Advice From An Old Farmer

I don't mean to offend anyone, but we have had an overload of news and information coming from America in recent months. I am very pleased that Barack Obama is the new president, but I am alread starting to feel that if I hear his name one more time I will scream. So I thought I wouls include something a bit different on the blog. I read a number of websites and among all the drivel about politics I came across this, it made me smile and it contains some good advice.

Advice From An Old Farmer

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
* Keep skunks, bankers and lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen, anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, And a lotta that experience comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around

I hope Robbie takes note of the bit about fences, he still hasn't finished mending our fence!

Communication Skills

The wall to wall US election coverage was impossible to avoid yesterday. I couldn't believe that people had to stand in line for hours just to be able to vote, I thought that sort of thing only happened in third world countries. I am feeling tired this morning because I kept the radio on all night to listen to the Radio 4 coverage of the election results - Robbie was not amused, he buried himself in the duvet and snored loud enough to drown out the radio. I stayed awake long enough to hear about Obama's early victories, I woke several times to hear that the Democrats were heading for victory and when my alarm went off just before 5am (usual time) I was in time to hear Barack Obama's amazing victory speech, and then to John McCain's gracious acknowledgement of defeat. I think even his critics would admit that Obama is a great orator, of course he now has to turn the dreams and promises into action, but it really felt as if we were witnessing something significant. After Bush who is barely literate and seems incapable of stringing a sentence together coherently, it was a joy to listen to Obama. It made me feel a bit envious because we have no hope of inspirational leadership any time soon.

Talking of great communicators brings me on to Robbie. He can manage more words per minute than anyone else I know, but as far as communication is concerned sometimes less is more; I have to keep telling him to talk slowly because I haven't got a clue what he is talking about. He often accuses me of reading his mind (because he doesn't get away with very much!) but this morning he failed to communicate at all, apparently he thought telepathy was sufficient. My alarm went of at the usual time, I woke him at the usual time, he got up as reluctantly as ever and caused the usual clatter when he went downstairs. He brought my cup of tea earlier than usual, I didn't take much notice but I observed that he was well ahead of schedule when he went into the shower. I embarked on my normal routine at my usual time, but I felt that Robbie was rushing me along. Eventually I told him that he was way ahead of schedule, and it was only then that he told me he was aiming to catch an earlier train. Since I play an important part in getting him organised and out of the house on time clearer communication would have been very helpful!