Contemplation

Way down in the pasture

Is a place I like to go

That makes me feel I'm stepping back in time.

I no longer hear the highway

With the people passing by

On their way to spend or make another dime.

It's a place where birds are singing

And their music fills the air

While shuffling critters go about their way.

I can sit in quiet wonder

As the time rolls silent by

And think upon the beauty of the day.

Dreams of Youth

I saw there in the distance,

Taking shape before my eye,

A tower of water vapor

Reaching upward to the sky.

The promise that it offered

Caused my heart within me leap

In joy for cooling moisture

That across the Plains did creep.

The swelling, spreading blossom

Seemed slowly drawing nigh

Yet in the heat it fizzled;

It was all an awful lie.

There within me sank

The beating organ in my chest

As I saw the withered grasses

Stretching far into the west.

I knew that it was normal,

Part of life's great ebb and flow;

I couldn't help but ponder

Why it sent my feelings low.

Deep within my being

Tiny sparks came into sight

Of dreams that had been shattered

Yet, still there was a light

Shining brightly in the distance,

Growing clearer in my head,

Of good times now remembered

In this life that I have led.

The things that once I cherished

Were now no longer sought;

Replaced by higher treasures

Which love and tears had bought

And I saw the fleeting vanity

Of each and every goal,

Knowing time, with healing answers,

Would bring peace within my soul.

Rising there before me

Were the things I'd held in vain

Dissolving in the droplets

Of gently falling rain.

Staring Into the Fire

I sit and stare into the fire,

Watching flickering flames

That dance among the charred remains.

Windows to my thoughts are pulled

By figures prancing there

Within the soaring vapors

That burst in vibrant colors,

Red, orange, yellow and blue,

Still not consumed.

A tiny stream of gray and black

Rises over all,

Escaping scents to draw the nose

Of passing life downwind

Pausing in fear of conflagration

To cleanse before renewal.

I'm drawn by some primeval force

To reach out, warming

Hands and toes that need not

Yet are pulled to feed

With broken limbs the cresting waves

Of shifting light as evening sets

And darkness creeps from every side

Until only glowing embers

Release their tiny sparks to die.

Twice

The challenge of a blog is that you sometimes fall into the rut of just typing nonsensical things -- whatever comes into your head -- just to maintain some consistency in posting.  Obviously that is how I am starting out tonight.  Until last night it had been far too long since my last post.  Now, I'm attempting to change that pattern -- the trouble is, I don't want to be disciplined about writing; I just want to "let it flow" and yet somehow turn out creative or profound.

I spent the afternoon training a couple of individuals for one of our laboratories.  Both were very good students and seemed to catch on quickly.  That isn't really surprising considering that one is a Veterinarian and the other a Vet Technician.  Hopefully they felt as good about the training as I did.  Time is the only true test of how well it went.

Being in Nebraska presents one particular challenge for me -- The Omaha World Herald.  The newspaper out of Omaha must be one of the most liberal in the country.  Sometimes I think there is more common sense among the writers of the New York Times than I see in some of the articles in the Omaha paper.  If I was a good journalist I would post specific examples (see yesterday's post) and carefully refute the obviously slanted positions taken by the writers of the articles, but I'm in a lazy mood tonight and don't want to put in the effort, so, I will do like they do and just state an opinion as though it was fact, not research the item carefully but take quotes out of context and "facts" from dubious sources and present them in a way that supports my undisputably correct opinion and then package it in lots of lengthy, run-on sentences that are an attempt to make me sound especially erudite through the use of judiciously sprinkled words that require the "average Joe" to wish he knew what those words meant but is too lazy to seek a Dictionary and look them up and thus remains blissfully ignorant and incorrectly informed into an erroneous opionion based on the lazy journalism of a writer with a leftist agenda that was embedded into their undisciplined brain while attending journalism school in some East-coast, Ivy League, overpriced university.

Did I tell you that it is supposed to snow tonight?  Oh, I forgot.  Well....it is supposed to snow tonight and possibly continue snowing here through Sunday.  I hope I can get home.  If I can just make it to Kansas it should be a cinch -- but I probably ought to swing by Cabela's before I leave town and see if they have any ruby-red hiking boots just in case.  Clicking the heels on my Ariats probably won't do the job.

Life is good.

Just A Post

Once again it has been a long time between posts. I have been "crazy busy" with work. It seems that my travel schedule continues to get worse. In fact, from now until the middle of December I have something every week that requires out-of-town travel. I enjoy my job -- I get tired of being away from home.

