Bits and Pieces

Last week I was recovering from an adverse reaction to an antibiotic that I had been prescribed. As well as trying to gain back my strength from that, I had my chemo treatment ,followed the next day by receving a pint of blood. All of that combined to sap my energy and I just wasn’t able to put together a column. By the way, if you don’t see my column, it’s because I’m either traveling or having a tough week.

This is going to be a column about this and that this week.

The storm of the last few days has been tough on a lot of people. First in my mind are the people in the livestock industry. I remember how difficult it was at times in the winter taking care of our cattle, getting feed to them and making sure they had plenty of water.

One year we had purchased a grain truck at an auction. Of course we plugged it in during the winter to keep the engine from freezing. It was two years before we knew that the cord in the front of the truck’s engine was not connected to a head bolt heater. Apparently the heater had burnt out at some point before we bought the truck and been cut away from the cord but the cord itself had never been removed. It didn’t take us long to remedy that situation.

I was reading about the number of high school basketball players who’ve been stranded because of the storms crossing our state. Some of them haven’t made it home for several weeks. I can only imagine the angst this has caused the parents of the students, school administrators, coaches, and the players themselves.

Hopefully, a break will happen in the storms and these youngsters will be able to return home. As tough as this last winter storm has been, we are still very fortunate.

My mother-in-law told me that the first winter she and my father-in-law were married, she remembered having to dig a tunnel through a huge drift between the house and “Annie’s House,” (the outhouse). She told of how hard it was to get their cattle and horses fed and of how some homesteaders were snowed in for anywhere from two to four months. They couldn’t leave their homes to visit anyone because so many of the roads were blocked. Consequently, they didn’t see another human for a long time.

At that time, (1925) it was difficult to get the roads opened. Now it’s much easier. There are huge plows to open the roads with. And, if necessary, helicopters and airplanes can be used to get supplies delivered or obtain medical help even if it means airlifting a person to a hospital.

Children never fail to amaze me with their comments. A friend posted the answer to some questions she asked her 7-year-old son. A couple of the questions and answers she posted included the following:

What do you like the least? When you call me by my whole name. I know then I’m in trouble. What is your favorite food that I make? Oh, that’s easy. Mac and cheese. What do you like best. Me? How much you love Me.

Listening to children, it’s clear to me we need to look at life and our world through their eyes. There are times I feel they show more wisdom than adults do.

There are times we think our lives are very difficult. And in some instances that’s true -- for a while. But it usually isn’t long before a solution or solutions are found and we once again enjoy a good life.

To everyone who reads my column and has expressed their liking for it to me whenever they see me, thank you. I hope that in some small way I make life better, more enjoyable, for you and perhaps even help someone who is having a tough time.