tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83872443705159865462024-02-20T22:34:59.909-08:00The Deliberate American<center>Relevant Ruminations About Culture, Politics, Economics & Personal Responsibility</center>Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-41590105739555194902019-06-23T07:03:00.003-07:002019-06-23T07:03:56.159-07:00So Long Blogger. I've Finally Moved To WordPress!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I've blogged on this Blogger format for 14 years. Blogger was a good place for me for most of those years. But it has become so problematic that I've been forced leave. My new blogging home is now at WordPress. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Seeing as I had to move to a new blogging format, I've taken the opportunity to create a new blog name. <a href="https://heavenstretch.wordpress.com/">Heavenstretch</a> is now my place on the web. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Barring any unforeseen circumstances, <a href="https://heavenstretch.wordpress.com/">Heavenstretch</a> will be my "<i>last</i> blog and testament." And I really mean it this time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Please stop on over and see what <a href="https://heavenstretch.wordpress.com/">Heavenstretch</a> is all about...</span></div>
Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-21458583108229675532019-05-29T03:51:00.000-07:002019-05-29T03:51:24.845-07:00I Can't Even Comment on My Own Blog!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Everett Littlefield, a frequent commenter on this blog in the past, has e-mailed me a few times expressing discouragement over not being able to post comments. I haven't been able to give him any good advice on the matter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And now, Blogger is not allowing <i>me</i> to comment on my own blog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">This morning, I wrote a reply to Nancy May in my previous post, hit the appropriate button to post the comment, and it totally disappeared. That really is discouraging, especially when I spent some time putting my thoughts together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I have blogged on Blogger since 2015. I have resisted going to another format because I'm comfortable with Blogger. This dog doesn't want to learn new tricks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">But this is the last straw... It looks like I am going to have to face the learning curve and move to another format. I'll probably find out that it's not as hard to learn as I might think it is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And maybe the new format will alert me when someone posts a comment on one of my posts. Blogger hasn't done that for a long time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">My mail order business is very busy these days. I don't have the time to make a blog switch now. But I'll figure it out later this year. Very few people still read my blog writings anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I do hope to get a few YouTube videos out through the summer months. Here's the link to my YouTube channel:</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/farmbeet/featured?view_as=subscriber">This Agrarian Life</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="mailto:Herrick@PlanetWhizbang.com">Herrick@PlanetWhizbang.com</a></span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-77370041500028035722019-05-15T15:27:00.004-07:002019-05-15T15:27:44.724-07:00The Beer-Sheba ProjectIn Senegal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Longtime readers of my blog writings know that I've written several times in the past about the Christian ministry, </span><a href="http://foundationsforfarming.org/new/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Foundations For Farming</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">. And more than once, I've posted </span><a href="https://youtu.be/MeZo3h3OcFo?t=282" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">This YouTube Clip</a><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;"> of Johann van der Ham, from </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">Foundations For Farming</span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">, speaking about the wonders of God's creation in a magnificent sunflower.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Today I want to introduce you to another Christian agricultural ministry in Africa. It's the <a href="http://beershebaproject.org/">Beer-Sheba Project</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">A local friend (Thank you, Mike) sent me the link to the YouTube movie above. If your looking for some good news in the midst of our troubled world, watch that movie.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For those who don't know Senegal is a former French colony in Western Africa. 94% of the population is Muslim.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It's worth noting here that there are countries in Africa where over 90% of the population is Christian. In fact, the Christian population of Africa at large is "exploding," as explained in <a href="https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/2001-now/the-explosion-of-christianity-in-africa-11630859.html">This Article</a>. This amazing growth has come about in spite of the terrible persecution and genocide of African Christians in recent history.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Meanwhile, sad to say, Christianity is in decline here in the United States. The Secular juggernaut is steamrolling over every last vestige of Christian influence in our government and culture. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Persecution of Christians in the West is at the door. Apart from God's grace, we who refuse to compromise in our Biblical beliefs will face a holocaust as the American Republic continues to self destruct. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I often think of getting out of Marxist New York State. But, at the current rate of national decline, I might need to start thinking about another country. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Christians in Russia who left before the Marxist takeover in 1919 managed to escape the nightmare that enveloped that country for decades thereafter. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Marxists and Christians don't mix well. While Christians can tolerate (and even love) Marxists, the Marxists do not tolerate Christians. In the eyes of a Marxist, the only good Christian is a dead one. That's one of the lessons of history. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My dentist's grandparents (Russian Orthodox Christians) were among those who got out of Russia in time. They came to America. They never had to endure the Gulag Archipelago. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Where will American Christians go to flee the nightmare ahead? Perhaps Africa. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One last thing.... if you are not familiar with </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">David Horowitz, check out </span><a href="https://youtu.be/bbsVc5AypXE" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: xx-large;">This Remarkable Video</a><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">. Part of what makes the video remarkable is that Horowitz is a former Marxist radical. He is now an agnostic Jew, and he is defending Christian America.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-53704351155364770122019-05-07T04:05:00.000-07:002019-05-07T04:05:16.000-07:00The Rise And FallOf A Homestead Business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Those who have followed my internet writings over the years (since 2005) know that I have a homestead-based mail order business called <a href="https://www.planetwhizbang.com/">Planet Whizbang</a>, which started as a side hustle when I worked full time at a NY State prison. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">And you know that <i>Planet Whizbang</i> prospered. So much so that in 2013 I left the security of my government wage slave job to work my <i>Planet Whizbang</i> business full time. It was a dream come true, and it still is. But....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The measure of prosperity that I enjoyed with the Planet Whizbang business for a number of years has declined precipitously since 2013. My business income is now half of what it was six years ago. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">This is not a personal crisis because my wife and I have, in seasons of prosperity, lived well below our means. We live simply and have no debt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">If you've read my writings for long, you know that I've always been wary of debt, and this wariness is for the exact reason that I'm writing about here... it is unwise to suppose that the future will be like the present.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">There is a clear agrarian sentiment in such thinking. Farmers well know that you can not count on a successful crop every year. The aphorism, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," comes to mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I have often considered the parallels between my little mail order business and farming. I have chores to do every morning in the form of orders to fill. The chores must be done, whether I feel like it or not. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Then there is the matter of planting seeds and harvesting a crop. Every product idea I pursue is a seed planted. A lot of work must be done to develop the idea and bring it completion. Then I wait to see if the idea is productive; if it bears fruit. Delayed gratification is fundamental to the agrarian life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Some idea "crops" bring a good harvest. Most bring a moderate harvest. Some bring no harvest to speak of, and the labor invested is in vain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">In the final analysis, every farmer, and every small-scale, mail order craftsman-entrepreneur like myself is dependent on God for the increase. That's the way I look at it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">We do our work diligently and God blesses us to the degree that it pleases Him to do so. There is a direct dependency on God's provision with both endeavors. It is a heavenward dependency that is not at all like the usual modern-world dependency on a wage-slave job with a steady paycheck and benefits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">There is another agrarian precept that comes into play with my home business. It is diversification, and it is best summed up in the adage: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Planet Whizbang</i> was built on my <a href="https://www.planetwhizbang.com/poultry-processing">Whizbang Chicken Plucker book</a>. With an initial investment of less than $1,000 I published and promoted the now-famous plan book. In time, sales of the book took off, and people started buying parts from me to make their own Whizbang poultry plucker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">There was a time, years ago, when I was shipping out as many as 10 Whizbang "Shebang" plucker parts kits a day. The volume of sales was astounding to me, and to my UPS driver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">But these days I might sell an average of two kits a month. At that rate, I have enough plucker parts now in stock to last more than a decade.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">At one time, I was ordering 20,000 rubber poultry plucker fingers at a time, and placing several orders in a year. Last year I had enough fingers in stock that didn't need to order any. Then, last month I placed an order for 10,000, and those will last a long time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The reason for the drop in sales is the introduction and proliferation of cheap China-made poultry pluckers. You can now buy a nice looking, already-made plucker (on Amazon) for less than the cost of materials to make your own Whizbang plucker. And the US market is now flooded with very cheap, synthetic-rubber plucker fingers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The quality of the cheap pluckers is poor, and synthetic-rubber plucker fingers have neither the longevity, nor the durability of my natural-rubber fingers (not even close), but that doesn't really matter to most people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Which brings me back to diversification... If I focused my mail order business only on chicken pluckers (plan books & parts), I would not be able to keep my bills paid these days. Diversification of products has kept my mail-order business alive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Please understand that this is not a tale of woe. <i>Planet Whizbang</i> still keeps our bills paid, we are still able to bless others financially as God leads us, and we are still able to put some money into savings. But the measure of prosperity God once gave me has declined, and there is a lesson in this for any aspiring entrepreneur.