting legacy that you leave on this earth.

See you next week…Remember, we’re all in this together.