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I’m a conservative - no question about it. I didn’t vote for Obama.
The inauguration is over, we have spent $120 million dollars on a huge party so that the nation could celebrate and feel good in the midst of the recession - after all, we deserve a big party when times are tough, don’t we? But what were we celebrating?
I kept hearing people talk about what a historic event the inauguration was this year. It was important to mark this occasion of the first minority individual to become president. The more I heard this “historic event” remark and the reasoning for it, the more it bothered me.
Why is it important that Obama is a member of a minority? Every new president takes his place in history and he will as well, for good or bad. But how unfortunate and short-sighted for people to celebrate because someone of his race or religion was elected. Those things don’t matter. Is he a good man? Will he make wise decisions? Will he steer policy in the right direction for the prosperity of the country? Those are the things that deserve to be celebrated, not his affiliations - Democrat, African-American, etc. etc.
Let’s watch our new president’s actions, and hope he can make a positive impact on history through results and not just because of his minority status.
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February 4th, 2009 in
The Economy |
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In Montana storms can roll in fast and cause a lot of destruction, particularly in the spring when the animals are being born. And sometimes everything seems to go wrong at once. Those storms can provide some great life lessons.
We had one of those memorable storms on the ranch when my kids were little. It was early April, and we had the first-calf heifers penned near the house in case any of them needed help calving. Several of them were due any day. My in-laws were visiting, so they watched the kids while I helped outside.
Clouds built all afternoon and the heifers bucked and ran around their small pasture, feeling the change in the weather. After one particularly boisterous display of energy, we saw one of the heifers sail over the fence and disappear at a gallop up the coulee beyond. There were only a few hours of daylight left, the storm was coming and that heifer, naturally, was one of those who could calve at any time. We searched on foot and with the pickup, but as dark came and the wind and snow forced us to call off the search, we still had not found that heifer.
When morning came the snow was still falling, and my husband was sick in bed. He’s a big guy and can do most anything, but when he gets sick he goes down hard. I knew from past experience that he would barely be able to lift his head til the bug had passed. I have to admit that I felt overwhelmed, and maybe more than a little angry. How would I cope with a sick husband, in-laws, 2 little kids, heifers about to calve, and get the main cow herd fed? The kids and in-laws were easy. My father-in-law was an amputee and would take care of the kids and cook, while my mother-in-law tried to help me.
I did the chores, and checked the heifers, all the while fretting about what I would do about feeding the cows. They expected the tractor to bring them hay bales from the hay yard every morning, and would be waiting impatiently for their breakfast. They certainly wouldn’t starve before my husband was well enough to feed them - they had plenty of hay left over from past feedings. But they were Angus cows, prone to taking matters into their own hands (or hooves as the case may be) and were likely to break into the hay yard and go on a rampage through the bales if the feed didn’t come as expected. If that happened, they would destroy hay that would be needed for later in the spring which would be a real hardship.
I was raised on a ranch and was a ranch wife, and had driven most of the tractors and machinery on the place…..except for the one used to feed the cows. I got mumbled instructions from my sick husband, bundled myself and my mother-in-law (who was scared of all animals bigger than a cat) in snow suits and headed off.
We got the cows fed. A job that would normally take my husband a half hour took us three times as long. I was slow moving the bales, having to think through every movement as I drove up to the bale, grabbed it with the grapple fork and carried it to the cattle. And the only power steering in that tractor was coming from me! My mother-in-law stood in the gate and waved her arms to keep the cows out of the hay yard as I came through with each bale. We were both soaked to the skin from the wet snow and worn out by the time we finished the job, but proud that we had been able to get the feeding done.
That night, of course one of the heifers calved and needed help. Another first…it was my first time “pulling” a calf and as the heifer and I both strained to get the calf born, I screamed at her for being so stupid as to have the calf at that particular time, and screamed at my husband for being sick at the most inopportune time, and screamed at the storm for causing all this trouble. Being alone in the barn in the middle of the night is a good place for screaming out your frustration. And then I cried. I had gotten the calf most of the way out, but it was hung up on the ribs and try as I might I just couldn’t get it any further. If I couldn’t get the calf out, I would lose them both. I tried again, twisting the heavy calf as I pulled harder than I thought possible, and it started to move. Minutes later the calf was out and the cow was licking it dry.
