The Day I Usually Avoid...But Couldn't This Time

For today's post we are going to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming (hah now we are on MandyTV!) and check out a story that I couldn't resist sharing. The following post comes courtesy of my dear friend Callie. Forewarning-it's an adorable Valentine's Day story. Normally I won't touch Valentine's Day with a 10 foot pole because frankly I consider my birthday more of a holiday than Valentine's Day is (that may sound egocentric but seriously shouldn't every day be a celebration of your "Valentine"?) but this one brought tears to my eyes. I hope you are as touched as I was. 

The last few months I've spent with my new boyfriend hadn't been easy by any account. A rough first semester of graduate school, being sick, and most recently the death of my Grandpa. My Grandpa and I were very close, and he and my Grandma had a wonderful, love-filled 67 years together. They were the reason that I came to  believe in this oddity called true and everlasting love…not that any guy I had met ever fell into that category, but I have always held onto the belief that it exists because of them. My boyfriend had met my family, including my Grandpa, right before Poppa passed. He was constantly there for me and my family through this event until the end. The day before we lost Poppa, he drove me to my hometown to help my parents prepare for it and so I could say goodbye (as there was no way I was fit to drive, especially on the interstate). He hugged my Grandma almost as many times as I did during it all.

When it comes to a new relationship, holidays-- particularly Valentine's Day, are slightly stress-inducing. I've never been a fan of Valentine's Day, primarily because I hate materialistic holidays. And, okay, yes there's always been a mild of twinge of "single jealousy". Valentine's Day was actually more of a family holiday for us, it was my grandparents favourite holiday, and my parents and I always did nice things for each other. It hadn't occurred to me that this year it would be hard with Poppa gone, especially for my Grandma. 

Anyway, I hadn't wanted my boyfriend to do anything extravagant. We had planned on doing dinner, but that was about it as we both had work to get finished. He had stopped by my house after class, where we made plans for the evening--after the long debate of who was choosing the restaurant, how I wished there was a good Italian joint like back home, etc. I was pretty excited, I mean I had never had a "real" Valentine's Day  before. A little while later, my boyfriend rings to say he's changing our plans. My heart immediately sank, he had been extraordinarily busy with school so I assumed it was a "raincheck". Instead, he had a strange giddy tone to his voice, telling me to make dinner reservations somewhere in Cheyenne (my hometown). Utterly confused, I asked why he wanted to drive 90 miles round trip for dinner..it was ridiculous and no restaurant is worth that, seriously. He refused to tell me, merely said to call him back when I had a plan. Several restaurants and calls later, slightly exasperated, I rang him with the plans.

"Babe, WHY do you want to go to Cheyenne?!"

"I feel guilty, my conscience is getting to me."

"Um….why? Is this about the restaurant? I only meant that Italian sounded good."

"No…I just feel guilty."

"Why? What's going on?"

His tone was reminiscent of a little kid who had a secret they wanted to share, and I was no where near ready for this reply. Honestly, I'd never have guessed it in a thousand years.

"I …got your grandma flowers because she's short a valentine this year…and I wanted to give them to her."

Almost dropping the phone, I was struggling to keep the tears out of my voice as I searched for words. Here is a guy who keeps a stoic face on most of the time, I was almost unsure that I had heard him correctly. For someone who also hates Valentine's Day, he had already been extraordinarily sweet and cutesy all day, so this just knocked me completely over. As soon as we hung up I started crying; I had no idea that someone could be so thoughtful. Not only was he doing something wonderful for me, his gesture would mean more to my Grandma than any flowers or cards. He had remembered what all came out of my mouth as I babbled through tears after seeing Poppa for the last time: how he loved my grandma, the things he did for her, how they treated each other every day.  

So that's exactly what we did. We loaded up and headed out, roses in tow. Holding his hand all the way to Cheyenne, I couldn't help but look at him in a new light, and have a whole new appreciation for this incredible man's heart. My grandma was definitely surprised, very touched, and nearly cried herself. She called me a few days later saying how amazing my boyfriend is and that she adores him. Even now writing this I cannot wrap my mind around how sincere and thoughtful that gesture was. Here's a holiday where people expect their admirers to dote on them and flowers are a requirement. And then here's a man who reaches out to his girlfriend's recently widowed grandmother. If that doesn't show a celebration of love and caring, I really have no idea what does. 

