I have always been a Paul Harvey fan. Back in the early 80s, when dad got off work, picked me up and we went to do chores (roughly 5:30 pm), Paul Harvey–the Rest of the Story would be on the radio. I loved that stuff. Still do. Great voice that was used so well, and yet was clean and to the point. You had to think while listening to it. And, you usually learned something. And yes, at 2 am on some mornings, I google old Paul Harvey broadcasts. The world would be a better place if we shut off the current crap and listened to a bit of Paul Harvey.
Last night’s blog post did not get finished. Hell, it actually never got started.
And with a nod to the legend himself, here is the rest of the story. My motivation for the whole post stemmed from a family group text that Duke had sent out. He had sent a picture of a baby Horny Toad that he had caught. He had sent it to Kela, Tammy and myself. I LOVE seeing/catching a horned lizard. It stirs my soul. This has been an ongoing thing with our family. Catch and release. You can be going 60 plus MPH and Duke can spot a Horny Toad on the pavement. The driver better be ready to swerve. And swerve we do.
That pic of a little Horny Toad had me thinking all afternoon. My mind was whirling……we don’t see as many as we used to; it’s late in the year to see a baby horned lizard; any little horned toad is a good sign…etc. etc. etc.
THAT is my religion. I love seeing things like a horny toad. I love that my kids watch out for a horny toad. My soul gets stirred on things like this. Stock shows, speech/judging contests, scholarships, proficiency awards…SURE! If they are giving out awards, let’s go win em. I don’t care what species or contest….if they are giving an award…win it. WHY NOT? If we get beat by better, so what! I would hope that there are plenty trying to do their best.
But that is not my passion. My passion, my religion is seeing people do well and do better than they thought they could. Winning is the carrot for everybody else. I only like carrots when cooked in a roast beef.
AND now, for the rest of the rest of the story. To be honest…I am in the best mental state that I have been in for years. Physically …..drained. I haven’t been sleeping more than a couple hours per night. Worse than usual. Yet, last night, as I typed out that stuff, I had to stop and dry an eye or two. I got to thinking about each and every kid. How each kid, their family and their goat(s) became family to Tammy and I. I choked up. I may be an asshole but I love what I do. I leaned back in this John Deere leather office chair and just thought about families. I could list them all but that would take a bit.
ANYWAYS, I smooth ass fell asleep in my office chair. FOR 7 hours straight. No beer, haven’t had bourbon in months, no peach crown, nothing!!! Smooth ass fell asleep in my chair. I’ve never slept that long in this chair. I slept hard. I hope it happens again.
And as a result, this Friday was as good of a day as any. Clayton Washmon and I pulled cidrs, ate breakfast at Ed’s Cafe, 13 toothed some lambs, got some free watermelons for ag olympics, took a lamb to Fairview and swapped bucks at Cleo Springs. U ain’t never had fun till u listened to Bob Seelke discuss teaser bucks.
I hope that you have had the joy of seeing a horny toad dart across your path. I wish that all of you that read this crap have shed a tear or three while thinking about positive things in the agricultural world. I wish that more people would stop and listen to some Paul Harvey broadcasts.
It is an easy argument to say that Guns N Roses is the best rock band ever. And it is hard to argue against the fact that Alabama is the best country group ever. And that Neil Diamond is timeless.
Have a good one today but please, have a better one tomorrow. Horseshoes & shamrocks to all!