This storm happened more than twenty years ago, but it is an experience that is still fresh in my mind. Why? Because I was pushed out of my comfort zone by circumstances totally beyond my control, and managed to work through fears and frustrations as I did things I didn’t think I could do. If I had had any options I know I would not have been able to do it - I would have gladly let someone else do it, or not done it at all if there had been any choice. Sometimes we need those situations to show us what we are capable of …..I think our current economic crisis may be just such an opportunity. You don’t have to be happy about it, it’s ok to be scared, but dig deep and you will find that you have the resources to come out ok.
The next day the storm ended and the sun came out, my husband got out of bed, and as we looked out at the beautiful snowy landscape, we saw the heifer that had jumped the fence come out of the coulee with her new baby calf. True story!
Technorati Tags: storms, ranch wife, economic crisis, self-esteem
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I’m opposed to our government bailing out the failing businesses which seem to increase daily. My heart aches for those who are losing their jobs through layoffs and plant closings, but I still feel that the government should not be involved in supporting these businesses. Government support is a myth. What it really means is taxpayer support, and as a taxpayer I feel that I have a better use for my hard-earned money than giving it to companies who are not able to operate their businesses profitably.
Banks, automobile manufacturers….they appear to be so integral to our current lifestyle that, aside from the economic impact of letting them fail, we would be lost without their services/products. I would guess that people felt the same way when buggies began to be replaced by automobiles. Many of them thought it was a fad that would never catch on…..what could ever replace the horse and buggy? And buggy whips, buggy whip sockets, hardware for making buggies - all were businesses that were doomed when buggies fell from favor. People lost jobs, plants closed. But the need for the buggy whip factories had passed. The people employed in those businesses had to find new jobs, update their skills and move forward. Imagine what could have happened back then if the government had stepped in to “save” the buggy whip business. We might still be driving around in buggies waving our buggy whips.
Technorati Tags: buggy whip economics, bank bail out, failing businesses, government bailout, economics
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November 12th, 2008 in
The Economy |
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I occasionally embarrass my kids - well maybe more often than just occasionally. I have done horrible things like kiss them goodbye in front of their friends, holler out “I love you” as I drop them off at school, and make rude comments about their choice in music. But the habit that brings out a pained look in my fashion-conscious daughter’s eyes is my tendency to wear wild socks that don’t match the rest of my clothes.
I do know how to dress appropriately. When a client comes I put on my black business suit, complete with black hose and black shoes and blend in with everyone else who is being very proper and trying to impress. Boring!!!
But when I am on my own time I just can’t resist showing a little more personality in my clothing. Or maybe it’s just rebellion, I don’t know. Anyway, I can control the colors in my shirt and pants and have them match or at least “go” together but when I get to my feet I just can’t do it. If I’m wearing a red sweatshirt and jeans, the socks that I pick out of the drawer will probably be a bright pink or yellow. If my clothes are navy or black, the socks will be a St. Patrick’s green. If my pants are black (with orange socks of course) my shoes will invariably be brown.
Of course, even with wild socks there are fashion rules. I don’t do mismatched socks - that’s just tacky. Plain white or black socks can be worn, but only if the rest of the outfit is interesting (bizarre) enough that the socks would detract from the whole effect. See, I do understand this whole fashion thing!
My daughter worries what people will think when I dress this way. I chuckle when I put my socks on, hoping that somebody gets a good laugh out of what I am wearing. There are too many “have to’s” in life. My wild socks show the “me” that has to conform in so many other ways. Let your attitude show - get a pair of bright orange socks and wear them proudly.
Technorati Tags: dress with attitude, bright socks, fashion
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October 24th, 2008 in
Attitudes |
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