Day 7: We Are The Lucky Ones

I was lovingly told that my post yesterday was a dud, so hopefully today’s is better J

There has been a lot of outcry today over a video from The Pete Holmes Show that made fun of Farmers and blamed Farmers for Daylight Saving Time. Most of the comments I have seen have been decidedly angry, but mine won’t be, so don’t worry!

Maybe I shouldn’t be posting this video and commenting on it, maybe that gives this man too much power and attention like he wants. But you can’t fight untruths if you have not witnessed them firsthand and taken the time to truly think them through.

As I watched this video (which is posted at the bottom of the page…you can watch after you have read my commentary!), I wasn’t overwhelmed with rage and didn’t turn purple with speechlessness, I mostly felt sorrow. And pity. I laughed a little. And had an overwhelming desire to hug this guy.

I know what you are thinking…hug this guy? If everybody else’s reaction was mottled anger and raised blood pressure, why was your reaction to give the guy a hug?

Well first off, he got his information about Daylight Saving Time and the origins of the 8 Hour Workday all wrong. I went ahead and looked em both up, you can check out this information: Daylight Saving Time and the 8hour workday. Contrary to what he says, these weren’t adopted for farmers.

Daylight Saving was originally proposed by Benjamin Franklin and then was pushed into modern existence by many heads of industry (such as railroad tycoons, etc). They had good intentions aka using the Daylight we are graced with! And most of the industrialized world actually follows some sort of Daylight Saving Time so the US isn’t alone there.

How bout the 8 hour work day? Apparently during the Industrial Revolution the factory owners wanted the factories going 24/7 and shifts tended to be 10-16 hours. Eventually they realized this was unsustainable and unhealthy and it was recommended that an 8-hour workday be implemented instead. There is some call to adjust that currently but we will see what happens.

As far as harping on wheat and telling farmers to go to bed earlier-well, he is entitled to his opinion. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who would gladly have him come work a day with them, which usually start before sunrise and end well after sunset.

The biggest reason I just wanted to hug this guy? Frankly, he sounded a little jealous. And I felt bad for him. A lot of what he said may have been said in a sarcastic, callous way but he was right about farmers having a relatively idyllic life. Yes, it is hard and brutal BUT how many farmers and ranchers watch the sunset over their crops or pastures? How many live in and are an integral part of small communities where everybody knows everybody?

Maybe he didn’t get to grow up in a place where the workers at the Post Office know you by name. Maybe he didn’t grow up in a place where the local deli starts making your “usual” the minute you walk in before you even say what you want. He probably wasn’t blessed with watching the sun rise over the mountains as he helped deliver a calf. Or his mom didn’t bake pies and local kids weren’t always dropped on the door step for some good old-fashioned playing in the dirt.

So after listening to this video a few times, I mostly feel sorry for him. We, those in Ag, are truly the LUCKY ONES.

We are so in tune with Nature. We are so in tune with what is going on in the communities we live in and are always trying to make our lives and the lives of our children better. We get to do something we absolutely could not imagine life without EVERY SINGLE DAY. And we don’t have to make fun of other people to earn a living- especially not the hard-working individuals who feed, clothe, and keep rural communities together.

“Sweet, sweet, heavenly b******…..You breeze enjoying, pitchfork holding, pie cooling, neighbor trusting, salt of the earth, Norman Rockwell *bleep-bleep*”

The famous Norman Rockwell painting doesn’t even remotely illustrate modern farms and ranches. And no, oat bag dresses are not the fashion du jour. But seriously, let’s send this guy some grilled cheeses and ice cream, and quite possibly some hugs, because at the end of the day, WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES.

Watch the video and let me know what you think! Maybe after reading my comments you might agree that hatred is not the answer. A little education, feeding, and maybe some God-filled love would better serve I think. 

You Don't Say Love With a Pork Chop...Oh really??

This wasn't the post I had planned for today but seeing as OneNote ate the post I had planned and I spent the day playing Plumber (I think I should give up my Master's and apprentice with a plumber instead!), I decided it was just better to be flexible and leave that post for another day. 

I'm not sure how many people actually saw this ad, but when I did I was stunned for a few minutes. Now I'm sure the people who put this together didn't mean for it to upset anybody, but I was definitely riled. 

I'm sure you're thinking well everybody loves to eat steak! And don't get me wrong, I LOVE BEEF...but I also LOVE PORK. And as someone who deals with the pork industry, but also supports the cattle industry, I was very disappointed in this ad. Why are we pitting against each other? Why is it always beef vs pork or pork vs chicken? Shouldn't we just tout that our product is healthy and nutritious and not resort to bashing our fellow aggies? 

