The rain and COOL (no, not the weather)

Howdy friends and neighbors. Well, I’m afraid all those who have been wishing for the rain to stop might get their wish. I truly understand the need to get what’s left of a wheat crop out of the muddy fields and into the bank, but my memory is longer than 2 years. Every time I drive by my wheat field and see the crop flat on the ground from too much moisture this spring and early summer, I personally just shrug my shoulders and wish for some more rain. Remember about a year and a half ago (last March and April) when the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma nearly burned up in a wildfire. If memory serves me right, there was no wheat crop either, plus the price of what little wheat that did make it to the scales was worth about two dollars per bushel less then today. Last year, I drove by our burned-out pastures and wished the sand would just stop blowing! Along with many others, I prayed hard for some rain. God delivered! My Granddad always said, “I can grow and produce more accidentally when it’s wet, than I can on purpose when it is too dry.” Those words ring in my head every time I start to wish the rain would let up a little. Folks, I still live in western Oklahoma, and I guarantee you, it well get dry someday. For now, I am going to enjoy all that has been provided and appreciate the green grass, flowing creeks, full ponds and lakes, and even the mud that I’ve been stuck in more than I can count this year.

Read Full Post »

Monte, the numbers nerd

Howdy friends and neighbors. I missed ya last week, as I was too lazy to write anything.

I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to numbers. And every now and then I like to put all the emotion aside and look at pure numbers. About a month ago, the Sweetwater School was hit by a bad tornado that left the gym, multi-purpose auditorium, bus barns, and ag-shop pretty much destroyed. It also damaged several school-owned houses and classroom buildings. The question I have repeatedly heard is, “Are they going to rebuild the school?” The answer I hear is, “YES, everything but the gym will be ready for classes to begin in the fall.” Of course, the follow-up is “How many students do they have?” I don’t know the exact number but it will be close to 60 students give or take a few. There are many schools throughout Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle facing the same problem of too few students to justify keeping a school open. But let me put aside all the debate over rural schools and look at this from a whole other angle, the cost per student to get them from kindergarten to graduation. The numbers I have collected are kinda rough, but also fairly right. I like the saying a statistics teacher told my college class one time, “figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” So here we go…

Read Full Post »