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">With lessons in mind, I often think I should someday write a book about what I've learned about small-scale, hands-on, solopreneurship. I may title it: "Confessions of a Whizbang Entrepreneur." Or something like that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">What all of this leads to is the Bible verse at the top of this post. That verse sums up my "ambitions" as an entrepreneur and as a Christian. That verse is profoundly agrarian, and totally <i>Contra mundum</i>. Incidentally, that verse was a big part of why I stopped writing my once-popular <a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/">The Deliberate Agrarian</a> blog years ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">That verse also explains, in part, why I haven't posted an essay to this blog for awhile. Quite simply, I've been working with my hands a lot lately. Most of the products I sell require an investment of my time and my handwork to create, and then to mail them off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Besides that, I'm starting to focus more time and attention on other income-producing, home-business ideas. It's more of the diversification principle in action.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">So, that's the story of the rise and fall of a homestead business. It's not a sad story. It's just a story, and it's an update for those of you who have followed my writings over the years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">With winter over, I am now fully engaged in the work of my home and business (another agrarian similarity). So I'll be blogging here only rarely, if at all, until the pace of life slows down later in the year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">My thanks to those of you who have recently contacted me to see if I'm okay. Feel free to drop me an e-mail any time: <a href="mailto:herrick@planetwhizbang.com">Herrick@PlanetWhizbang.com </a></span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-91271073779299156472019-03-24T07:14:00.001-07:002019-03-24T07:14:29.420-07:00Rick's Amazingly BeautifulWisconsin Minibed Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">—</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rick L. in Wisconsin recently sent me the following e-mails and photos. As you might imagine, I'm so pleased to see this kind of feedback on my gardening system. Thank you, Rick, for allowing me to share your comments and photos here. I find them powerfully inspiring, and I'm sure everyone who comes to this page will too!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Rick's First E-mail...</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Hi Herrick,</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>We have emailed back and forth a few times. Last spring I bought your Mini-Beds on Plastic Reports 1 & 2. I also bought Report #3 last week. I have read all three reports more than once. I want to thank you for the mini-bed gardening system.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I, like you, resisted using plastic in my gardens until four, or five years ago. I started using the Dewitt fabric with holes burned in it for carrots and onions. It worked pretty good. Your Mini-Beds on Plastic Reports made so much sense and reduced weeding that I went whole hog with it.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I have two gardens. My upper garden is near the house. It is about 36’ X 40’ and I grow tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, cabbage, carrots, herbs, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce and peppers in it. This is the garden I converted to a mini-bed garden. I have 67 beds in this garden. My pole bean cattle panel trellis are the only beds that are not standard 30” X 30” beds. See attached picture.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>My lower garden is more traditional and is about 30’ X 60’ in size. I grow potatoes, onions, sweet corn, dry beans and garlic. Last summer I planted eight mini-beds of strawberries down there. I converted about one third of this garden to mini-beds for garlic and strawberries. The strawberries did great until the deer got in to them around mid-October. They really munched them down to just the crown and a few sprigs left on each plant. I didn’t know deer liked strawberry plants so much. I don’t know if they will make it through our winter, but I mulched them good, so time will tell.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I have to tell you my wife and I were more than pleased and impressed at how the mini-beds performed. We had a few things fail for one reason, or another, but it wasn’t because of the mini-beds. We had the best peppers we have ever grown last year. I put four pepper plants to a bed. Just recently I have read that you should plant peppers so the plant leaves touch when they are mature. Supposedly it increases the yield. I don’t know if that is true, or not, but last year our peppers produced like crazy. When the frost finally killed them and I pulled the plants, I had some peppers with one inch diameter stems. I’ve never had peppers plants like that before. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the mini-beds.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Our zucchini, cucumbers produced like crazy and lasted two, or three weeks longer than they usually do. Our tomatoes didn’t do the greatest, but we had plenty to eat fresh and canned enough to get us through the winter. Tri-planted carrots did good. Everything pretty much did better, or a lot better than the traditional row planting and mulching that we used to do and there was a lot less weeding work. That is a major plus to me.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>We have quack grass here and it seems I’m battling that through out the whole gardening season. Not last year. I didn’t have any quack grass come up in the mini-beds. In the lower garden where I planted strawberries in July, I just had the area covered with plastic and the mini-bed frames pinned down. When I cut the plastic and cracked the soil in the beds, I did find a lot of quack grass rhizomes, but they were dry and appeared dead. They did not grow in the beds.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I could go on, and on, but I’m going to stop here. We are looking forward to a great gardening season with our mini-beds. I’ve attached a few pictures of my mini-bed garden from last year. I have many more pictures, but I think these show it the best.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was obvious to me that Rick was a serious, long-time gardener. I was curious to know just how long. His reply...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>How long have I been growing my own food? Well, the short answer would be, 44 years that my wife and I have been active, avid gardeners. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>My wife and I were married in 1971. I was active duty military at the time. I was discharged in 1975 and we have had a garden every year since. Sometimes not such a great garden, but we always got a fair amount of food out of them. Now our gardens feed us close to year around. When I go grocery shopping it’s mostly for dairy products (milk, yogurt, etc.) and meat. We have chickens, so we have our own eggs.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>The other answer would be most of my life. My parents and grandparents had gardens as far back as I can remember. While I wasn’t involved very much with planting, or preserving the harvest when I was a child, they got me involved in weeding as soon as they could. Ha! Ha! So I have been eating home grown vegetables most of my life.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Now I start my own seeds every year. I marvel at the miracle of a tiny seed growing in to a healthy, vigorous plant and producing food for us to eat. I never thought much about that before I started growing my own plants from seed.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>I’ve sent a few more photos. Every thing was grown in mini-beds.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Hmmm... that's a real nice Whizbang Garden Tote in that last picture (<a href="https://whizbanggardening.blogspot.com/">Click Here</a> for how-to instructions). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here's a photo of Rick, at the end of the growing season, with one of those amazing, thick-stem, Minibed-grown pepper plants he mentioned in his first e-mail (it looks more like a small tree trunk!)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you are not familiar with my Minibed gardening system, full details are in my <i>2019 Minibed Gardening Trilogy Report</i>. <a href="https://www.planetwhizbang.com/gardening">Click Here</a> to learn more.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-8596058078718476182019-03-15T11:53:00.000-07:002019-03-15T11:56:26.054-07:00Good Things Take Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you haven't heard by now, I have finally put together a fresh, new <i>Planet Whizbang</i> web site. Here's the link: <a href="http://planetwhizbang.com/">PlanetWhizbang.com</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For many years I have made do with web sites that I created using the Blogger blogging format. They were free, and the format was familiar to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Blogger is so familiar to me that I have actually created 46 different sites on Blogger since 2005, only four of which are actual blogs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Some of the sites are hidden, some I never fully completed, but several have helped me make a living with my <i>Planet Whizbang</i> Business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have, however, realized for some time that I needed to get a real <i>Planet Whizbang</i> web site. I've put it off because the task seemed so overwhelming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It turned out that it's wasn't all that overwhelming. Just time consuming. Very time consuming. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I still have a lot of work ahead of me to get <i>all</i> the products I sell off of Blogger, but the hardest work is done. It's a huge relief to have this new web site established.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I made the new site with <a href="http://www.wix.com/">Wix</a>. If I can figure it out, anyone can. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">WIX is da bomb when it comes to making your own web site.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-71765175106672617102019-03-14T04:38:00.000-07:002019-03-14T04:38:06.536-07:00Was Jesus An Agrarian?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following was originally posted at my <i>Deliberate Agrarian</i> blog back in 2009</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>My sheep HEAR My voice, and I KNOW them, and they FOLLOW Me.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(John 10:27)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">In my previous blog, <a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2009/02/blog-post.html">Delmar Ain’t So Stupid</a>, I wrote about the “dominion mandate” given by God in Genesis, and I explained that this was clearly an agrarian mandate to work the land, and care for it responsibly. All of creation shows God’s glory. We glorify Him when we choose to live within the paradigm of the mandate and work the land as co-creators with God. I am persuaded that this is the proper undergirding paradigm for living the Christian life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">For the record, I should make it clear that I do not believe for a second that agrarianism is the primary focus of Christianity. There is much, much more to the Christian life than choosing to live and work within the agrarian framework. But for Christians to ignore this aspect is a serious mistake.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Agrarianism is antithetical to the dominant “worldly” industrial system. Christians are called by God to come out of this system. Yet most modern Christians love the world and are dependent on the industrial providers and want nothing to do with the simplicity and humility and hardship that comes with living their lives and raising their families within the paradigm of the dominion mandate, as it is properly understood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">In response to my previous blog essay a person asked this question:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Was Jesus An Agrarian?