It's fantastic that we live in a country with so many CHOICES. The choice of what to eat, what to wear, where to live, what to do with our lives, the list never ends. So in this great list of choices, should we truly choose to bash our fellow meat producers?

I mean I have recipes up the wazoo that use Beef, Pork, Chicken, eggs, milk, cream cheese, whipping cream, etc etc. I was even watching The Pioneer Woman this weekend and for a ranch lunch she made Pan Fried Pork Chops. Let me repeat that…Pan Fried Pork Chops(!!) for a bunch of cattlemen!! If that doesn't show that enjoying quality food overreaches labels, then I don't know what else I can say to illustrate this point.

This may seem like a silly thing to be worried about, but I think Agriculture should spend more time working together (stop the emotional fighting over organic, conventional, etc etc) and less time drawing battle lines. OK, so maybe this ad wasn't meant as a battle line drawn in the sand. But hey it's playing on your emotions isn't it??

On a quick tangent, another ad that has always frustrated me is the Happy Cows Come from California. OK, so maybe this frustrates me because I've heard the outrage from my significant other who is from Wisconsin. But it also frustrates me because unfortunately many of the dairies in California are actually MOVING OUT of Cali because of regulations and expenses due to being overrun by more and more houses. So should the slogan actually say Happy California Cows Actually Live in Idaho? I just found out that a lot of the Happy Cow commercials were actually filmed in New Zealand!! Yep, those are happy New Zealander California Cows. We've been lied to in quadruple.

Anyway, coming back from that tangent, it probably (over)frustrates me the most when I read articles and see some sort of jab at a fellow industry. There are countless farmers who raise crops, cattle, pigs, chickens, goats, you name it..the combination probably occurs on various farms throughout the country. So why on Earth do we need to advertise that Beef should be the choice for Labor Day BBQs by saying that Pork Chops are a lesser meat?

It feels like the Agriculture sector is always defending itself from outsiders, so we really don't need to demean each other. I watched  this video that reminded me that life is not supposed to be so selfish. That we, as individuals, are part of a broader whole and should act as such. This led me to think the following: human growth is forcing more urbanization but they want farming to go backwards. It would certainly be idyllic if everybody had a few animals and crops to get their families fed every year. But it is also very hard and not a secure situation to be in...ask all the subsistence farmers in most of the world. They have no reserves should something go wrong, and often their family ends up starving. The reason we have moved this way as a species is because people got tired of barely making it, so a small portion (<2% of the population) has taken over the hard work of feeding and clothing the population, allowing others to have the time and freedom to make grand discoveries. There is more time for living, for enjoying your fellow man, when you are not worried about where your next meal is going to come from.

Consumers want the glorious old days without having to sully themselves. But we are seeing a decrease in farmland which is  a huge cause for concern. If we want to make the world a more beautiful place should we all head back to the farm? Could we make it if we headed back to the farm? Probably not. Farming is not a glamorous lifestyle, yet it is truly fantastic and rewarding for those who love it. The video asked people to Bow Into Service to your fellow man...and Farmers have always been in service to others. Most farmers would choose to farm no matter the circumstances or outside opportunities they might receive, but they take the burden of providing food and products to the world seriously. And contrary to popular belief, farmers and ranchers don't do what they do in order to get rich, especially since the average farm family makes $40-50,000 in a good year, and cowhands often average measly sums ($700/month for example) to take care of cattle. I posted this article on my Facebook page earlier. It speaks about the current epidemic we are seeing of urbanites dropping their chickens off at shelters after realizing how much work raising chickens actually is. And if you look at anything outside of this post, please watch this video because it is without a doubt the most eloquent speech about the battle between producers and consumers I have ever heard.

So maybe as humans it isn't actually a good thing when we are given too many choices, especially when we don't have the knowledge necessary to make an informed choice. It's normal, and depressing, to see how much anti-agricultural activists use Emotion as a tactic to gain supporters. But I never expected to see a Beef ad telling me that You Don't Say Love With a Pork Chop. Because sometimes I do, in fact, show my love with a PORK CHOP. And Bacon, which doesn't come from a steer, but from a pig. And everybody loves bacon...and a lot of people love pork chops as well. So while I may have taken offense to something that wasn't meant to be offensive, it definitely serves as a good reminder that Beef and Pork should be friends. Cuz we have bigger fish to fry.