A Monumental Buffalo Hunter

Where William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody received his name.





Located at U.S. 83 and 2nd St., Oakley, Kansas.

(By-the-way -- it's only 16ft. tall!!)

Revelations

Sometimes the simplest things are hidden until God decides to reveal them to us.

Some examples of things recently revealed to me:

James 1: It's all about growth in our Christian walk. I always thought it was about persevering through trial -- but it's all about becoming mature in your Christianity.

Luke 11: 1-13: Tells us to ask God for anything. He will give us what is good for us and whithhold that which is bad for us -- but ask for it all. Keep on asking -- our persistence will be rewarded.

Hebrews 8:19-24: Gives us the conditions for drawing near to God and explains how Jesus opened the way. Jesus conquered death on the cross and the separation between men and God (i.e. the curtain before the Holy Place -- or the presence of God -- was torn and Jesus then filled that gap). He became the way to enter into the presence of God. To do so we must have 1) a sincere heart, 2) full assurance of our faith, 3) freedom from a sense of guilt for our sins based upon the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus and 4) be cleansed by the new covenant - i.e. acceptance of Jesus as our savior. When we meet these conditions there is no longer a barrier between us and God. Any barriers are of our own creation because Jesus is the only thing between us and God if we are His.

Male Ego

You ladies will probably like this post and you men will probably take exception to it. Oh, well. I call 'em like I see 'em!

Have you ever noticed how male ego gets in the way of rational behavior? OK. I guess that was a no-brainer question. So, I'll start over.

We've all noticed how male ego sometimes gets in the way of rational behavior. It can manifest itself as pride or as a fear of being seen to be weak. It often involves (at least in real men) a defense of their family. It is especially prevalent in successful men. I suffer from it myself.

What brought up this brief discussion is a difficult decision that I had to make last week. I interviewed a number of candidates for a new position in a new facility which we just opened. It was by far the best field of candidates that I have ever interviewed for a position throughout my 26 year career in business. It was extremely difficult for that reason.

There were a number of complicating factors in the hiring decision. One of the candidates was the wife of a former customer that I anticipated getting back due to our new location and the advantages that it offered over our competition. Another was the wife of an operation that we hoped to gain as a customer and who came highly recommended by a couple of other customers. Both were highly qualified, interviewed well and could bring great value to the position.

I knew that if I hired the wife of the former customer that I would get his business back -- and it is a sizable amount of business. If I hired the other, who I felt was the better candidate, it was also unlikely that I would upset any existing customers and it would probably have little negative impact on our existing business. So, based strictly on those surface criteria, it would seem that the safe hire would be the wife of the former customer. However, I strongly felt that long-term, the other individual was the best fit for the position.

I agonized over the decision and prayed hard for guidance. It seemed clear to me that I had to hire the best candidate regardless of the potential positive or negative repercussions of not hiring the wife of a former customer. So, that is what I did.

Today, it finally came to fulfillment -- the dreaded phone call. On Monday I informed by telephone, the wife of the former customer that she did not get the job. Today he called me to let me know that he would not be changing his business back to us -- even though our facility is just a couple of miles from his operation. He will be sending his business to a competitor that is located a significant distance away. He stated an excuse that was totally unrelated to my not hiring his wife -- but you could tell from the tenor of the conversation that it was the real reason.

It hurts me that the relationship with him is strained at this point. I understand his position. I truly believe that he really wants to do business with us but his pride tells him that he can't because of the "slight" to his wife.

It really was no slight to her. I suspect that she felt a little bit pushed into applying for the job by her husband. She just wasn't the best fit for the position. I would love to hire her -- I just don't have a position available in which her skills and experience could be utilized to the point that she could have a fulfilling and meaningful place in the company.

I know that her husband's excuse was just that -- an excuse. He used the reason that our competitor is cheaper. However, he has told me in the past that turnaround time is one of the most important factors to him in his business. We could save him about 24 hours in turnaround time. He also would save shipping costs. The impact of those two items alone would easily be worth 10 times the difference in cost.