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I must say that I have never considered this question before. It got me to thinking. And I have concluded the following...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">I would not consider Jesus Christ to have been an agrarian. Likewise, I would not consider Him to be a Christian. Other names for Jesus come to my mind and are appropriate:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">My Lord and my God</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">King of kings</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Savior</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Son of God</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Redeemer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Master</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Lamb of God</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Messiah</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Alpha & Omega</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Prince of peace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Chief cornerstone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Bridegroom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Deliverer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Horn of Salvation</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Light of the world</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">The one mediator between God and man</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">Lion of the tribe of Judah</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Shephe</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">rd</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(John 10:11)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">There are other names for Jesus in the Bible. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">But, no, I would not call him an “agrarian.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Having said that, I would like to also point out that I would not call God the Father an agrarian either, even though it was He who planted the first garden:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Genesis 2:8)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">When Jesus was born, the Bible says that Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. Most moderns don’t really know what a manger is. I didn’t know until I worked on a farm as a teenager. A manger is an animal feed box, typically found in a barn. He was born in an agrarian setting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Jesus did not grow up in a city. He grew up within an agrarian culture, working with his hands, and with his father, learning to build with wood. It is probable that this family had animals and grew some of their own food. He was familiar with the cycles of sowing and reaping, with vineyards, and with sheep and shepherds and fishermen. As far as we know, Jesus lived and worked quietly within this paradigm for something like thirty years before he left to begin his ministry. This agrarian culture was a type of incubator that helped prepare Christ for the redeeming work he came to do. Later, when Jesus began his ministry, he taught his disciples using many agrarian parables, simple in the telling, but of deep spiritual significance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">People of that day did not use the word “agrarian” but for Christians living today within an industrialized culture, trying to understand how Christianity should be properly lived, agrarianism is an appropriate word. It is the opposite of apostate Industrialism.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians, summed it up nicely:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>”Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)</span></div>
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-67044746940935723042019-03-10T16:55:00.002-07:002019-03-10T16:59:59.116-07:00Stitching Amy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYdiLFGeLEddKW1hfVlTyQ2oYOgoJfH6hOwl6cy44Z0A4Axn6KUc9mJF8Sc8C9UrftNBnxggXK5DYc9b1xZ-uQ8H4cke1QIYgtkt7i068rUD5_cdZbB3yvaXgL0Ic97oMRngrjklpYxk/s1600/IMG_9782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYdiLFGeLEddKW1hfVlTyQ2oYOgoJfH6hOwl6cy44Z0A4Axn6KUc9mJF8Sc8C9UrftNBnxggXK5DYc9b1xZ-uQ8H4cke1QIYgtkt7i068rUD5_cdZbB3yvaXgL0Ic97oMRngrjklpYxk/s640/IMG_9782.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was a bloody gash.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">We have a dog. A yellow lab. Her name is Amy. We got her almost exactly one year ago. I made a YouTube film when we got her from the pound (click <a href="https://youtu.be/zoj-PrwKY3w">HERE </a>to watch). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Amy is more Marlene's dog than mine. She loves Marlene, which is understandable. I feel the same way towards Marlene. :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Unfortunately, Amy does not bark. We wondered if maybe she didn't know how to bark. But a couple weeks after her arrival, I got her to bark. I'm the only person who, thus far, can get her to bark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">When we're outdoors in the yard, I give her "the look" and I walk towards her, slow like. She stays at a distance, fully alert. Then I lunge at her. That gets her excited enough to start barking. At first she thoought I was serious. But now she knows its a game. And she plays along.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Amy is a good dog for Marlene because she needs to be walked, and Marlene needs the exercise. So, they walk together almost every day. On a good day they'll walk two miles. If it's really cold and snowy, they don't go so far. On some days Marlene will walk a mile down our country road and a mile back and not a single vehicle goes by. We like it that way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">A couple weeks ago Marlene called me during her walk. She said Amy cut her leg somehow. She came running out of the woods by the road and was bleeding. I grabbed a roll of gauze and got there fast. I wrapped up Amy's leg and we put her in the car.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The cut was bad enough that it really needed to be stitched. But it was a Sunday morning and getting a vet to do it would be expensive. I'm pretty sure it would have cost hundreds of dollars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So we decided to stitch the cut ourselves. It's really not that hard to do, and Marlene has done it before... on me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Before we started having children Marlene worked for a doctor in Moravia. She worked for him several years, and assisted with various medical procedures, including stitches. A lot of people thought she was a nurse, but she wasn't, at least not a formally trained one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One Sunday morning way back then I was doing some woodworking and cut my hand pretty good with a knife. Marlene went to the office and got sutures and some sort of pain killer. She stitched me back together like a pro.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That was, however, nearly 40 years ago, and though Marlene felt confident (even eager) about stitching Amy, she couldn't quite remember how to tie off the knot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The picture at the top of this post shows Marlene, hemostat in hand, making a stitch. The operating table is an enameled kitchen table in our mud room. I lifted Amy onto it and reassured her that everything was going to be fine while Marlene tended to the wound. Amy was the perfect patient.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Marlene put three stitches in the cut. Here is a finished view...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The stitches are out now. The wound is almost totally healed over. Amy is back to running through the woods on her morning walks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was twenty years ago that I bought a selection of sutures to have on hand... just in case. I had been thinking I should have them, and Y2K was on the way, so that was the incentive to actually get them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Besides that, I was a Boy Scout and "Be Prepared" is the Boy Scout motto. It's a fine motto. It has pretty much been the motto of rural Americans for more than 200 years. It just makes sense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You can buy sutures on Amazon or Ebay. They aren't that expensive. The ones pictured above are the ones I have left. They are not all the same. I don't know what the best "general purpose" suture needle and thread would be for a prepared homestead. Can someone who knows more about this give a recommendation?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For how-to suture instructions... YouTube, of course.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have a friend named Dave. He once told me that when he was a kid, and he got a bad cut, his father would sew it back together. He did it with all the kids in the family. His father was a carpenter. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Dave told me they couldn't afford to go to a doctor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I asked Dave where he got the sutures. He said his father just used a regular needle and thread. You have to be really <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/skookum">skookum</a> to give and take stitches like that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But, the point is, it can be done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'm wondering if anyone reading this might have a story of giving or taking amateur stitches?</span></div>
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-88931458962795339832019-03-05T17:49:00.000-08:002019-03-10T15:20:02.510-07:00The Newest Kimball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Babies are something special, and when they are your own, they are extra special. Today Marlene and I met our new grandbaby (pictured above). She is 3 days old. Here is a picture of her the first day she was born...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You'll notice that she has a serious look on her face. There is a little bit of a furrowed brow. Here's the look today...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I told my son that furrowed brow is probably an inherited trait from me. My brow is often furrowed. My family knows the look. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Oaklyn is our second grandchild, and our first girl. Marlene and I raised three sons. Having a little girl in the family is something new for us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The birth of this grandchild is not the emotional experience that the birth of my own children was. The responsibility for those little babies weighed heavy on me. I think my brow started to furrow when my children were born. The furrows got deeper and more intense as each new child came along. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This is my son with his new daughter...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Oaklyn's mother doesn't want her picture taken. Having a baby was quite the ordeal. But she is doing just fine and is on the mend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Grandparents love to show pictures of their grandchildren, especially when they're just born. Yes, babies really are something special.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-4869501457114720822019-02-27T16:22:00.001-08:002019-03-10T15:20:50.559-07:00Illinois Becky's Inspiring Minibed Garden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was late in 2016 when, after decades of trying so many other gardening methods, I developed a new </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">system </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">for gardening. At first, I called it Minibeds-on-Plastic. I now call it Minibed Gardening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">At first glance, Minibed gardening doesn't look like anything all that unique. The casual observer would only see plastic mulch and some small beds. So, what's the big deal?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Well, the big deal is in how the beds are laid out and managed. I call it <i>high-culture</i>. High culture is all about focused attention on the health of the soil, and providing optimum conditions for plants to thrive. