Ole Pappy

This has been the summer of moving dirt, building buildings and rain, rain and more rain.

It’s exciting to see so much construction and new things going up in the area ... a new store on Highway 68, four-plex, the new housing addition ... new grain bin at the Taunton elevator, renovation at the elementary school and many roofing and remodeling projects.

It’s progress and it’s nice to see.

But right in the middle of all that good stuff, Mother Nature decided to rain on our parade.

Just before last Tuesdays deluge, an area farmer told me we just didn’t need any more water at this point in time.

“What we need are drying conditions,” he said.

The farmer told me the soybeans were already “stressed” and in trouble and it was likely the bushels per acre would be affected.

So instead of Mr. Sun beating down on the crops, we get water as though someone up there was throwing down great big buckets of the wet stuff on us. At such times the saying, “Water, water everywhere,” is bantered around.

So I looked it up to see where that came from.

Here it is: “Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” — By Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

It’s so hot ... It was the kind of week when you walk outside it takes your breath away.

So I looked up some, “It’s so hot” jokes. I didn’t write these, someone else did. But some of them are dandies.

It’s So Hot — I saw a chicken lay an omelette!!

It’s So Hot — I saw a squirrel picking up nuts with pot holders!!

It’s So Hot — I saw a funeral procession pull thru a Dairy Queen!!

It’s So Hot — the best parking spots are gauged by shade rather than distance!!

It’s So Hot — you can wash and dry your clothes at the same time!

It’s So Hot — I saw a cop chasing a thief, and they were both walking!!

It’s So Hot — cows give powdered milk!!

It’s So Hot — my thermometer goes up to “Are you kidding me!?!”

LAUGH A LITTLE: In the eye of the beholder. A woman walked up to an elderly man rocking in a chair on his porch.

“I couldn’t help noticing how happy you look,” she said. “What’s your secret for a long, happy life?” “I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said.

“I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods and never exercise.”

“That’s amazing,” the woman said. “How old are you?” The man replied, “Thirty-six!”

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

As my Ole Pappy used to say, “Remember, the best leader isn’t the one who does the greatest things. He’d be the one who gets other people to do the greatest things.”

Ole Pappy once told me I’d always know a great leader by how he motivated others.

“He’s the one you’d gladly follow anywhere,” he said.

Thanks Ole Pappy!