There are rare times when the truth is apparent; maybe the truth is
always apparent but we look the other way. I think many of us walk about
in a world that is shaped by influences that promise to help us
escape the world these same influences have created. Money and notoriety are a few of the staple items used by those who guarantee happiness with the products they create. They then convince us that we are the lonely few who fail to possess what they make. This fantastic
world is never more perverse than during the holidays. It is more
than placing a dollar amount on joy; it is covering up the true meaning
of Christmas.

I began to change how I lived soon after I met my wife,
Lisa. I have always needed lots of complications to fill up my life.
These complications involved excessive hobbies, useless projects and new endeavors
which resulted in time thrown to the wind. It is said that people
fill the empty spaces with anything and I think that’s what I
did. I used these activities as a sort of crutch. However, my life began to fill as I began to know my wife; Lisa insisted that life should be simple. It was almost painful to cast
aside my little props and crutches but as a result I became stronger.
The truth is that my crutches were my burden and my blindfold and
their removal was my freedom. These things kept me from the truth and

joy of life.

I believe there is a place for presents at Christmas but they shouldn’t
become the meaning of the holiday. I think we have allowed ourselves
to forget what is Christmas and have become empty. People try to fill
the empty space with meaningless rituals in an effort to validate
what they worship; a false world of excess. Much of the anxiety and
depression during the holidays come as a result of unattainable
desires based upon the expectations we have of ourselves. These same
expectations come from marketing which tells us we can
find the true meaning of Christmas if we will only increase the
limits on our credit cards a bit more. If we just bake a little more,
buy more presents and attend more Christmas parties then we will feel
warm and loved. It is the excess, not the presents, that cover the joy of Christmas.

I like my presents. I like the food and the parties. However, I know that
these are symptoms of Christmas; they are not Christmas. Christmas is
the birth of Jesus who came to bear our sin and give the world love.
The person with nothing can be happy because there is no material thing
between them and that love. This is the most joyous time of the
year and the simple truth is that some folks are orphans from that joy at their own choice. It is our own creations that blind us from coveting the one gift we should receive. The truth is that the meaning of Christmas is love as expressed by the birth of Jesus. It is the most simple of gifts and requires only our acceptance. It is what the holidays mean to me, Merry Christmas.

I would probably agree to celebrate Christmas on a monthly basis except for the fact it is a birthday and those come but once a year. I think most people feel the Christmas season begins this week-end so lets kick-start the holidays with a project. This is project gingerbread house.

I built my first gingerbread house a few weeks ago. It was more like a children’s project as I kept it very simple. The gingerbread was actually graham crackers and I purchased pre-made icing that came in a container that looked like a glue bottle. I also used candy that was sorted by color to keep it easy but you could save money by sorting the colors yourself. . I do plan on more involved gingerbread construction prior to Christmas but I wanted to try swimming about a small pond before taking an ocean plunge.

I kept construction simple. I laid out a rectangular perimeter of the house in icing on a plate and allowed the icing to firm up. I then made a box with the graham crackers for the walls of the gingerbread house by pressing each piece into the icing on the plate. I also piped a little icing along the top of the walls for the roof to rest against. After each phase of construction, I would place the house in the refrigerator to firm up prior to adding more material or decoration. I would have to say that the end product looked like what any eight year-old could accomplish, however I find great beauty in simplicity. If you would like guidance on a more detailed model, ask grandma.

There was something lovely about building a gingerbread house. I believe that Christmas is simply the birth of Jesus however I now understand when people talk of the mystery of Christmas. When I was young, I always looked at gingerbread houses and wondered what wonderful things were happening behind the windows lit with yellow icing. I wondered of how the people who inhabited this lovely, sweet and tasty home would celebrate their Christmas. It was all a mystery that intrigued me to become even more interested in Christmas, which helped lead me to discover the true meaning of Christmas when I was older. This is truly a secular Christmas tradition with validity to say nothing of the time spent in construction with your child during this important holiday season.

This is a project that involves both young and old in Christmas, allows you as much creativity as you like plus beckons you to try again after you finish eating your work. You can take several days to make a really incredible structure or make your gingerbread house simple as I did. A gingerbread house is just graham cracker, icing, a little candy and some time It is, however, so much more.