We have started "The Truth Project." It is a video series produced by Focus On The Family that delves into the Christian Worldview vs. the Secular Worldview. It is an absolute must for all Christians who desire to live at a higher level in this world. It is a great tool for opening eyes to the lies that surround us. You can find out more about it at www.thetruthproject.org.

Cold-and-flu season is in full swing. I am fighting a cold. It makes it difficult to stay focused on the things that I need to accomplish. This too shall pass.

Enough of this -- I'd better get back to work.

Random Thoughts From Jacksonville

It has been awhile since I have posted anything. My travel schedule has been crazy and will continue to be that way until almost Christmas.

I am writing this from Jacksonville, Florida, while waiting until time to board my flight west.

It has been a good week working in the Southeast. The people are friendly and the weather was great. Attitudes are good.

Every newspaper that I pick up has gloom-and-doom headlines about the economy and yet as I look around, I don't see it. Business is happening and people are spending money. There is certainly an underlying current of anxiety because people don't know what may really be happening in the economy. That anxiety is fed by the newspaper headlines. Yet, there lifestyles really haven't changed.

In agriculture, things really look pretty good. There is certainly some market turmoil -- but that's the way it always is. The markets go up, the markets go down. You do the best that you can.

The only negative that I've heard is a rumor that one very large outfit that is an industry leader is financed by one of the BIG 5 banks. The word is that their credit line has been squeezed.

So, why is our government bailing the big banks out? I know that it's because it would devastate our economy if they fail because it would create a cascading effect that would start with the big boys and work its way down until everyone was affected.

My thought though, is that they need to seriously consider breaking the big banks up into multiple smaller institutions. Kind of a Ma Bell breakup. Let's spread our risk instead of allowing it to concentrate into a few hands.

What bothers me is that the very banks that the Fed is propping up are the ones buying other financial institutions. If I had a bent toward conspiracy theories, I think we could certainly build a case that this whole financial meltdown smacks of a conspiracy to gain financial control of the world. But, being the rational individual that I am, maybe it's just a function of human stupidity instead.

Maybe I should run for President. Is there anybody out there that would vote for me?

Random Items

My posts seem to be coming more infrequently than I intended. I must admit that the plan was to slow a little -- to not feel pressured to post something daily -- but taking it to such an extreme was not desired.

It isn't that I am writing less. In fact, I may be writing more. My Ag blog is catching more of my attention. I am writing for the paper on a weekly basis (with a few exceptions), and I am working on Billy -- although not in as disciplined manner as I should. I also have been invited to participate in a collaborative blog that will be rolled out sometime soon. I will say more about that as the plans are firmed. A number of pieces that I wrote as educational material for work are being translated into Spanish for distribution throughout Mexico and South America. In a way, that will make me an Internationally read author! Too bad it doesn't pay any extra. But, I guess as bloggers, most of us are Internationally read authors. I also have been participating (although infrequently) in the American Conservative Forum (I had to have a political outlet!).

The Presidential race has me disgusted. The only candidate that I have any positive feelings toward is Fred Thompson (you can tell from my sidebar). His race seems to be faltering -- probably from a lack of money. I hope that he pulls a surprise showing in South Carolina, but I'm not optimistic. He is the only candidate that seems to consistently represent the values that I believe to be important. What bothers me most is that there isn't really a good choice among the others -- of either party. They each terrify me although not all for the same reasons.

It seems that our President has decided that he wants to add a Middle East Peace Treaty to his legacy. The Middle East has been the focus of his Presidency since 9-11. I suppose it fits. It also fits the Armageddon scenario of the end times. If you look at the world situation closely, there are many things that fit the foreshadowing of Revelation. The environmental issues, earthquakes, famines, volcanoes, unrest, wars, China and India, the European Union, the former Soviet states, the "villainization" of some world political figures, the rise of Islam, and on and on ad nauseum. I'm not convinced that God is ready to "roll up the scroll" and be done with it -- but He could be....

On the other hand, I'm amazed to watch my son as an 11th grader in High School, totally focused on the career that he wishes to pursue in either Aerospace or Aeronautical Engineering. He and his team are building a hover craft for their physics project. I was skeptical at first but now I seriously think they have a real chance of getting it off the ground. He also is working on a program with NASA in which he is going through a series of lessons with them through the Internet that if he passes will mean a two-week all-expenses-paid trip to NASA this summer. He is also working with another student on a NASA sponsored scholarship project that includes the design of a future spacecraft. He recently received score reports from both SAT and ACT and did quite well on both -- a near-perfect score on the ACT. He has a very high natural ability in mathematics -- almost intuitive. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!

So much for random thoughts -- I think I will end.