Pride.

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." -- Prov. 16:18

Thinking on a Passage from Hebrews

We've been looking at the book of Hebrews in our Sunday School class. I think that I've finally grown to the point that I find Hebrews deeply intriguing. The following verses really interest me:

Hebrews 10: 19-24

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

The Most Holy Place to the ancient Hebrews was the place where God dwells. Prior to Christ, only the High Priest could enter into God's presence. Now, believers can enter into the throne of grace because Jesus paid the necessary sacrifice to atone for our sins. That is, he met the requirements of the law to make us clean. However, there are four conditions for entering into the throne of grace, i.e. the presence of God. 1) We must have a sincere heart -- that is, undivided allegiance in our inner being. 2) We must have assurance of our faith -- that is, we have no hesitation in trusting Christ for everything. 3) Our hearts must be sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience -- that is, total freedom from a sense of guilt for our sins because we know that Jesus' sacrifice took care of them. 4) Our bodies must be washed with pure water -- that is, we must be cleansed of our sins through the baptism of the Spirit.

So, as it says in verse 23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." -- in other words, there is no reason to doubt. So, we should move forward loving others and doing good deeds.

The part that really intrigues me is:

"...by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body...."

Any thoughts?

I Was Made Good

I go
Blithely
About my business
On this day
That we call
Good Friday.

Why is it good?
It is because
On this day
I celebrate
My being made good
Because the Savior of the World

Paid the price for my sin
Long before
I was born.
It is the day on which
Each of us
Was made good

If only
We accept the sacrifice
That Jesus made
On our behalf
And submit ourselves
To Him.

It is
His gift
To us.
We cannot earn it;
We must accept it
In order to receive it.

The assurance
Of our goodness
Lies no longer in the grave
But rose to the heavens
Three days
Later.

And yet,
I go about my business
With little thought
To the price
That He paid
For me.

Connected

It seems like anymore
I live upon the road
With airplane seats,
Rental cars and
Motels for an abode.

The shape of doing business
Continues to change;
All it takes are laptops
And Blackberry phones
Which allow you to range

All over the country
While managing to attend
To the things that make
Your company grow
In spite of the national trend.

The worst part of it all
Is that you can't get away
From work
The way you could
Back in my father's day.

It's with you all the time;
No matter where you go
You can always
Be connected
With your laptop and cell phone!

Knights and Shrouds

The Knights Templar, The Shroud of Turin, The Ark of the Covenant and other similar things have always intrigued me as I think they do most people. The article linked below is in reference to the first two of these items.

Knights Templar hid the Shroud of Turin, says Vatican

It's All About Power and Control -- er, is that redundant??

Stuart Varney wrote an excellent article for the Wall Street Journal concerning banks repaying the TARP money. Follow the link below.....

Obama Wants to Control the Banks
There's a reason he refuses to accept repayment of TARP money.

Rockets Away!

It will be interesting to see how Mr. Obama responds to the North Korean rocket launch. I suspect we will see a repeat of Bill Clinton's do-nothing approach -- except with even more rhetoric.

The administration has somewhat painted itself into a corner. It appears that Mr. Obama has obtained some political capital among world leaders -- especially in Europe. Will he spend it in the U.N. Security Council? I doubt that he knows how to wield it effectively -- which begs the question -- who will he turn to for advice? Sarkozy? -- no -- Medvedev?? -- possibly -- Hillary? -- I wonder just how much power she truly has within the administration.... She might just ask Bill -- which brings us back to the first paragraph. Ultimately, I suspect it will be a matter of whatever "polls" best. Which again is reminiscent of Bill Clinton. I guess we should expect no less when we elect leaders who have no moral compass.

Now, the real question is what SHOULD we do????

