Flight of the Concorde

This week I saw my first crop duster flying over the green fields as I was traveling home to Vermillion from W’s place. I have to admit, I was kind of excited. In my 5 years of living in the Midwest, I had never seen one. To the locals here I imagine it’s a common occurrence. Farmer John down the road possibly even flew one as a boy. But to me, I was in awe. At first, I thought it was a glider using the wind currents to master flight. However, as it neared the end of the field, the plane slowly banked upward making a wide loop with the wings at a beautiful angle. It settled down close to the field once again, flying toward the highway. It had a certain beauty about the way it moved and danced in the wind.

I was instantly transported back to the 1950’s era, where men where men and women stayed in the kitchen. I saw the plane as if it was in an old black and white movie, yellowed with time. I pictured the innocence of the time, the quintessential 1950’s life of sheets on the line, Moms at home taking care of the house, Fathers going to and from work. It was the view from the advertisement photos produced by companies to show their product would make a perfect life.

As we know, those advertisements had thick, rose colored glasses on. The families of the 1950’s had the same problems we have today. They had to worry about food on the table, cars breaking down, home repair. Out in the Midwest, it was worrying about the fields and grain prices. It was trying to predict whether it would rain enough or too much. 

In truth, not much has changed in the last 60 years.

It is the fourth of July this week. It is the birth of our country and of a set of ideals, a place of freedom. The country has come a long way since 1776. We face new challenges and new opportunities that we must conquer and embrace. This July 4^th, remember. Remember who we are as a country, where we came from, and what more we can do to make this a better country and a better world.

Garden report: Everything is growing great. The peas, beans and cucumbers are already producing fruit. The tomato plants are flowering. The peppers are very slow. I have a ton of tomatillo volunteer plants coming up as well. Half the garden needs to get weeded, and soon! I have a baby bunny that has been chewing on things. He’s adorable yet very annoying. I’ll need to find a nice way to deter him.