I was away this past weekend in the Eastern US, mainly in Pennsylvania, but I did make it to Lewes, Delaware ( the first town in the very first State in the US ), Cape May New Jersey, Atlantic City NJ, and of course one of my favorites, Manhattan. It was a balmy 37 degrees, that's 102 Fahrenheit for all my American friends. As we all know, I love the heat, even miss the choking 50 degrees of the Middle east at times.
I was lucky enough to be escorted around by a man I admire and respect, who commands the race team I was there to learn about. He drove me around endlessly to all the places he had probably been to a million times over throughout his life so far, and patiently answered my unending stream of questions about the area, it's inhabitants, the weather, the soil, the water, the history, the architecture, and on and on and on. I pestered him constantly about the race team, the process of owning the team, running the team, managing the press, negotiating the sponsors, and anything else that came up.
In our travels, we sped past a field of fresh cut hay. The farmer out cutting the hay, was a young boy, maybe 12 or so. His clothes were that of a boy from the 1800's. Thick black boots, laced up past his ankles, black simple straight leg trousers, black suspenders, a deep blue solid shirt, and a pair of Aviator sunglasses. He stood on the front lead of a manual swather, and in his already calloused young hands, he held the reins and drove a team of four big sturdy work horses. (a swather is used to cut crops in the field and lays them in perfect little lines that you have to go back and pick up later ). The dust kicked up in the heat behind the team and the cutting was thick and dry. The boy, not really a boy, but not yet a man, drove the team with a skill that looked as if he had been doing it for years and was a seasoned expert, which he probably had and probably was. As the dust flew forward and I caught the picture with surprising clarity and amazing natural back lighting, I wondered if he ever missed the TV shows, current styles of his contemporaries, ever talked back to his parents, got in trouble at school, or missed a day of chores because he has hockey practice or homework to do. Then I realized, how do you miss what you've never had to be concerned with? How do you miss doing the chores when everything depends on you bringing in the harvest before it rains and moulds in the field?
It amazes me how much we take for granted. I grew up with no running water, plywood floors in our 'little Hippie House on the Prairie'. We cut our own hay, stooked it up, hauled it to the barn for the winter feed stock and now and then I catch myself using these current little conveniences without remembering how simple life was without them. As we drove away from the field with the young Amish boy cutting his hay, I silently mulled over the things I didn't have as a child compared to what I have now. I am really happy for all these little things but I wondered... do I really need all this stuff? I filed the thought away until I could think about it some more, and here I am, writing it out here in this blog post to you fine people that are kind enough to spare five minutes to read my gentle ramblings. How much in life do we really need? The Amish live simply, without a lot of extra stuff. Why do we feel we need so much stuff?
So here's my question to you all... take a couple of minutes to think about this.
If you had to live without electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones, vehicles, and all the other modern conveniences you have, could you manage without them?
I am pretty sure I could, but not so sure I would want to. I like being able to answer a call from my Daughter or my Son at any given time of day. (Yes Shayne, even when you call me at 2 am after a night of debauchery with your buddies just to say how grateful you are that I'm your Mom and how much you love me and appreciate all the sacrifices I made for you)
I like being able to flick the switch on the wall and have a room instantly blink to life before I enter it. I like knowing that my friends in other parts of the world are safe and dry when I have time to catch the nightly news blurbs. Now that I am taking the train or taxi's everywhere, I really don't miss having a vehicle, until I realize I needed to pick something up from a place in town that is not easily or quickly accessible by public transit. All these little things seem insignificant until you have to do without them.
Just sayin'
In case you didn't know, please don't forget to take a minute or two to visit my advertisers on the right of the page. They all have some interesting stuff to talk about too!
Don't forget to check your Compass!
Cole
I was lucky enough to be escorted around by a man I admire and respect, who commands the race team I was there to learn about. He drove me around endlessly to all the places he had probably been to a million times over throughout his life so far, and patiently answered my unending stream of questions about the area, it's inhabitants, the weather, the soil, the water, the history, the architecture, and on and on and on. I pestered him constantly about the race team, the process of owning the team, running the team, managing the press, negotiating the sponsors, and anything else that came up.
In our travels, we sped past a field of fresh cut hay. The farmer out cutting the hay, was a young boy, maybe 12 or so. His clothes were that of a boy from the 1800's. Thick black boots, laced up past his ankles, black simple straight leg trousers, black suspenders, a deep blue solid shirt, and a pair of Aviator sunglasses. He stood on the front lead of a manual swather, and in his already calloused young hands, he held the reins and drove a team of four big sturdy work horses. (a swather is used to cut crops in the field and lays them in perfect little lines that you have to go back and pick up later ). The dust kicked up in the heat behind the team and the cutting was thick and dry. The boy, not really a boy, but not yet a man, drove the team with a skill that looked as if he had been doing it for years and was a seasoned expert, which he probably had and probably was. As the dust flew forward and I caught the picture with surprising clarity and amazing natural back lighting, I wondered if he ever missed the TV shows, current styles of his contemporaries, ever talked back to his parents, got in trouble at school, or missed a day of chores because he has hockey practice or homework to do. Then I realized, how do you miss what you've never had to be concerned with? How do you miss doing the chores when everything depends on you bringing in the harvest before it rains and moulds in the field?
It amazes me how much we take for granted. I grew up with no running water, plywood floors in our 'little Hippie House on the Prairie'. We cut our own hay, stooked it up, hauled it to the barn for the winter feed stock and now and then I catch myself using these current little conveniences without remembering how simple life was without them. As we drove away from the field with the young Amish boy cutting his hay, I silently mulled over the things I didn't have as a child compared to what I have now. I am really happy for all these little things but I wondered... do I really need all this stuff? I filed the thought away until I could think about it some more, and here I am, writing it out here in this blog post to you fine people that are kind enough to spare five minutes to read my gentle ramblings. How much in life do we really need? The Amish live simply, without a lot of extra stuff. Why do we feel we need so much stuff?
So here's my question to you all... take a couple of minutes to think about this.
If you had to live without electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones, vehicles, and all the other modern conveniences you have, could you manage without them?
I am pretty sure I could, but not so sure I would want to. I like being able to answer a call from my Daughter or my Son at any given time of day. (Yes Shayne, even when you call me at 2 am after a night of debauchery with your buddies just to say how grateful you are that I'm your Mom and how much you love me and appreciate all the sacrifices I made for you)
I like being able to flick the switch on the wall and have a room instantly blink to life before I enter it. I like knowing that my friends in other parts of the world are safe and dry when I have time to catch the nightly news blurbs. Now that I am taking the train or taxi's everywhere, I really don't miss having a vehicle, until I realize I needed to pick something up from a place in town that is not easily or quickly accessible by public transit. All these little things seem insignificant until you have to do without them.
Just sayin'
In case you didn't know, please don't forget to take a minute or two to visit my advertisers on the right of the page. They all have some interesting stuff to talk about too!
Don't forget to check your Compass!
Cole
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