Current Forck Farm Report: Bone Dry and Broke Down

 

As I mentioned in my last blog, my four-year-old grandson decided he wanted to be a truck driver after watching a driver load an eighteen-wheel “mobile parking lot” with 8 cars on our last outing.  On Monday I got a call from PeeWee Forck. "Maybe if your grandson came out to our farm and rode on the combine he might decide he wants to be a farmer instead of a truck driver."

Could be. 

Shortly before 1 pm on Tuesday I picked up my grandson and we headed for the bottom land near Cole Junction where the Forck farm is located. When we arrived, giant pieces of machinery were parked around a grain bin and a tractor shed but not a soul was to be found. My grandson and I entertained ourselves observing the machinery as I showed him the corn that had already been harvested and the soybeans still awaiting harvest.

Finally, I gave PeeWee a call. The news was not good. No combine ride was on the docket because they were "broke down". Before long PeeWee's son, Kelly, arrived with a welder, an acetylene torch, and the largest wrench I've ever seen. Wasting no time, the welder fired up his torch and Kelly stood by with a giant wrench. After watching for awhile, I decided Gavin and I had best let Kelly and the welder work undisturbed so we left. It's been a rough year for farmers, what with drought and breakdown. A ride in the combine could wait for another day. After all, Gavin is only 4. A career decision can wait a few more days.

We went to the next important item on our to-do list: get an ice cream cone.

And then to the third: make a jack-o-lantern.

Thanks for the offer, PeeWee. We will take a rain check on the combine ride. Farming is a tough business. John F. Kennedy once said “The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." My own personal experience is that farmers, not necessarily by choice, must have a strong work ethic.  Edgar Watson Howe noted that "Even if a farmer intends to loaf, he gets up in time to get an early start." And Bill Bryson once said "There are only three things that can kill a farmer:  lightning, rolling over in a tractor, and old age."  That list may seem abbreviated until you consider that, what with all the challenges associated with farming, farmers sometimes get old at a pretty early age.