The Wind Blew Today

The wind blew today.
Tumbleweeds
Piled high against the fences.
The gritty blast
Transformed the sunset
Into a hazy glow
That is quickly
Fading.

Waxed Taxpayers Struggling With Funded Power -- or Some Such Nonsense

You've probably all noticed that I have not waxed poetic in quite some time. How can I compose verse without inspiration? I suppose that I could go with political verse but I've vowed to keep this a clean site. Anyway, I don't use the kind of language that comes into my head when I think about what our government is imposing on us.

Surely I can come up with something though --

The struggle for power
Is fueled by money
From those who would seek influence

So that those who gain power
Will send more money back
To those who funded their struggle

The sad thing is
That the funding is provided
From the losers in the struggle

Namely, the American taxpayers

Photo Opportunities

Sometimes as I travel along I realize that I MUST get out my camera and preserve what I see for posterity.


Someone apparently was attempting to move this log cabin on a goosneck flat-bed trailer.

The mishap must have made them change their mind. The FOR SALE sign speaks volumes.

I suddenly realized that this Tennessee "mobile home" just barely made it across the line into Kentucky before falling apart. There's gotta be a story here. Comments and captions are welcome.

The Bradley 3 Ranch Bull Sale

Today is the Bradley 3 Ranch Bull Sale. Yesterday, I went out and took a look at the bulls and visited with some of the folks there.

I was really impressed with the operation. They've been around since 1955. It is a seedstock operation but is not your typical registered cattle outfit. This is a serious working ranch.

Neal checking out the young bulls.

Most seedstock operations and many commercial ranches are partially supported by other sources of income -- such as oil or other minerals, or perhaps by other businesses. Many seedstock operators focus on showing cattle and "showing-off" their cattle. Not the Bradleys. This outfit is all about improving cattle for the average cowman.


Their focus is to maximize beef production per acre while operating at the peak sustainable capacity of their range. They seek to pass their knowlege to other producers both in genetics and in education. The ranch has received many environmental stewardship awards and that stewardship is reflected in the productivity of the operation.

Not only does the ranch seek to maximize the economic side of ranching, it also seeks to produce better quality meat for the consumer. This is done through carefully selecting for tenderness and other traits which make the end product more appealing to the consumer.

A few of the 163 bulls offered.

It is truly a family operation. My hat is off to the Bradley 3 Ranch.

Entering the Social Networking Age

I have joined the Social Networking age by starting a Facebook page. I have already connected with classmates and friends from years back that I had totally lost touch with. It has been both interesting and fun.

I have been skeptical of such Social Networking sites, but I now understand the appeal. In fact, I sometimes find myself chatting with others who are signed on. It has been insightful and informative.

No, facebook isn't paying me to post this. I am doing it because it has impacted me.

More Travels

Phoenix. I spent the week of Jan. 25 to Jan. 31 in Phoenix for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association annual Trade Show and convention. OK, not all of it was for the NCBA Convention, the first couple of days were seminars on BVD (that's bovine viral diarrhea virus for all you non-cattle people).

The economic downturn has affected the cattle industry just like many others across the country. The difference that I see is attitude. Cattle folks have a way of tightening their belt, pulling down their hat and knuckling down to take on whatever comes their way. There is an amazing can-do spirit that sets them apart from many people. I admire their willingness to face adversity and overcome it despite the odds. It's just another storm on the horizon -- OK, not on the horizon anymore.

If you are ever in Phoenix I would highly recommend Donovan's Steak and Chop House. It was outstanding. I would rank it among the very best in the country. Great food, the right level of service, quiet atmosphere and quality through and through.

More travels to come. I'll try and keep you posted.

Didjereedoo

I was recently digging through the dusty archives of things written, not-written, ideas, etc. which have accumulated over the years. In it, I found the story below which I composed in April, 1990. The events are based in truth and occurred in the 70's and 80's.