Today’s topic was suggested to me by Tim Lewis. I see him quite often at his workplace, Hardware Hank, because I really like hardware stores. I have vacationed, one hour at a time, at hardware stores for years and Tim has been there much of the time. Anyway, this week I wish to speak of my field of dreams, the hardware store.

First off, you will find nothing of any education in this story. I am no expert in the use of tools and I rarely do any projects that require a great deal of finish. I am “joe ratchet wrench” like anyone else but seek to get better through my attendance at Hardware University. Most times, I have a problem and can guess at how a tool would appear that could solve my problem. Other times I just ask, however I find the search is part of the education and the fun. Hardware stores are just that, fun. Gleaming chrome wrenches, things that run on 240 volt electricity or diesel fuel (or both,) plus an endless assortment of brass pipe fittings flesh out a checklist for time well spent. I also find the hardware store infinitely relaxing. I can get lost in aisles stocked with answers to the questions with which I am troubled. I even enjoy returning stuff I don’t use. It’s so much fun to see what the difference between the return and your new purchase equals.

I think I enjoy the electrical department best when I visit a hardware store. You can quickly make your home look nicer, be safer and more convenient with switches and lights. When you arrive at our home, there are a series of motion lights that follow your every move until you reach the front door. I just added two such lights yesterday which I picked up at (all together now,) the hardware store. Plumbing is also a great joy as I like to catch and re-use rainwater. The nice thing about plumbing fixtures is that even if a project doesn’t work out, you can easily take your fittings apart and use them on your next unsuccessful idea. I have a hope chest full of such orphaned parts awaiting an opportunity to be part of something.

Most hardware stores include a rental department. Floor sanders, log splitters, air wrenches, leaf shredders and pole saws are the magic wands that make rank amateurs into domestic titans. I truly believe that at least half of the difference between the poor or decent completion of most tasks lies in the choice of tool. I work by myself almost exclusively so if one hand can steady and level while the other directs a rented power tool, then I can do the work of two one-handed men.

There stands a handyman for whom hope and confidence are a given and the tools that ensure these emotions hang from a garage wall. For everyone else, there is the hardware store. It is the hardware store that holds the tools and knowledge that make men the husbands their wives say we are. Tim Lewis has helped me through many projects and this week he went beyond and helped me with a subject for my column. Tim, I am going to lean on you one more time this week; if people don’t like this week’s column, I’m sending them to you for their money back.

I haven’t explained a building project for a bit and animals need shelter so this week’s column is obvious. We’re going to build a cat house.

First off, most of you will nod in agreement but to those who don’t, let me assure you of a fact; animals need shelter. There are some animals which tolerate cold better than others, however at some point they all will need shelter, food and water. The easier these necessities are to access then the more effective they will be in making your pet comfortable and healthy. I’ve told you this in the nicest way possible. The Bible states in Genesis that God put us in charge of the fish, birds and wild animals. Please do not be like the arrogant politician who believes that being in charge of something means others must answer to you. It means you must answer to others and carries great responsibility. You are in charge of your pet’s care.

Let’s build something, one of my favorite things to do. This project is a cat house but would serve a dog as well by increasing its size. I built our cat house for the strays who visit so it is located on our deck so we can easily feed them. The house is on caster wheels so that it may be rolled away to a shaded area in the summer. During the winter, I want as much sunshine as possible as the south facing wall of this house is Plexiglas. The sun shines through onto a small porch that is made of black padding to absorb as much heat as possible. The porch can then release heat into the house during the early evening. I built a small loft to take advantage of rising heat and to give our cats a place to perch. The main living room of the house is in the back and has an entry just large enough for cats to enter but small enough so that heat can exit only very slowly. The back room has a heated pad (which uses only 30 watts of electricity) and is insulated with foam board as is the ceiling throughout.