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For the past two years I have had a Minibed experimental garden. I have put my initial ideas into practice. I've seen them prove to be sound, productive, and profoundly satisfying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But what is even more satisfying to me is seeing others take the Minibed gardening idea and put it to good use. Such is the case with the garden in the photo above. Becky M. lives in northern Illinois, about an hour southwest of Chicago (zone 5). She sent me that beautiful photo above with the following comment...</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"I bought your garden book and the first update and last year I converted my garden to minibeds. Wow. I had a few bumps along the road and I learned from them but for the most part, my 45 mini-beds were a huge success. I'm 66 with bad knees and the weeding my traditional row garden required almost made me give up gardening completely. I'm so glad I got your book and took the plunge!"</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Becky's Minibed garden puts my garden to shame. Here are a couple more pictures from her first year of Minibed gardening (you can click on the pictures to see enlarged views)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here are some "before" photos of the same garden in the spring, after getting the plastic and Minibed frames in place...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">And here's a final photo from Becky...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> Now, if all of that doesn't inspire you to get gardening this spring, I don't know what will. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The way I look at it, gardening is one of the most positive and productive things you can do in a world full of such craziness and uncertainty. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">With your Minibed gardening success and satisfaction in mind I have recently (just </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">yesterday) finished putting together a new Minibed gardening resource...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The Minibed Gardening Trilogy is a collection of my yearly Minibed gardening reports (2017-2019). It has 130 pages and 250 photos. It explains the history, the theory, and the best practices of my Minibed gardening system. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This new resource is formatted as a pdf download. The price is $17.95. <span style="color: red;">But I have put it on sale until March 16 for only $12.95</span>. </span><a href="https://www.e-junkie.com/i/yhlr" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: xx-large;">Click Here to order</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you want to learn more about the Minibed gardening system before purchasing the Trilogy, <a href="https://minibedsonplastic.blogspot.com/">Click Here</a> to go to the Minibed Gardening web site.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">NOTE: If you have purchased the previous yearly reports from me, you already have the first two thirds of this trilogy, and you should have received and e-mail with information about purchasing just the 30-page 2019 Minibed Gardening update (priced at $2.95). If you did not get the e-mail, contact me at <a href="mailto:herrick@planetwhizbang.com">herrick@planetwhizbang.com</a> and I'll send you the details.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-90563839282648457372019-02-24T11:38:00.000-08:002019-03-10T15:21:31.068-07:00George WashingtonChristian Agrarian(His Most Referenced Biblical Passage)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This bust of George Washington was made at Mount Vernon in 1785 by Jean-Antione Houdon. It is widely regarded as the most accurate likeness ever made of Washington. He was 53 years old when this was made.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have long admired George Washington. Anyone who takes the time to delve into the story of his life and his character can not help but admire him. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Washington's character was profoundly Christian. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Every so often I'll do a Google search and peruse some Geo. Washington trivia. Today I happened upon <a href="https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/bible/">This Page</a> at the Mount Vernon web site, and I learned something new about Washington...</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"No biblical passage is referenced more frequently in Washington's voluminous papers than the ancient Hebrew blessing and prophetic vision of the New Jerusalem in which every man sits safely "under his vine and under his fig tree." Washington invoked this image nearly four dozen times during the last half of his life. The image of reposing under one's own vine and fig tree vividly captures the agrarian ideals of simplicity, contentment, domestic tranquility, and self-sufficiency; it is also a metaphor for not only freedom from want and fear but also the right to private property and hospitality."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Wow. Washington was a Christian-agrarian. Look at those ideals... Simplicity. Contentment. Domestic tranquility. Self sufficiency. Private property (productive land). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here are the Bible verses from which Washington drew his most frequent biblical references...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it."</i> (Micah 4:4)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon." </i>(1 Kings 4:25)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>“In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”</i> (Zechariah 3:10)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Eleven years ago I went to Mount Vernon with two of my sons. It was probably the best vacation I've ever been on. I wrote about it at that time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-vacation-report-mount-vernon.html">Visiting Mount Vernon</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2008/10/george-washington-farmer-part-1.html">Washington The Farmer (Part 1)</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2008/10/george-washington-farmer-part-2.html">Washington The Farmer (Part 2)</a></span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-74787481248555462032019-02-17T14:24:00.002-08:002019-02-24T09:37:35.593-08:00One Small Example Of Solopreneur Manufacturing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The beauty of the internet is that you can dream up simple, useful, niche-market products, make them in your home workshop, and sell them to the world. I've been doing just that for several years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But home manufacturing isn't necessarily easy. There is a lot of work involved in making things. It's work that people may not realize is going into the product. The loop stakes I make to go with my <a href="https://bucketirrigation.blogspot.com/">Whizbang Bucket Irrigation Kits</a> are just one example. In the video above I show you some of the behind-the-scenes work involved in making this little item.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The wire holding and cutting fixture you see in the video is something I made 6 years ago. It has been in storage underneath my workshop. I had to scrape some snow and ice off it after bringing it inside. The old cutter came from a yard sale (the price was right). Rustic as it is, the contraption is a real time saver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Now, for some amazing contrast, check out <a href="https://youtu.be/j-gabeEJ7EE">This CNC Wire Bending Machine</a>.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-72057097182357525002019-02-16T16:15:00.001-08:002019-02-24T09:37:48.006-08:00How Did Dave RamseyGet My Brain?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'm pretty certain I've blogged about Dave Ramsey in the past. And I'm pretty sure just about everyone in America must know who he is by now. Most of you reading this have probably listened to Dave's radio show, or maybe even taken his "Financial Peace University" class (I paid for all three of my sons to take the class). Nevertheless, I can't help but bring the above interview to your attention, and highly recommend it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">What Dave says in this video about things like debt, delayed gratification, going to college, wealth inequality (no class envy allowed), capitalism, the responsibility of government, and personal charity are all in perfect accord with my belief system. They are things I would say if I could so giftedly communicate with the spoken word like Dave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Dave defines wisdom as "the art of living life well." As far as money goes, he says that, "<i>If you read Proverbs over and over you'll have a master's Degree in finance</i>."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">His mission is to help people be debt-free, and build wealth so they can be <i>"outrageously generous."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">An example of outrageous generosity he provides is giving a pregnant waitress in a greasy spoon diner a $300 tip. It's a compelling scenario, especially if you know people like that—people who are among the working and struggling poor. People who would be truly blessed to receive such generosity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Dave says, <i>"People who give are always grateful people, they're more humble, and they're more selfless, and they're highly attractive people. They're who you want your kids to be when they grow up."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Speaking of growing up, the interviewer asks Dave about his upbringing and Christian faith. To fully understand Dave's answer, you need to know that he made 4 million dollars in real estate when he was 26 years old. Then he lost it all. Here's his answer...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"I didn't grow up in church. I was a hell raising, beer drinking, hillbilly. I was a crazy man. I met God as an adult. I actually met God on the way up, when I was making that money, and when we were losing everything, I got to know Him on the way down."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The last part of that comment really spoke to me. I can relate...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I've never made a lot of money in my life, but I managed to actually save some money doing carpentry work in my early years. I felt pretty good about myself. And then I lost it all in the late 1990s pursuing a bad business idea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was a difficult time for me. I was depressed. But I got to know God really well on the way down, and especially when I hit the bottom. That experience totally changed my life. But I digress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Did you know the typical millionaire pays off their home in 10.2 years? I learned that listening to the interview. </span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-53256614748933679802019-02-13T18:12:00.002-08:002019-02-24T09:38:07.946-08:00Lessons From MonopolyAnd Jelly Belly Jelly Beans<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Charles Darrow's Original Handmade Monopoly Game</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I am working these days at building up my inventory of <a href="https://whizbangtrellis.blogspot.com/2013/07/page-3.html">Grape Trellis Fittings</a>, <a href="https://bucketirrigation.blogspot.com/">Bucket Irrigation Kits</a> and <a href="https://whizbangtrellis.blogspot.com/2013/07/aggee-1.html">Whizbang T-Post Trellis Span Y-holders</a>. None of these products makes me a lot of money, but every little bit helps, and spring is coming.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The 24' x 24' addition I built on my house last year is a perfect studio to work in. For now, it's one big room with lots of natural light. I have a work bench in there. It's a downright pleasant space.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I also have a propane heater in that room, which is something completely new for us. The heater <i>automatically</i> maintains a steady comfortable temperature. For the past 34 years we have had heat only when we started and maintained a fire in our wood stove— 24 hours a day in the winter. From that perspective, automatic heat is an amazing luxury. I fear that I'm getting soft in my old age.