Didjer

She sure looked scared all huddled up in the back corner of the kennel. It was hard to believe that someone would have such a beautiful animal put to sleep. she wasn't hurt all that bad, but the vet bill was going to be higher than her owner was willing to pay.

Ninety dollars to remove her eye and sew it shut -- but, what good could a one-eyed cowdog be anyway? Wounded in the line of duty by a young horse that didn't know better than to kick at the darting ball of fur nipping at that old cow's nose. A lot of good years left, even with one eye -- but not worth ninety dollars.

I had been working for Doc almost a year and was beginning to make a fair hand at patchin' up the critters that found their way into the clinic. Doc was determined to make a vet out of me, so he let me do a lot of things an assistant normally wouldn't have had opportunity to try.

I told Doc that I thought I could sew up her eye if he'd let me. Sew it up and take her home and not tell anyone that she didn't make it to her great reward on schedule.

She didn't want to be handled. I guess instinct said that this place was not going to be kind to her. Like a wounded badger, she crouched in the corner with her teeth bared and her good eye toward me. Sometimes you have to get a little rough to be kind.

The operation went well, with only a smidgen of guidance from Doc's experienced hand. During the week of recovery, every spare minute was spent in making her acquaintance -- and she became a friend.

Finally, the time to go home arrived and Didjereedoo was well on her way to recovery. A few more weeks of fresh air, green grass and a lot of attention and she was well in body and spirit. It soon became difficult to tell that she was only one-eyed. Her adjustment to the handicap was nearly perfect.

Over the years she was a joy to my family and to me. She never was any good at chasing cattle again. She was too cautious of flying feet. For companionship though, she couldn't be beat.

During years of college and then a new marriage, she and I were often apart. She did just fine living with my parents, but I knew that someday she would move in with my new family -- and so she did.

When we moved to our little country place near town, I knew that Didjer had found the place she had been waiting for. It was her fifth different home since I had rescued her, but the gray frost on her muzzle indicated this would probably be her last.

Still lively after surviving years of puppies, snake-bite, occasional sickness and many a highway pizza, Didjer decided she was still young enough to chase cars. I guess it was the influence of the younger dogs that we had kept to give her company. She was an expert at crouching in the ditch and approaching at just the right speed and angle to make an off-side intercept at almost any time of day or night. I didn't like her ways, but she was beyond convincing that car-chasing wasn't a sport for old dogs. I was concerned that the results would be fatal.

Her end was sudden, and I guess appropriate. It was a pickup that got her -- the sad part is, I was driving. She approached on her blind side and I guess she stumbled. I knew when I felt the bump that her time was gone. Not even a whimper. I stopped and ran back, but she never moved.

It's been about two years now since I buried her under the big old elm tree out back. She was a good friend. Her pup that we had kept got to chasing the neighbor's cattle and found her end very shortly afterwards. I haven't owned a dog since. I guess I know that another dog could never replace my one-eyed cowdog, Didjer.

Note: I have since owned a number of dogs.

Continued Travels

In my last post I left you with great Louisiana cooking. After arriving home on Sunday afternoon I got to sleep in my own bed for a change -- but only for one night. Monday, it was off to Midland, Texas, for the Southwest Beef Symposium.

Midland is not considered the mecca of the southwest, but it is a nice small city. The Symposium was well executed -- including the food. Whoever catered it did an excellent job with the steaks.

Wednesday evening I made it home late and then rose early to catch a flight to Denver for the National Western Stock Show. We participated with one of our vendors as a sponsor. It was my first trip to the National Western.

Denver was a good place to meet a lot of producers in a brief period of time. Many of the purebred cattle raisers had animals there for the show. There was a sprinkling of some of the larger producers but predominately it was those who raise them as a hobby. It is a group of producers with which I rarely come into contact. I believe that it was a productive trip but it will take time before I see any results. In spite of many of the producers there being well versed in genetics, very few of them were well versed in cattle health. They tend to leave it to their Veterinarian which is proper -- however, good producers need to understand health issues better than this group did.

