That's the Way I feel About it.

There were several commercials last night that were awesome and funny. Several stupid and even more that you wonder why they wasted the millions of dollars it took to have them air during the Super Bowl. The one Ad that hit it home for lots was Paul Harvey's, "So God Made A Farmer".

Both my grandparents were farmers. It was the way of survival in their day. I knever knew Grandpa Thompson (my dad's dad) but I did know Grandpa Woods (mom's dad). By the time I came around he had retired from farming, but it never left his soul. His gardens were huge and well maintained with nothing but manual tools. No gas powered tillers but a one tine push plow, no seeders but his hands. You respected Grandpa's gardens too as a child. You didn't go in them and play in the nice fine soil he had so carefully worked with his hands. You didn't walk on the plants accidently. You stood by the garden gate and waited for him and mom to harvest the vegetables and you sat on the porch with them, listening to their conversations while you helped with podding the peas or snapping the beans. I learned the value and respect of growing food from the land.

My dad raised livestock when I was growing up. We had lots of chickens at one time. Like three huge chicken coops full of the birds. All I remember of those days were to stay away from roosters. Those dudes were mean and would flog you. Didn't like those days but then he got into raising sheep. Different story there. They were gentle animals but if they have their babies in the wintertime, you stayed out there with the mama and if she rejected the baby you brought them into the house, raised them in the bathtub and kept it warms until they were stable enough to go back out their with the others. I bottle fed many a baby lamb. I remember the hard work and late nights him and mom both would have out in the barn.

For those narrow minded people that say farmers don't work but just sit around the coffee shop or the elvator doing nothing. That nothing is them watching the markets or talking to other farmers either about when to sell the grain or cattle or hogs or whatever they have decided to raise for us do nothings to eat, or when to wait the market out a little longer.

I worked in a tax office for 5 years and became aquainted with many farmers. The paper work and books that they have to kee makes a corporation's form look like a 1040EZ. I also worked in a propane company also that sold diesel to farmers. Farmers don't have a 8-5 job. They work long hard hours until the crops are planted or harvested. The company would deliver disel at 1am to the field if needed.

I grew up around farmers, farming community and farm land. My son did the same and has the love and respect of God and the farms as I do. For those narrow minded individuals that think farmers have it made, think twice. You are the one that have it made because of the farmer.