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I like to watch YouTube videos and Amazon Prime documentaries on my iPhone while working. One documentary I watched was <i>Under The Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Part of the Monopoly story is that Charles Darrow was out of work and invented Monopoly during the Great Depression as a way of making some much needed money. But he actually modified a game that had been invented <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/business/behind-monopoly-an-inventor-who-didnt-pass-go.html">by someone else</a> decades earlier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">According to the documentary, Darrow began by making each game himself. His goal was to make one a day and sell it for $4, which he evidently did. The photo at the top of this blog post shows one of Charles Darrow's original handmade Monopoly games. You can see the whole board (it was circular) and read what it sold for at auction at <a href="http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/9134">This Link</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Darrow tried to sell his new game idea to Parker Brothers but they weren't interested. Then, once he started getting the game into some stores, and word about the game spread, Parker Brothers contacted Darrow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Darrow was more confident about his idea by then and, instead of selling the idea outright, he wanted a royalty agreement with Parker Brothers. That was a smart move. Darrow's heirs continue to receive money from that agreement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I feel a kinship with Charles Darrow. Making the games by hand and hawking them for $4 each sounds like something I would do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Besides that, I actually invented a new game back in the early 1980s one winter when I was laid off for a few weeks from my carpentry job. And I tried to sell to Parker Brothers. And they sent me a letter in reply letting me know that they were not interested. I still have the rejection letter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My game consisted of two "kingdoms" of playing pieces that clashed in battle. Only one survived. I called it Kingsley. The name came from Karen Kingsley, a friend of my wife and I when we went to Alfred State College. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">After watching that Monopoly movie, I feel like I should dig out my original Kingsley board (a literal board), dust off the instructions, and see if it's still as exciting as I once thought it was. I would love to have a lucrative royalty legacy that my children and grandchildren could benefit from. Wouldn't we all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Then there is the documentary, <i>Candyman: The David Klein Story, </i>which I've actually watched twice. David Kline is the man who invented Jelly Belly jelly beans back in 1976.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Jelly Belly is a great American success story. But Klein did not have the business acumen that Charles Darrow had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In 1980 Klein was pressured to sell his trademark to the company he had contracted with to make the Jelly Belly candy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Without even consulting an attorney, Klein signed a contract to sell his rights to the trademark for 4.8 million dollars. Half of the money went to his partner (the partner is another strange aspect of the story). Each man received $10,000 a month for 20 years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If Klein had negotiated a royalty agreement with the buyer he would have made <i>hundreds</i> of millions, and his heirs would have benefitted for generations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">As it is, the money David Klein did receive is all gone. He spent it trying to duplicate his Jelly Belly success with one novelty candy product after another. It's a sad story, but it makes for a good documentary.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-24558785874024493322019-02-12T10:39:00.001-08:002019-02-24T09:43:05.861-08:00Lessons From TheTexas Clock Tower Shooting Of 1966<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It's bad enough that some people want to take guns away from regular law-abiding citizens, but now, as <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/k-12/bs-md-ci-board-votes-20190122-story.html">This Recent News Report</a> explains, there are people who want to take the guns away from police officers when they are in public schools. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This is just another "strong delusion" (among many) currently gripping America. When a nation (or a person) rejects God, He allows the strong delusions... "that they should believe in lies." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It's in 2 Thessalonians, which is in the Bible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I looked up the word "delusion," just to make sure I was thinking right... "an idiosyncratic belief or impression that is firmly maintained despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality or rational argument, typically a symptom of mental disorder."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Mental disorder? Yes, I do think that is a correct word for the lack of critical thinking skills that is now consuming America, but I digress.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">When it comes to this matter of gun rights, especially for <i>We The People</i>, I am often reminded of Charles Whitman, the ex-Marine college student who, from the top of the Clock Tower, at the University of Texas shot and killed 16 people back in 1966. He wounded another 31 before, 90 minutes later, he was killed by a couple of very brave police officers and one hastily-deputized civilian. Without waiting for the SWAT team (because they didn't have those back then?) or their bullet proof vests, the men headed up the inside of the tower to stop Whitman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You've probably heard that "when seconds count, the police are minutes away." But when seconds count, and <i>We The People</i> are armed, the bad guys don't often get very far with their killing plans.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That is the big story in this incident. Everyone agrees that Whitman would have killed many more people if it were not for numerous armed civilians on the ground. Once they realized what was happening, <i>We The People</i> started shooting back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">When all those armed civilians started shooting back, Whitman was unable to effectively keep firing and killing. The civilian firepower kept Him pinned down until the police officers could get to him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This sorry incident is fresh on my mind because I recently happened upon a story about it in a 1966 issue of American Rifleman magazine. The 4-page article tells some of the details that are not widely known. The four article pages are pictured below. If you want to see a larger (easier to read) view, just click on the photos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Also, there are numerous YouTube videos about this 50-year-old event, but <a href="https://youtu.be/Q1uTdkQwsBk">This One</a> is actual black-and-white film from that day. There is no sound, but you can imagine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You do not, however, have to imagine the dead bodies. Near the end of that film, they show the dead bodies of people who were killed by Whitman inside the tower. This is something that we never see these days. Think of a recent mass killing and there are no bodies ever shown to the public. The lack of bodies never fails to give rise to conspiracy theories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">P.S. Five months prior to the killing, Charles Whitman went to a psychiatrist. He told the psychiatrist that he had anger issues and that he thought about going up on the tower with a deer rifle and killing people. <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/national/080366tx-shoot.html">You can Read The Report Here</a>.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-36441285198781464852019-02-08T19:21:00.000-08:002019-02-24T09:43:43.888-08:00Trying To Stay OnA Critical Path<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I had lunch yesterday with my old business partner. Steve and I worked for the same contractor for nearly four years before starting our own home remodeling business. We called it <i>Bestbuilt Construction</i>. It lasted for several very good years before we parted ways.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That parting was nearly 25 years ago, and yesterday's lunch date was our first one-on-one conversation of any length since then. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">We sat in the restaurant and talked for just about five hours. Which reminded me that we never did lack for things to talk about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There is no other man I know of that I could have such a lengthy conversation with. But there is no other man who I've ever worked so closely with. It was nearly every day for a decade. We shared common goals and hopes, along with common challenges, and the success and disappointments that came with those challenges. We were the best of friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In retrospect, we were a remarkable working duo. Like I told Steve yesterday, one plus one added up to a lot more than two when we worked together. More than just teamwork happened. There was a rare synergy. It was something special. It is something that I've missed, and will probably never experience again in my lifetime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Steve now operates his own business as a home inspector. If you ever consider buying a home in Central New York State, contact Steve. He's a true professional. <a href="http://www.basementsandabove.com/testimonials">Click Here For Details</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One of the "secrets" to having a successful remodeling business (which Bestbuilt Construction was) is to have a "critical path" mindset when taking on any remodeling project. The critical path is the most direct route to getting the job finished. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">When, for example, we were remodeling a kitchen or bathroom (which we did a lot of) we focused on a logical sequence of tasks, and pursued that sequence. I can remember saying out loud, as a certain task was accomplished, "What's our critical path now?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It sounds simple, but a lot of people get side tracked on out-of-sequence rabbit trail tasks that don't keep the project moving forward. It's easy to get off the critical path if you don't consciously and deliberately stay focused on it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One of the most obvious time-wasting rabbit trail tasks that keeps a remodeling project from efficiently moving forward is finding out that some needed material is not on hand and an unplanned trip must be made to the lumber yard or hardware store. But Steve and I almost never left a job site to get materials during the work day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That's because we had laminated checklists for tools and materials. We loaded our trucks at the start of every job using the checklists. And also we had inventory lists for totes packed with a full selection of plumbing and electrical components. Then, as we worked through the day, and thought of materials we were going to need, we picked them up at the store after work. The next morning we were back on the job early and followed the critical path.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This winter I have had trouble keeping on a critical path with new projects for my mail order business. My problem is that I have too many ideas that I want to pursue <i>and get done</i>. I've started several things but not finished any of them. I can't seem to focus. It may be age related (I turned 61 last month). Whatever it is, it's a source of concern. And it explains why I haven't been blogging much here lately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One of the things I want to get done before spring gets here is a new <a href="https://whizbangbooks.blogspot.com/">Planet Whizbang</a> web site. I've made do with blogs as web sites for many years, but it's high time I had a <i>real</i> Planet Whizbang web site. It might actually help me make more sales, which would be a good thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But the task is so daunting. I have 10 different blog web sites, each with several pages, selling so many different products. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Nevertheless, today, with three other critical path projects partially done, I started making the new web site at WIX. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">They have templates to start with and modify. I picked a template for a web site that sells scarfs. The screen shot at the top of this blog post shows my logo and name at the top (the header) of the new web site in progress. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That's it. That's as far as I've gotten. I keep reminding myself... "one step at a time."