2024, Business, Family, Farming Update, Health, Weather

The Two P’s

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben!

As you can see from the header photo, we felt the need to add a flag to our flagpole recently. We’re liking it.

Hope you all had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat.

Our son and daughter-in-law were here and I ordered a 15 lb ham, and had it on the grill for 4 hours, topping with honey bourbon glaze and it was very good. And there are many leftovers. And we sure had a good time.

Near the end of the day I received word my cousin Marcie had died. In May of 2021, she fell down some steps at her home, hit her head, and suffered bleeding in her skull. She never fully recovered from that, and after having a stroke in October, died on Thursday morning.

Marcie, Grandma Lillie, and myself in 1972 as Ring Bearer and Flower Girl at my sister’s wedding.

She was the youngest of three siblings adopted by my Uncle Stanley and Aunt Judy. Her older brother Mark died a few years ago, and the oldest sister Marie is still with us. It seemed like a pretty tough childhood for them. Judy seemed awfully stern to me. My perception was that she was pretty strict. My siblings say she was fun. I was scared of her.

Marcie married a good guy, and she had some really good years in the middle.

I basically have a functional heated shop now. It’s not done, but I hooked up the thermostat complete with conduit and not just ‘temporary’ and I can monitor it from my phone app.

I need to finish the interior wall and get the electricians back so they can do their thing, and figure out where to put the tool boxes and shelving, and, well… I could keep myself busy in here all winter.

About 2 more weeks of classes left. I’ve still got an ‘A’ going for ‘Interpersonal Communication’. We have to write an online discussion post each week and respond to a classmate’s post. We can see how many views our posts get. Mine never get many. It could be they read a few at the start, never got my Seinfeld references and old jokes and they quit reading them. Or it could just be they only read their friends. Or maybe they pick the short ones, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter to me, It’s just interesting.

Hey, how do you know if your computer is musical?

If it’s a Dell.

“Adele”.

She’s a singer.

Found this photo when looking for the above wedding photo. That’s about 1965. Dad is working on the blade of the road grader. I’m helping. It’s pretty clear I liked being out there and helping at an early age. The patches on the knees make me laugh. Was I that busy? Or hand-me-downs? Probably both.

When Dad was still coming to the farm and helping, “helping”, I’d usually have ‘Dad stories’ by the time he went home. I wish I had written them down. I sure can’t remember any these days. It seems like there’s a long tradition of the dads coming to the farm and ‘helping’ until they break something, and then they go home. Once retired, it’s not their problem anymore. And dad knew that too. He said the same thing about his dad. And my dad had picked up some part time jobs, so often, it was conveniently time for him to go to his other job when he broke something here. He’d laugh, I’d roll my eyes and grumble, and off he’d go.

But… perspective. Time and perspective. I don’t blame him.

A lot of situations improve with time and perspective.

At the theater we often end up talking about ‘Perception’. Sometimes It’s still enough to make me roll my eyes. I did a little searching and there’s a lot of talk about perception and perspective.

Mom and dad at their 65th Wedding anniversary. Dad died in November the next year.

I have much to be thankful for.

PERSPECTIVE?

PERCEPTION?

38 thoughts on “The Two P’s”

  1. It’s both “perspective” and “perception”, because they’re two different things. The first is based on the root about seeing (spect) and the second on the root about thinking (cept).

    I have many different perceptions of your perspective. And am willing to share some of my perspectives about your perception. Just let me don my spectacles and draw you a picture of my personal concepts.

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  3. Like this: A lot of situations improve with time and perspective.

    My perception is that you have a different perspective from a lot of people, Ben, from your two careers of farming and sound tech/teacher. We all get our perspective from these major crossroads in our lives.

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  4. Very sorry for the loss of your cousin, Ben.

    My perception – or, I perceive – that you cared about her, and are perhaps a little saddened by her loss.

    Also, I perceive that you’re a dang hard-working guy, and that you were raised that way!

    My perspective on hard-working outdoor people is that they’re kind to animals, love to get dirty, and love to go home tired to the bone.