The food in Denver was excellent as always. We made it to Il Posto, an Italian restaurant like none I have ever visited before. I highly recommend it as the pinnacle of dining experiences. When you go, be prepared to spend at least 3 hours dining. The meal is served in courses. Follow the link to find out more about them.

This week I have had some badly needed office time. I didn't realize how far behind I was.

Here We Go Again!

Here we go with another week!

I finished up last week yesterday afternoon when I finally got back home. From Tennessee and Kentucky I traveled south to New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Louisiana Cattlemen were meeting at the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge. Attendance was low but it was a good trip. I picked up one new customer and several solid prospects. I also was able to visit with a number of leading influencers.

The LSU campus is gorgeous. It is the first time I've ever been on their campus. There are huge live oak trees and lakes. The weather was nice and the facilities were excellent.

We took a brief foray into the French Quarter of New Orleans for dinner on Saturday evening. We didn't stay long after that. It is required that one sample the Cajun cuisine when in town however, and so we did.

At the Conference on the LSU campus we sampled true "native" fare. The first day, dinner was Jambalaya. They spent all day cooking it in a huge pot in the arena of the cattle pavilion. It was outstanding. I've never had Jambalaya in which the meat used was sirloin steak. I've never had better. The second day at lunch was traditional Cajun fare also. We had sticky rice with meatballs. It was ooowheee good! Y'all gotta try it sometime, ya heere?

Sales Calls and Customer Acquisition

I flew into Nashville on Tuesday evening in the midst of pouring rain. It did not bode well for the appointments that I had on Wednesday (yesterday). I hate driving in the dark in the rain on unfamiliar roads with high-speed bumper-to-bumper traffic but that is what I did. Thankfully, I reached my motel in one piece and checked in. After a bite to eat, I retired to my room , happy to be out of the rain.

Wednesday dawned with cloud cover, but no rain. The snow which had been forecast failed to materialize and the day turned out to be great. My big worry became a minor scheduling conflict between my appointments. I called the first one early hoping to move it up and low-and-behold, that was the way it happened. It was a 40 mile drive to meet him at his operation south of Nashville. I headed south on I-65 thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't in the inbound traffic that was backed up almost 15 miles south of Franklin in parking lot mode.

The appointment went even better than I had anticipated and I met not only with him but also one of his neighbors that he had invited over. Both of them are now new customers. I then headed north to my next appointment in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I arrived about 20 minutes early which was great because it gave me some extra time to prepare a couple of items that I felt needed to be added to my arsenal.

The meeting went extremely well and we parted with the agreement to take the next steps. I then called a contact in the area that I didn't have on my schedule and he invited me out to his place northeast of Bowling Green. It was well after dark-thirty when I left after a great visit.

As I hit the north edge of Nashville my cell phone rang. It was the veterinarian who does the work for my afternoon appointment. He had lots of questions and said that I had made a favorable impression. We talked for almost 30 minutes as I drove back to my motel. (I know, I shouldn't be talking on the cell phone while driving but the traffic was light at that time of evening.)

This morning I received a call from our home office to let me know that the veterinarian I had spoken with last night was ready to go ahead and utilize our services for his client. He had called before 8:00 a.m. We will be shipping him the items he needs to get started today.

Yep, it has been a good week so far. Three new customers picked up yesterday in an area where we are looking to expand. Now I'd better get off of here so I can catch my flight to New Orleans.

Another Year

Once more we come
To the end of a year
And such a year it has been!

Just hold on to your hat
'Cause the things unleashed
May be the worst we've ever seen!

It is a time for reflection,
A time to make plans,
A time to be thankful for friends.

It is a time to decide
Where your priorities lie
As this old year quietly ends.

As you're making your list
Of Resolutions next year
There is one thing you need to include;

That is time for your God --
To "get right" with Him
Because only He seeks your good.