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So, I asked my wife, Marlene, to look at the header design. I explained that I was starting with a WIX template and would be changing all of that scarf stuff under the header. I wanted her to say it looks good enough. I wanted a little positive reinforcement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Marlene looked at it for a moment and said, <i>"You're selling scarfs now? Who's that woman?"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I know my wife well enough to know when she's joking with me. Or, more specifically, trying to annoy me. Or, even more specifically, doing to me what I sometimes do to her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Well, that's a bit of an update from my world. I plan to blog here more often in the days ahead, but I'll wait until I have something better to write about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here's hoping you are finding critical paths of your own and sticking with them better than I am.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-68847178271117757062019-01-30T04:43:00.001-08:002019-02-09T03:36:43.790-08:00Grape Conserve Circa 1900<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">(click the picture to see an enlarged view)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The grape conserve recipe above was in the pages of a</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> cookbook that was published in the 1920s. There are other handwritten recipes in the book, but they are in pencil and the style of writing is much different. That makes me think the recipe above is much older.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I'm showing you this old recipe for a couple of reasons. First, the handwriting is so nice. I've thought about framing this and hanging it on the wall in my kitchen!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Second, I'm not familiar with grape conserve. Offhand, I would have thought it was just another name for grape jam. But it is altogether different.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In searching on the internet about this, I came to <a href="https://ediblefingerlakes.com/concord-grape-walnut-conserve/">THIS LINK</a>, which provides some insights into grape conserve. Here's a quote from the article...</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Conserves, which combine fruit and nuts, are traditionally served as a condiment with a meal or in desserts. This converge, made with the foxy-tasting Concord grape, is not overly sweet and marries very well with chocolate and pastry of all sorts. It’s also good served on a cheese platter. ... Grapes and oranges are both high in acidity, and since spoilers cannot thrive in the moisture less environment of dried nuts, this product is safe for water bath processing. The conserve keeps for up to a year.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have a row of Concord Grapes that produce an abundant harvest almost every year. My wife preserves most of the crop as juice. It's powerfully good. But I think we need to make a batch of grape conserve this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Here's another recipe, this one from inside the cover of the book. If you are bothered by neuralgia, you might want to try this...</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-81153470284223435092019-01-25T18:58:00.001-08:002019-02-09T03:36:32.405-08:00When The Government Becomes Wicked<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York State. This is a very wicked man. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">You've probably heard that New York State has just passed the most liberal abortion laws in the nation. We who watch the political balance in N.Y. knew this was coming. I blogged about it <a href="https://thedeliberateamerican.blogspot.com/2018/12/new-york-state-turns-hard-left.html">HERE</a> after the election last year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">According to <i><a href="https://www.albanyupdate.com/">New Yorkers For Constitutional Freedoms</a></i> (NYCF), the new law makes the following changes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">1. It redefines what a human is. Any child not born is not human, and has no human rights. Thus, there is no longer any crime committed against unborn children in cases where pregnant women miscarry after being assaulted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">2. It allows abortions up to the time of birth for any reason. No ambiguity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">3. It allows abortions to be performed by medical personnel other than physicians.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">4. It makes it legal for viable babies born alive following late-term abortions to be denied medical care. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So now, in my state, unborn children can be legally killed at any time before they are born, and if they happen to survive an abortion (which occasionally happens), they can be left to die. Furthermore, abortion is no longer "a matter between a woman and her doctor</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">" because non-doctors will now be able to do the killings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This law is so evil and so grievous that it boggles my mind. In a recent e-mail, Jason McGuire at NYCF wrote the following:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">By passing the [Reproductive Health Act], the State of New York has embraced the proposition that some living human beings do not deserve the protection of our laws. This proposition flies in the face of our American tradition of respect for human life. Without the right to life, the other rights guaranteed in the Constitution have no meaning. Contrary to the rhetoric of RHA advocates, abortion access does nothing to advance the rights of women; rather, it invites both women and men to view unborn children—their own unborn children—as disposable objects.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Instead of celebrating the passage of the RHA as a milestone, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms views the passage of this bill as an occasion for mourning. Our state needs a course correction—not just legislatively, but also morally and spiritually.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">May God have mercy on our benighted State of New York, on women, and on the unborn.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I had to look up the word "benighted." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One definition is: "in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance." Another definition is: "overtaken by darkness."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The word is so appropriate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One of the mostly legitimate functions of government is to establish and enforce just laws, and to punish evildoers. But what happens when traditional understandings about right and wrong are changed? What happens when government goes from punishing evildoers to protecting evildoers? And furthermore, it even promotes and encourages evil through it's laws? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Answer: Nothing good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I was 15 years old in 1973, when the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision was made. At that time I was ambivalent about abortion. I really didn't see any problem with it. But I really didn't know the facts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">When I actually read about the abortion procedures, and I saw the pictures of aborted babies, I knew in an instant that it was wrong... I knew that it was evil. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Today I went looking for a YouTube video showing in close detail an actual partial birth abortion. I couldn't find one. You can find all kinds of actual surgery videos on YouTube, but you will not find one showing the actual graphic images of a live baby being systematically killed and extracted, often in pieces. I did, however, find this...</span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">That video breaks my heart like nothing else can. Only a psychopath could watch that and not be impacted by the wickedness of it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In a previous blog post I made the observation that humans have an incredible ability to justify the worst kinds of behavior. You won't find a better example of this than abortion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Unfortunately, that video has precious few views. But I understand why. I really didn't want to watch it either.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My wife and I have financially supported our local pregnancy care center for many years. And we have supported other such organizations from time to time. Many thousands of Christians have done this since 1973. Why? What do we gain by trying to save the lives of unborn babies? Do we profit from this? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">No. Not at all. We do it because we're horrified by the abortion industry. It lies to women, it kills their children, and it profits immensely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Last fall my wife and I, along with a few people from our church stood for a 1-hour "shift" across the street from the abortion provider in Ithaca, NY. We stood silently, holding signs. Ithaca is a liberal enclave in the middle of conservative upstate NY. Some people driving by expressed their anger towards us. It was an uncomfortable experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But, in reality, I have not done that much to battle for the life of unborn children. I feel guilt and remorse about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I like to watch Greg Hunter's YouTube programs at Watchdog USA. He was once an investigative reporter for CNN. Greg is a passionate guy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I don't always agree with his interviewed guests. For example, I don't even listen to the interviews with Mark Taylor, because I'm just not interested in anyone's prophetic prognostications. But Greg gets some good economic insights from some guests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Every Friday, Greg Hunter does a "Weekly News Roundup" and in today's roundup he discusses (among other things) the new abortion law in New York. If you have an interest, here it is...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Greg always ends his YouTube shows by telling his audience to "fear not, because God the father and his son Jesus Christ are in control." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I agree with part of that. I believe that God is sovereign over His creation and intimately involved in history, down to the smallest of details. But fear not? That part I question.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Frankly, I fear God. I fear His justice, His judgment, and His wrath on nations that have turned their back on His law. Nations that not only exalt unrighteousness in so many ways, but flaunt it. Nations like America.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I harbor no illusions about the goodness of America. We have forsaken the Godly foundations of the American Republic. We have squandered our inheritance. We are a wicked nation. God owes us nothing but smoke and ashes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Laws, once passed, are not easily reversed. From my human perspective, I see my nation in the midst of collapse on several fronts. It is accelerating. I'm not optimistic about the short term prospects. But I still have hope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My hope is that the inevitable consequences of national sins will eventually lead to national repentance—that out of the ashes America will return to being a nation that fears God. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Time will tell how it all plays out. Meanwhile, I am thankful for the mercy and grace God extends to his people in the midst of the storms of life and history.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-68857345779457284082019-01-24T05:01:00.000-08:002019-02-09T03:36:20.790-08:00If You Are Ugly, Try To Be Good<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeJuYatnrkdVOlm6gkVTYW0x2hMLU8NHZG_JHOGysQQkhoA6VXr2HfaFQQBtouFnCooBWsmv5dXziyaAm_p65BHGvNn6WUPyIhoP1eb7qTUK2RAJrjPlf2cysCg83cdzk_3vnaxea-Yc/s1600/Maine+Almanac+1851--563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="986" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeJuYatnrkdVOlm6gkVTYW0x2hMLU8NHZG_JHOGysQQkhoA6VXr2HfaFQQBtouFnCooBWsmv5dXziyaAm_p65BHGvNn6WUPyIhoP1eb7qTUK2RAJrjPlf2cysCg83cdzk_3vnaxea-Yc/s640/Maine+Almanac+1851--563.jpg" width="394" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The editor of the 1851 almanac essay above states, <i>"if good looks are confided in, they often deceive."