Thursday, October 30, 2008

On the Road Again?

I'm planning to take off this weekend and head south. The Diamond Field Jack Cowboy Gathering will be in Rupert, Idaho November 7-9 and I'm going to take an extra few days to see if I can make a few bucks on the way.

If any of you have an idea about House Concerts or anything else, please let me know as I'm going to need gas money.

I'll try to keep y'all up to date on my experiences on the road.

Monday, October 13, 2008

My political post for the month

Hi everyone. I know. I still haven't gotten back into the groove of submitting to this blog regularly. Actually, my days are so much the same that there just doesn't seem to be anything new to post.

Anyway, I have some thoughts about our upcoming election and the "coverage" we seem to be getting in the left-wing media.

Since Sarah Palin was picked as our Vice-Presidential candidate there has been a lot of contemptuous talk among the “elite” members of our society, especially the celebutards on the TV, about small-town people; country people and others of us who do not have the right background. I’m a little tired of the condescending tone from these useless individuals who only survive because of those of us who are beneath them.

I don’t want another “leader” who knows the best restaurant in London (and really has no concept of the prices on the menu!). I want a real Leader who knows how to make Hamburger Helper!

Consider, if you will, two men of my acquaintance.
One, Ed, looks as tough and strong as he is. Wide shoulders, forearms as
big as my biceps etc. His brother, Tom, looks like any slender young man.
Not much to him. Looks like a strong wind would just blow him off the
mountain.

They are Farmers. They can empty 40,000 pounds of grain out of a truck
with a scoop shovel. And, it's not even noteworthy to them! Build a mile
of fence. Carry railroad ties over their shoulders; throw hay bales six feet
or more in the air. And not just for a few "reps". No. All day long!

Ed works at least two jobs and helps on the farm when he can. Tom has his
own business (As physically demanding as the farming) as well as working
full time on the farm. Their sister, Joann (who is easily as strong and
tough as I) works full time as a waitress and then as much time as she can on the
farm, doing the same job as the men.

They can fix a truck, build a shop, wire it for electricity, insulate it,
install their own furnaces and equipment, all on their own. Am I impressed? I
couldn't begin to tell you! They raise cattle and grain.
Food which literally feeds people around the world.

On top of all that, they volunteer for their community. Ed is the Rural fire Chief…a volunteer fire Dept.
Tom is also a volunteer Fireman and is on the County Fire Board. Joann has been an election judge in this county for over 30 years and is also active with the Fire Departments and other local events. Their mother, in her 70s, is on the Museum Board and is active in the American Legion Auxiliary. All this in their “spare time”.

Now, are they unique? Not at all. There are hundreds just like them, just
in this valley. Thousands all over Montana. Millions in our country. They
are pretty quiet. You don't see them on TV or in protest marches. You don't
see them as guests on Leno or Letterman. They just go on, every day, doing
work harder than most of us could stand, as a matter of course. If they are
mentioned on one of the TV shows, it's to snicker at them. "Hicks".

And they sure don’t do it for the money! For playing a game, sports stars get millions.

For keeping the whole world fed, Farmers and Ranchers get zilch. They don’t even get the respect they deserve. Regular people. It’s great to see one in Sarah’s position and our hopes, prayers and Votes go out to her…if McCain gets elected because of her, more power to him.