The outside of our cat house is made from recovered barn wood. I mercilessly caulked every seem to reduce drafts and covered the roof with old barn tin I’d recovered from the Viking Elevator before it was demolished. I found a roof cap under an old shed and used that too which kept my expenses to a minimum. Most of the materials for this project were sitting in or under a shed except for the Plexiglas and caulking. As in most cases, most of the benefits in comfort to our cats came from good ideas and good construction rather than money spent. One good idea is that there is only one entry door which is located opposite of the prevailing wind which seems to typically be from the northwest. This architectural element cost nothing but created much greater comfort.

There you have it, a good project that does good for others. I hope your pets spend their winter riding the couch like ours do, however good outdoor protection is a must for animals who spend time outdoors. It is your responsibility, it’s even in the Bible.

Dear Dave,

I just got back from letting the cats outside. Twitch has a new trick, he leads the other cats right to the threshold of the door and allows them to cross first after which he turns back inside so he can have the house to himself. They really are the closest thing we have to children around here with the exception of some of my more immature moments.

We have joined together for the world’s most intense harvest once again. The best truck drivers, the best harvester operators and some guys who no longer have a valid driver’s license to act as roto-beater operators (kidding guys-go back to sleep) have found their way to R and R Farms near Warren. We began with conditions that were just a bit dry and made fantastic progress; however in the Red River Valley, all you need do is dump out your water thermos to make conditions too slippery to harvest. We are soon through and I am waiting for a phone call to go back to work as I write this letter. My right shoulder does not ache as I no longer shift my truck because it has an Allison automatic transmission. I love my new truck and my only complaint is that the actual shifter is just a button. Larry Pederson and I both drive similar trucks and as such are suffering advanced arthritis in our index (I.e. button pushing) fingers which is known as George Jetson disease; thank goodness for worker’s compensation.

Dave, we are a family that likes a good project so I guess that makes us…projectionists? Anyway, I will soon finish my last task which will fulfill my obligations to the EQIP program through the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The final project is an armored lane which will allow the cattle passage from yard to pasture in even the worst conditions to graze more often, which is the point of the program. Ray Kuznia was also out here last week and we pulled the pump house I built last winter out of the garage and place it on the concrete slab. Ray is Polish and I an Bohemian and, all ancestral stereotypes aside, I figured we didn’t stand a chance with this project. It went off without a hitch however, and Ray’s experience building houses made all the difference. I could have just watched from the house like when I was a little kid. I plan to go into greater detail about both of these projects in later columns which should create a boredom storm of biblical proportions amongst my readers, so stay tuned.

Dad said he talked to you last week and that farmers out in Carrington still have harvest left to complete. Just like us, lots of beans left and snow on the way. It looks like we’ll get a little heat this week-end so maybe that will open the harvest window a bit more. I’m sure you’re at work most of the time putting out the mechanical fires that occur when farm machinery has to prove itself in poor conditions. I hope the wife and kinder are doing well and that, with winter’s arrival, you will soon have more time for home and less for work.

You’re little bro’

I have explained the basics of the sugar beet harvest many times of the last few years. I’m sure you get it: dig out the beet, place it in truck, transport to piler and repeat. I thought this year, I would just hit the highlights and organize them into five acts.

@

Act I; A Harvest of Irony

We are so fortunate this year to be using trucks with automatic transmissions. I was cooing about this fact on the radio when fellow employee Gary Jenkins grumbled about there being no need for this little convenience. Today, I heard Mike Rosendahl tell Gary that he would enter Global Positional Satellite coordinates into the tractor Gary uses to chisel plow. What this means is that Gary will not have to pick a course for his tractor, that his tractor would now steer itself and Gary need only concern himself with a favorite magazine while this modern convenience performs much of the work. Now, we mainly harvest sugar beets during this time of the year, but apparently, there is always time to harvest a little irony.

Act II; Is that a Girl?

Sugar beet harvest is pretty much a men’s club, without the more sordid features of such a club. This year, R and R Farms counts among it’s employ one female employee. Now let’s get this straight, Casey Francis drives truck. She’s not running around in shorts delivering parts or getting lunch (Ed Rosendahl does that,) rather she is driving a huge quad-axle truck and doing great. It’s no surprise, I’ve seen several women do very well in the field and they seem to break less equipment. Perhaps it’s because they more closely listen to the equipment they use and work within its limits. Anyway, Casey’s a nice lady and I’ve heard she makes good brownies, however the only one who can attest to this fact is Sam, Joe Pierces’ dog. Sam regularly patrols the shop which is where baked goods are stored and he is a little more aggressive at the trough than his human counterparts.