</i> That is an old aphorism worth ruminating on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I've come to the conclusion that exceptional beauty in a woman, or handsomeness in a man, is, more often than not, a moral disability. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">That's because <i>"the blooming charms</i> <i>of ... beauty"</i> feed the <i>pride of life</i> (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+2%3A16&version=KJV">1 John 2:16</a>). And flower blooms, as we all know, last only a short while.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">In the final analysis, the world we live in places a lot of value on exterior appearances, but God does not.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I think it best that we all consider ourselves <i>"pieces of deformity"</i> and work on cultivating <i>"the beauties of heart and soul." </i>That's actually a biblical admonition.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It has often occurred to me that a homeschool curriculum based on of the wisdom expressed in pre-1900 farm almanacs would be a very beneficial resource.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Click the almanac page photo above and you should see an enlarged view that can be more easily read.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-63269318861646111892019-01-23T10:39:00.002-08:002019-02-09T03:36:06.281-08:00A Short History Of Usury From The 1894Maine Farmer's Almanac<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxBW5mS-VXgZ8-f8Cj52PSOXRCA62oqu3SfMGozlmupz7Sk6PD-_DE6dNlrBeMnREak_fAOeHQLZOrNyGwIldZ_6avdc3V46g2Xn73XpFgxuKhzUJNdP6sGGXOl89TrB7rS6s1y-3tN4/s1600/Maine+Almanac+1894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="904" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcxBW5mS-VXgZ8-f8Cj52PSOXRCA62oqu3SfMGozlmupz7Sk6PD-_DE6dNlrBeMnREak_fAOeHQLZOrNyGwIldZ_6avdc3V46g2Xn73XpFgxuKhzUJNdP6sGGXOl89TrB7rS6s1y-3tN4/s640/Maine+Almanac+1894.jpg" width="361" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One of the recurring themes in the old farm almanacs of 19th Century America was a caution against taking on debt. Debt was understood to be a form of enslavement, and the independent-minded rural people of that day loved their freedom too much.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In the above Farmer's Calendar excerpt from the <i>Maine Farmer's Almanac</i> of 1894 the editor provides a little history of Christianity and usury. Usury was once very severely condemned by Catholic and Protestant church leaders. It is a history that few know about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Usury was once understood to be the loaning of money at interest. These days, the meaning has been changed to mean the loaning of money at <i>too high</i> of an interest rate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have loaned money to people in my life, but I have never loaned it at interest. Well, in one instance I had no choice but to charge interest, but not really. Here's the story... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Several years back, when my wife and I sold my parent's house to one of our sons, we set it up so he would pay us every month for a number of years until the total sale price was paid off. To our surprise, the attorney handling the sale informed us that we had to charge interest to our son for what amounted to a mortgage loan. He told us that <i>the law requires it</i>. And the law also dictated what the minimum interest rate we had to charge would be!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Not wanting to charge interest, we simply lowered the price of the property so that the total amount (including interest) when the loan was all paid off would equal the selling price we originally wanted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But, of course, the government wants me to pay income tax on the interest portion of every payment my son makes. So, from a financial perspective, I'm losing money. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Four and a half years later, my son (and his wife) have not missed a payment and they have made great improvements to the old house. It's gratifying to see. That gratifying feeling more than offsets our financial loss to income taxes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you click on the picture above, it should come up large enough on your screen that you can read the 125-year-old essay, thus saving me the time I would otherwise have to spend transcribing. </span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-53191287162574342522019-01-19T05:08:00.000-08:002019-02-09T03:35:53.152-08:00Dying Churches Of America(My Own Included)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkXSgLfq9ErAELTpyRyZfPpBJOlaArex2hemHzFCfrEftPtMaatR0ONVjJvdJVsnoHoddh5_hD7faznRj5qF3mU1p7hLrfVEjg02oIrjy5ja2fq5ky6yE2fTUGTBtfi59oGvDmZZ0Irg/s1600/IMG_8292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkXSgLfq9ErAELTpyRyZfPpBJOlaArex2hemHzFCfrEftPtMaatR0ONVjJvdJVsnoHoddh5_hD7faznRj5qF3mU1p7hLrfVEjg02oIrjy5ja2fq5ky6yE2fTUGTBtfi59oGvDmZZ0Irg/s640/IMG_8292.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For two centuries the cultural stability of America came from it's deep Christian moral identity, but that is no longer the case. We are now a nation adrift. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Thus, in the foolish new world of post-Christian America, fewer and fewer people attend Christian churches. According to Kevin Swanson, church attendance in America has been declining for the past ten years. He says that, "given the current trends, only 4% of Americans will identify as Christian by the year 2045."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">And so it is that churches by the thousands are closing their doors. </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/what-should-america-do-its-empty-church-buildings/576592/" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: xx-large;">This Recent Article</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> states that 6,000 to 10,000 churches a year are shutting down. The church I attend is probably going to be one of the casualties. The handwriting is, as they say, on the wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My church is only a few miles from my house, on Oak Hill Road. I remember when it was the Ettinger Farm. Back in 1978, when I had a chimney cleaning business, I cleaned the fireplace chimney for Joe Ettinger.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In the early to mid 1990s the property was sold. The house, and a few acres were purchased to start a new church: New Hope Bible Fellowship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The large farmhouse (pictured above) became the parsonage. A very large pole barn behind the house was transformed into the church building. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My family started attending this church in 1999. Our three boys were 11, 8 and 5 years old in 1999.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">A lot of people attended the church in 1999. But things have changed. We no longer have services in the cavernous sanctuary. Instead, a remnant of less than 20 people gather in the fellowship hall. My sons are not among them.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The few people who still attend my church have our Sunday service in this fellowship room. I sit near the center of the picture, where you can see two hymnals on top of each other. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Actually, it's a lot less than 20 that now attend. That's because Lois Weed, our oldest churchgoer, passed away last month at 95 years of age. She was there when the church started up, and she was in church 3 weeks before she died in her home from brain cancer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Another woman who was always in church but isn't any more is "Aunt Ginny." She is 94 and recently went into a rehab center. It's unclear if she will be able to come back to church.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Aunt Ginny's younger sister (by only a few years) is Marion. She has had a lot of surgeries in recent years, but always gets back to church as soon as she can. She comes with her daughter, Debbie, who was a class ahead of me in school. Marion always sits to my right, and she often asks me if I've been behaving myself. :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Floyd and Charlene are an older couple who come to our church. They went to the local Methodist church for a long time, but left a year or so back because, as I understand it, the woman minister there is a homosexual. Biblical Christianity and homosexuality are not compatible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Floyd was a dairy farmer for many years. He got into farming when he was a young man by working as a hired hand on a farm. In time, the farmer he worked for helped him get a farm of his own. Floyd farmed with horses in his early years. I like Floyd a lot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There are a few other folks who attend. For the most part, they are people I've known for 30 years or more.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a view from the kitchen into the fellowship hall.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Only one young couple with three children (the only children) attend our church. The father, Jonathan, is Lois Weed's grandson. His children would be her great grandchildren. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have a picture in my mind of Jonathan's youngest, Erin, a boy of six, going over to talk with Lois during our Sunday morning greeting time, which takes place after we sing a hymn, have prayer requests, and a prayer is said, and before the sermon begins. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I see Lois sitting in her chair, facing Erin, who is standing just a little taller than her. Lois has her hands up, holding each of his arms at shoulder height. She is looking upwards into his face and speaking words I can not hear from where I am on the other side of the room. But I can see Erin looking directly into his great grandmother's eyes, listening intently. I mentally burned that image into my memory. And a month later Lois was no longer with us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Jonathan and his family have decided to leave and start attending another church. It was so good that they stayed until Lois was gone. Lois had 17 grandchildren and 51 great grandchildren. Two great-great grandchildren (that I know of) are due this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So, we will be down to around 12 people for Sunday services. I feel like our church is a metaphor for America.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I haven't told you why no one comes to my church like they once did. That's because I don't want to get into all that. Suffice it to say that there are a multitude of things that conspire in little congregations to, in time, diminish their attendance and close the doors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I experienced the drama of a once-vibrant rural church being ripped apart by factions within the church when I was a teenager. It was traumatic for me. Didn't the adults realize what a horrible example they were setting?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I have come to realize that we humans have an incredible capacity for justifying any kind of really bad behavior and, sad to say, Christians are not immune to this reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The root of the problem is, of course, pride, along with multiple layers of self-deception and self-justification that pride feeds. Love and forgiveness take a back seat when pride is driving a person's attitudes and actions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There is a verse in Proverbs that comes to my mind...</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">So it is that I hate church drama with a passion, and avoid it like the plague. I resolved as a teenager to never join a church because of that early experience, and I never have.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">They had the calling hours and funeral service for Lois Weed in our church, on a Sunday afternoon. Me and Debbie, and her husband, Jerry, spent a few hours cleaning, vacuuming and setting up chairs the day before. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There isn't a lot of parking space so, on the day of the event, me and Jerry helped get cars parked. It was raining. I got good and wet. A couple hundred people showed up for the service. It was real nice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The following Wednesday I headed over to the church to clean the bathrooms and get the fellowship hall back in shape for the upcoming Sunday service. There was a meal after the funeral and, among other things, I had to scrape dried bits of chocolate brownie out of the carpet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Those brownies were good, but it's not good when little (and some big) brownie bits fall on the carpet and then get walked over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">As I was there, on my hands and knees, in the reverie of my brownie scraping, it occurred to me that I should take a few pictures. They are pictures for me to remember, and for you to see...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sanctuary is cavernous. There are 200 chairs in there and it isn't even half full. Lots of room for kids to play in after church. And it was an ideal place for the once-active AWANA program.</span></td></tr>
