A couple of nights ago a neighbor of mine called and invited me to dinner. Miss Elizabeth was in Kansas City, and his better half works in Topeka, so we two "bachelors" sometimes decide to take a break from our own cooking and head into town for something different. Neither of us is very hard to please, so long as the meal is prepared by someone other than us. Mexican food sounded good, and it was.
We are roughly the same age, but only became friends after Elizabeth and I moved to the ranch several years ago. Since that time, however, we've discovered that we have much in common and probably played baseball against each other way back in our teens. We often talk about what fun we had playing America's game, but mostly we talk cattle, finances, and "men talk", never getting too personal.
There's something that's quite different about two men getting together occasionally than when women friends meet for lunch or dinner. The conversation is different, somehow more reserved, as if we're protecting ourselves from getting too close to the things we hold dear. Why is that? I remember a time when I was a boy that there were no secrets held back from my friends. We shared everything, and I think that is what etched those memories so clearly in my mind. It's also, to my way of thinking, why there are no friendships like those that are forged when you are young.
Last week, I had an email from an old high school friend. He's the organizer of a monthly breakfast gathering for some of us who go "way back". While I may have generated the idea for the breakfasts, if it wasn't for Ben it wouldn't have happened. But, I digress. The email was to inform me that my old friend, and blocking back, might have had a heart attack and was on the way to the hospital. Damn!
Memories flooded back. I've known him since the fourth grade, and we've shared a lot over the years. Please God, don't let this happen to my friend. He has a good heart, and I would miss him beyond words.
Fortunately, it was a false alarm and all is well with his heart, at least for the time being. But, we're all of the age when these little "false alarms" need to trigger some life style changes, eating better, exercising more, and not acting like we're still in our teens. We are no longer young and bullet-proof.
I'm certainly guilty of eating too much Mexican food and too many cheeseburgers.....Sorry Steve, but next time we go to town, it's the salad bar so we can continue to develop a friendship that will take us all the way to those rocking chairs on the front porch.
If you have friends that you hold dear, take care of yourself and ask that they do the same....It could be the difference between life and death, but what do I know?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Common sense will prevail.....or not!
Today was a good day. I was up early to do the chores and get prepared for a day of hot, hard labor to get the pasture grasses burned while there's still plenty of dried grasses to fuel the fire. Some ranchers burn pastures every Spring to help control weeds and brushy plants. I only do it every other year.....lazy I guess.
This morning was cool and calm as we gathered at my place to coordinate who was to do what. There were five of us who had decided to burn about 600 acres, covering parts of three different ranches. The land was all contiguous, which is a good thing, but we also had to work around my house, another house, some gas wells, and a couple of old wooden barns. To do it correctly requires a little planning, and to do it safely requires a large dose of common sense.
Last Saturday I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with the results of an ill-planned and poorly executed burn started by one of my part-time neighbors. As I mentioned above, a large dose of common sense is in order when dealing with fire. This is especially so when your actions are putting others in harms way. It's illegal to start a controlled burn when the wind exceeds 20mph, so even though you may have made plans to burn, common sense and the law, would dictate that a person cancel the burn until more favorable conditions prevail. If we had gathered this morning, and the wind was blowing too hard, we would have waited until another day.
Saturday I awoke to the smell of smoke. The wind had been howling all night long, and the forecast was for high winds, low humidity, and a temperature in the high eighties......not exactly ideal burning conditions. My first thought was a wildfire, not someone trying to burn intentionally. Wrong! This particular neighbor is a weekender, and has a history of making poor decisions when it comes to lighting matches. Chalk up another one for him!
We ended up with three different fire departments responding, several neighbors chipping in, and the sheriff having a "congenial" visit with the culprit. But, you know what? I'll bet he'll do the same thing again next year, or the year after. Some people just have no common sense, or is it that they have no respect for anyone or anything.....I really don't know the answer.
We were lucky this time. First, we were at home, and second the wind was from the south so we were on the backside of the fire. Still, it ended up burning about eighty acres of my place, and ended up at the driveway to my house. Too close for comfort.
Today's burn went off without a hitch. All it took was a little coordination among neighbors, the right equipment to deal with the unexpected, and most of all a big dose of common sense! I'm going to have a face to face "talk" with my neighbor to the north, and I'm almost positive that he will come away with at least a "small" dose of common sense......or maybe not.....after all, what do I know?
This morning was cool and calm as we gathered at my place to coordinate who was to do what. There were five of us who had decided to burn about 600 acres, covering parts of three different ranches. The land was all contiguous, which is a good thing, but we also had to work around my house, another house, some gas wells, and a couple of old wooden barns. To do it correctly requires a little planning, and to do it safely requires a large dose of common sense.