Act III; Sewing Circle

This year has been muddy. Red River Valley mud presents itself in a semi-cement form that adheres well to harvest equipment. Removing the mud is hard work but I like to pretend to help because we talk and it’s a little like sewing circle. We all work around a central point and converse while we chip the mud from the harvester. We curse at the mud during our sewing circle, and spit, sometimes. You know, it really isn’t like sewing circle; however we do talk.

Act IV; Look, an Illusion!

Waiting in line with the other trucks to dump your beets is boring. Like dehydrated men see water in the desert, men bored may see action in a desert of inactivity. Last week, someone saw a bear sitting out in a field about one-half mile away from the piler station near Warren. Actually, it was a large garbage bag posing as a bear but no one knew that at the time. Truckers stood outside their vehicles and snapped pictures with the cellular phone cameras and sent them out to friends. I keep expecting to receive one such picture in my email complete with exciting tale while I surf the internet. The afternoon of the bear, as it will surely be known, was finally brought to a climax when piler-boss, Tom Yutrzenka, formed a safari to either give death or courageously receive it. It was during this excursion that it was discovered that the bear was only an imposter and that bored truck drivers will believe almost anything.

Act V; Final

I broke my truck today. I felt like an idiot and that I’d let down the friends for whom I work. Ed Rosendahl should have been upset but instead saw how upset I was and-hugged me. Yeah, he hugged me. I later tried to apologize to Joe Pierce who told me “no bodily harm, no foul.” I work for good people. Finally, I want you to know that we are being careful on the roads and in the fields as no amount of sugar is worth a life. Please give the trucks a little extra room and stay away from the piler station unless you have business to do. It’s crowded and busy there and onlookers only serve to make it more so. I have to work at three this morning, so this will be the final act.

I have been watching a documentary this week on the Public Broadcasting System titled, “The National Parks; America’s Best Idea.” I hope you’ve been watching it with me as it is a tremendous program. Seeing the beautiful pictures and listening to the narration of this program really helped me to understand the origin of the parks and gain an appreciation for nature. It also reminded me of my own trip into the wild of a national park and how it effected me.

I’ve never traveled much until recently. I have documented the trips, of which I’ve been a part, right here in this column. The first long trip I ever took included Yellowstone National Park and it was fantastic. I’d never paid attention to our Nation’s network of parks until then and this was similar to being introduced to football at the Super Bowl. I was awestruck by this majestic wilderness.

We are fortunate to enjoy a park system like the on that exists in our nation. In most countries, the most beautiful land has been owned for decades by a royal family or the rich. In the United States, our most breathtaking sites are owned by the people, just what the world might expect from a democracy.

I think that beauty in nature reflects what we wish were, or perhaps it is a mirror of who we are truly. I am quite afraid of heights, however when we traveled the mountains leading into Yellowstone, I really manned up. I looked down the valleys from which we had recently climbed and felt full inside, and even a little less afraid. Our friend, Teresa, just about had to hold my hand to get me to do it, but I found courage inside me out there in the wild.

Historically, men and women both have gone into the wild to prove themselves. I don’t think people do that much today, they would rather prove themselves virtually in a video game or prove themselves deceitful in a world that more and more rewards cunning than character. I think if more people made themselves vulnerable by walking, climbing and working outdoors, they could find the good in themselves once covered by the skills of our modern world.

“The National Parks; America’s Best Idea” made it first run this week. However, I see it is being replayed on our satellite dish into next week so check your local listings. PBS typically runs documentaries like these a couple of times then offers them for sale on digital disk. The documentary covers naturalists like John Muir and has a good section on Theodore Roosevelt and the life he lead that inspired him to use the Antiquities Act to put meat on the bones of the national park system. The sights and sounds of the show will move you, maybe into a better place inside yourself or even better-into the wild.