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-58301278107603196392019-01-18T07:29:00.000-08:002019-01-18T07:29:49.254-08:00The America I Once Knew<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">There was a time in this country when political truisms were perpetuated by the media, as can be seen in this 70-year-old cartoon. But those days are history. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">America has gone so far down the rabbit hole that this cartoon </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">in another YouTube clip</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">is now being mocked and reviewed as fascist propaganda and a "Nazi film." </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This country is experiencing a surreal and disorienting collapse on so many fronts. I find myself increasingly disturbed by the foolishness, the ignorance and the depravity I see happening all around me.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">God help us.</span></center>
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-62401521118363413182019-01-06T08:22:00.002-08:002019-01-18T07:48:44.231-08:00Snow Angels In The Road<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">For today's blog post I have lifted the photos and text from my wife's personal Facebook page. Posted this morning...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"Once in awhile here in CNY we get a snow storm on a Sunday and the plows don’t come through until later. Church was cancelled so we went out walking. I love walking down the center of an unplowed road. Hubby decided to let the child in him out and made a snow angel. I'm thankful today for the simple things, and things we take for granted—country living, unplowed roads, snow angels, but especially for good health, the ability to walk, and a warm home to come back to."</i></span></blockquote>
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-810951263656846162019-01-03T07:46:00.002-08:002019-01-18T07:34:37.165-08:00Richard Lamm's Prophecy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Richard Lamm was the governor of Colorado from 1975 to 1987. He is now 83 years old. He was and is a liberal Democrat. But he is an "old-school" Democrat, not one of the Marxist-Leftist, America-hating Democrats that now control the Democratic Party. This is evidenced by his famous speech that most Americans have never heard. The speech is titled <i>My Plan To Destroy America</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I learned about the speech today when a reader of this blog sent me an e-mail with the text. I did some research and found a recording of the speech. It was given 15 years ago. It was given at a conference where Victor Davis Hanson was speaking about his then-new book, <i>Mexifornia</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Victor Davis Hanson is an agrarian and a historian. Back in 2009 I wrote about his book, <i>The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization</i> (<a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2009/04/deliberate-agrarian-update-31-december.html">Link Here</a>). In my 2013 essay titled, <a href="https://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2013/09/rural-america-cannon-fodder-for-new.html">Rural Americans: Cannon Fodder For The New World Order</a>, I quoted Hanson at length from another book he wrote.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Richard Lamm's 2003 speech was not his own plan to destroy America. It is the long-game plan of the Marxist-Leftists. With the passage of time, it has proven to be prophetic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It is not a long speech. I recommend it to you. Here it is...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If you would rather read the text of the speech, here it is...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have a secret plan to destroy America. If you believe, as many do, that America is too smug, too white-bread, too self-satisfied, too rich … then let’s destroy America. It is not that hard to do.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">History shows that nations are more fragile than their citizens think. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and they all fall, and that "an autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide." So here is my plan:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. We must first make America a bilingual/bicultural country. History shows ... that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. …</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Scholar Seymour Martin Lipset put it this way: "The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension and tragedy."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. I would then invent "multiculturalism" and encourage immigrants to maintain their own culture. I would make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal ... there are no cultural differences that are important ... and the black and Hispanic dropout rate is only due to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out-of-bounds.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. We can make the United States a "Hispanic Quebec" without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: "… the apparent success of our own multiethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethno-centrically and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together."</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with a salad bowl metaphor … I would make our fastest-growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. …</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. I would then get the big foundations and Big Business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of victimology. ... I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. I would establish dual citizenship and promote divided loyalties. I would "celebrate diversity." … It stresses differences rather than commonalities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other … when they are not killing each other.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A diverse peaceful or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together, and we can take advantage of this myopia. Dorf’s World History tells us the [ancient] Greeks believed they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature and worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games in honor of Zeus and venerated the shrine of Apollo at Delphi. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all of these bonds together were not strong enough to overcome two factors … local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions … .</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Then I would place all these subjects off-limits and make them taboo to talk about. I would find a word similar to "heretic" in the 16th century that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like "racist," and "xenophobe" halt argument and conversation. I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would develop a mantra: because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Lastly, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson’s book, "Mexifornia." This book is dangerous. It exposes my plan to destroy America. … This guy is on to my plan.</span></div>
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8387244370515986546.post-80179177868119732172018-12-30T03:55:00.000-08:002019-01-03T03:32:15.451-08:00Snow SleddingFor Fun & Memories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Futureman (my grandson) visited us for a couple days. One day was mostly travel time, going to pick him up and bring him to our house. Unfortunately, such visits are few and far between. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Divorce and separation from my grandchild is not something I ever anticipated in my "family vision." But life is full of disappointments and heartaches. So, we just do the best we can under the circumstances. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Our objective when Futureman is here is to focus our attention on him, to be a good influence, and to make good memories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In the video above, we made a good memory. Walking up the hill may not have been the best short-term memory for Futureman, but the sledding adventure ended well—He toughed it out and was smiling at the top. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I posted that video on my personal Facebook page. The daughter of my best friend in high school posted this comment:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">"Oh so many memories sledding down that hill as a child! Broke my tailbone by hitting a snowmobile jump near the bottom! Almost ended up in the bottom of the gully several times, adding to the thrill of the ride! Always finished the day off with hot cocoa at grandma's! Thanks for sharing, brought back some great memories!"</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Her name is Niki, and her comment brought a smile to my face. Niki's father, mother, and grandmother have now all passed on, but each of them contributed to giving her a childhood of wonderful, family-centered memories. She cherishes the memories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Niki is now grown and married to a farmer. She has a young son. I can tell from her Facebook page that her son is being deliberately blessed with the same family-centered, active, rural lifestyle that she experienced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">And as I ruminated further on this little story, I remembered that my first time sledding down Murphy Hill Road was in the winter of 1975-76. I was a senior in high school. Niki's father (who lived a short walk from the hill) had a long toboggan, and group of us classmates got together for a few trips down the big hill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In retrospect, there are few things in life more fun that a bunch of 18-year-old kids piling onto a long toboggan and sliding down Murphy Hill Road. It was good, wholesome fun. And it was <i>free</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">My wife was my girlfriend back then. She remembers that sledding party. And she remembers it was so much fun that we all got together again one crisp, starry, moonlit night to slide down Richardson Hill Road, which is another steep road around here that's closed off in the winter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">These snow-covered rural hill roads don't attract local kids for sledding like they used to. Too many kids wile away their life playing electronic games. Futureman is among them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Yes, it bothers me. I never allowed my three boys to play computer games in our home. I saw such games as intruders and thieves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">But all their friends had the computer games. When they got older, they played them at their friends's houses. :-(</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Even still, not having such games in our home meant that my sons were more exposed to traditional, rural, outdoor play than most other kids their age. That was a good thing for them, and they know it now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Fortunately, cell phones were not even around when my kids were younger. And it is fortunate that they were not around when I was a kid. Cell phones are intruders and thieves too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Oh my... this has ended up being a meandering, opinionated screed. I suppose it is typical of grandfathers, looking at the younger generation, to be so opinionated. And concerned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">God help us.</span><br />
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Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.com6