Our guest blogger this month is Keith Swenson, one of our collaborators for the im4u.world project. Keith has a long career in city and regional planning with a practice that spanned the country. Now in retirement, Keith works with legislators and special interest groups to tackle climate change issues.
It was 1951, I was 15 years old. The day was perfect for putting up hay, hot and dry but with a gentle breeze, a typical Kansas day. Late #summer kind of hot, sun still hard and relentless with a robin’s egg blue sky. No time to admire nature. Dad set out to mow the 20-acre alfalfa patch south of the house while I took care of morning #chores. There is a limited time to cut alfalfa and Dad knew when that time was. Trouble was when it was ready to be cut, you had to be ready to cut it. Forget any plans you may have had. There is a lot of truth in the adage, “you gotta make hay while the sun shines”.
Dad used a vintage 1940's sickle-bar mower, manually raising and lowering the 7' cutter bar using levers behind him while steering full speed through 180 degree turns at each end of the field. There was no high tech machinery in those days to determine the precise cut, monitor the progress or an air-conditioned cab on the tractor to ride in while you worked. This was hard, exacting work and the margin for error was small.
After I finished the #chores and the newly cut hay had dried a bit, I joined him in the field with my #tractor drawn wind rower. The wind rowing implement gently rolled the dried hay in long strands, ready to be baled the next day. My job required close attention to the wind direction and tractor speed but was much easier than #Dad's job.
I finished up an hour or so after #Dad and headed back to the farmstead. I was in high spirits, looking forward to knocking off for the day and joining my high school buddies at the swimming pool in town. A cool swim, hanging out with my friends and just maybe talking with some of the girls I was sure were going to be there. My heart plummeted when I spotted Dad's tractor, mower still hitched, and a stack of tools laid out for our next task. I realized immediately that we were in for another 2 or 3 hours of hard work, cutting the section and I would not be going to the pool.
Without thinking, I blurted out, “Aw Dad, why do you have to do THAT”, to which he replied with a frown, “If I don't, who will”?
Internally, I resisted but I did not dare openly rebel. I knew in an instant his question was not one meant to be answered directly and was certainly not subject to debate. I had the hard #resentment of a 15-year old, #disappointed, #expectations dashed. I thought of my friends going without me. Life seemed unfair in that instant. We had both put in a full day, but a hard, dirty, sometimes disgusting, job remained.
Our livelihood depended upon the farm. I was invested in it, as were my #father and mother. We each needed each other and all of us to survive. I was either part of the team or I was not. The choice was not so obvious to me back then as it is now.
A cool swim at the pool vanished from my mind. I forced a smile and replied, “Yeah, it's looking a bit ragged”.
Next week: Cutting the Section.
This story is among many that inspired us to create im4u.world, an ambitious project to build positive and constructive conversations around the world, share learning experiences to create real change at the local level. It is easy to join us. Simply start by filling out our Global Survey, a short 15 question survey asking you what the most important issues are facing humanity. Your voice matters and we are listening.
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