Last Saturday I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with the results of an ill-planned and poorly executed burn started by one of my part-time neighbors. As I mentioned above, a large dose of common sense is in order when dealing with fire. This is especially so when your actions are putting others in harms way. It's illegal to start a controlled burn when the wind exceeds 20mph, so even though you may have made plans to burn, common sense and the law, would dictate that a person cancel the burn until more favorable conditions prevail. If we had gathered this morning, and the wind was blowing too hard, we would have waited until another day.
Saturday I awoke to the smell of smoke. The wind had been howling all night long, and the forecast was for high winds, low humidity, and a temperature in the high eighties......not exactly ideal burning conditions. My first thought was a wildfire, not someone trying to burn intentionally. Wrong! This particular neighbor is a weekender, and has a history of making poor decisions when it comes to lighting matches. Chalk up another one for him!
We ended up with three different fire departments responding, several neighbors chipping in, and the sheriff having a "congenial" visit with the culprit. But, you know what? I'll bet he'll do the same thing again next year, or the year after. Some people just have no common sense, or is it that they have no respect for anyone or anything.....I really don't know the answer.
We were lucky this time. First, we were at home, and second the wind was from the south so we were on the backside of the fire. Still, it ended up burning about eighty acres of my place, and ended up at the driveway to my house. Too close for comfort.
Today's burn went off without a hitch. All it took was a little coordination among neighbors, the right equipment to deal with the unexpected, and most of all a big dose of common sense! I'm going to have a face to face "talk" with my neighbor to the north, and I'm almost positive that he will come away with at least a "small" dose of common sense......or maybe not.....after all, what do I know?
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Yes, I'm old and set in my ways....
Recently, I read a rather heated exchange of ideas among several people communicating via that ever so popular venue called Facebook. It seemed to me that some were simply commenting to incite anger and had little regard for the opinions of the others. In a verbal exchange it would have been considered quite rude.
I'm a relative newcomer to this modern "social networking" scene, as I've only been a member for a year or so. Like many of us old-timers I was a little hesitant to get on board, and was finally "forced" to do it in order to follow the comings and goings of our children and to see pictures of the grand children.
It's been an interesting experience and suddenly I find myself checking my page regularly and communicating with friends from all over the world. For the most part it's just chit-chat among friends, verbal jabs, and an occasional serious discussion about the differences of opinion in all things political. As Alan Jackson sings, "I'm not a political man", and usually I stay on the fringes of these exchanges. If anything, I try to insert a comment that will lighten the tone a bit. It must be the mediator in me.
Anyway, I'm somewhat surprised at the things people are willing to post on this very public network; compromising photos, inappropriate language, and comments that are sometimes less than flattering. Things that can and do have far reaching effects.
As a business coach, I see business owners who have taken full advantage of the social network to help market their products and services, and it's a great way to reach new customers and expand sales. On the other hand I see some business owners, or their employees, post things that are totally inappropriate....Things that can definitely have a negative impact on how they, and their businesses, are perceived.
I'm not really sure why I'm writing this other than it just strikes me as being odd that a person will work so hard at building a reputation, only to risk it by getting a little too loose with what is posted for everyone to see, and writing things they would never say in a face to face conversation.
I'll admit that I'm old and set in my ways, but I was taught that a person's name and reputation should be treasured and protected at all costs. After all, at the end of the day, what else is there......I guess it's just another one of those things that falls into that abyss known as..... What do I know?
I'm a relative newcomer to this modern "social networking" scene, as I've only been a member for a year or so. Like many of us old-timers I was a little hesitant to get on board, and was finally "forced" to do it in order to follow the comings and goings of our children and to see pictures of the grand children.
It's been an interesting experience and suddenly I find myself checking my page regularly and communicating with friends from all over the world. For the most part it's just chit-chat among friends, verbal jabs, and an occasional serious discussion about the differences of opinion in all things political. As Alan Jackson sings, "I'm not a political man", and usually I stay on the fringes of these exchanges. If anything, I try to insert a comment that will lighten the tone a bit. It must be the mediator in me.
Anyway, I'm somewhat surprised at the things people are willing to post on this very public network; compromising photos, inappropriate language, and comments that are sometimes less than flattering. Things that can and do have far reaching effects.
As a business coach, I see business owners who have taken full advantage of the social network to help market their products and services, and it's a great way to reach new customers and expand sales. On the other hand I see some business owners, or their employees, post things that are totally inappropriate....Things that can definitely have a negative impact on how they, and their businesses, are perceived.
I'm not really sure why I'm writing this other than it just strikes me as being odd that a person will work so hard at building a reputation, only to risk it by getting a little too loose with what is posted for everyone to see, and writing things they would never say in a face to face conversation.
I'll admit that I'm old and set in my ways, but I was taught that a person's name and reputation should be treasured and protected at all costs. After all, at the end of the day, what else is there......I guess it's just another one of those things that falls into that abyss known as..... What do I know?
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