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  6. Cousins you enjoy and/or appreciate are an absolute gift. Dad who “help”… well, let’s just say I am glad my dad was past “helping” by the time I bought this house. He was actually quite helpful when I wanted to re-wallpaper a bathroom at my old duplex (it was better than trying to figure out getting the walls in good enough shape to paint… they had been wallpapered for years we discovered as we prepped them – many many layers came down). Perception? I have a good family full of good humans who genuinely like each other. Perspective? I am darn lucky to have the family I do – unconditional love doesn’t happen everywhere (Darling Husband’s family was evidence of that), though really it should be. And if not family, somewhere and someplace where you are fully seen and loved.

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    1. Neither of my folks were particularly handy, but boy could they paint and wallpaper. Every house we moved into (and that was quite a few), they painted and wallpapered every room. The house that I lived in when I was a in high school was the one we lived in the longest and after they had painted and wallpapered every room, they went back and started again.

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  7. I love all the photos in today’s post, Ben, including the one of your flagpole with your new flag. Thanks for sharing them.

    Sorry for the loss of your cousin Marcie. The photo of the two of you in all of your ring bearer and flower girl finery is a treasure. Love your hair and both your smiles. Is grandma Lillie your mom’s mother?

    Little Ben with the huge wrench helping dad, is pretty cute too.

    The photo of your parents on the their 65th wedding anniversary, your dad grinning from ear to ear with you mom looking very dignified, tweaks the perception I have of your family. I see your mother’s strength and dignity and a twinkle in both their eyes that reveals their shared ability to find the humor in almost any situation.

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  8. Here is, IMO, a great example of perception and perspective as a young person watches The Wizard Of Oz for the first time. It’s a little long but, from my perspective, worth the time.

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    1. YA is very keen to see the new Wicked movie. I am not keen so she has decided that instead of seeing it on Christmas Day, which was her original plan, we will now see it this coming weekend hopefully at the Riverview and then see something else on Christmas Day.

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        1. its wonderful
          booked 10 days early for black friday matenee and had to go with the 3 oclock tuesday with my mom because both 6 oclock shows were sold out
          christmas may be sold out already

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  9. OT – Apropos absolutely nothing, but since there isn’t a lot of activity of the trail, and I know there are several Princess Bride enthusiasts among the baboons, here’s a tidbit of trivia that may be of interest:
    “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
    Mandy Patinkin has said that the role of Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride” (1987) is his personal favorite over the course of his entire career. Patinkin claims that the only injury he sustained during the entire filming of this movie was a bruised rib due to stifling his laughter in his scenes with Billy Crystal. His attempt at holding back his laughter is obvious from his facial expression during his line, “This is noble, sir.”
    Patinkin and co-star Cary Elwes performed all of their own sword-fighting after many hours of training. According to director Rob Reiner, the only stunt performed by Elwes’ stunt double was one flip during the “Chatty Duelists” scene. The pair Cary trained for months with Peter Diamond and Bob Anderson, who between them had been in the Olympics; worked on films from the “Lord of the Rings’ trilogy to the “Star Wars” films; and coached Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster. Every spare moment on set was spent practicing. Eventually, when they showed Reiner the swordfight for the movie, he was underwhelmed and requested that it be at least three minutes long rather than the current one minute. They added steps to the set, watched more swashbuckling movies for inspiration, re-choreographed the scene, and ended up with a three minute and 10 second fight which took the better part of a week to film from all angles.
    Patinkin says that the line that introduces this post gets quoted back to him by at least two or three strangers every day of his life. Patinkin told the interviewer that he loves hearing the line and he also loves the general fact that he got to be in the movie, stating, “I’m frankly thrilled about it. I can’t believe that I got to be in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ you know what I mean?” (IMDb)

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    1. One of my favorite Princess Bride stories iconcerns the scene where they’re coming out of the fire swamp. After Buttercup gets taken away and Wesley comments on Count Rugen‘s six fingers, they filmed and filmed the next bit of Elwes getting hit over the head. Apparently, none of the take looked good, and Rob Reiner finally said, hit him a little harder. They hit him hard enough that he lost consciousness and had to go to the hospital. And that’s the shot that they used in the movie. I sit holding my breath every single time that scene goes by.

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  10. Rise and Shine,Baboons,

    Phew, home from Thanksgiving. It was a busy holiday, and now my days are off because we actually celebrated on Friday. Yesterday was Saturday, but it felt like Friday. Thursday felt like no day at all. My perspective and my perception are just off. But today is Sunday. Got it. Today we rest our stomachs and the rest of our selves. Meanwhile the food, including the 2 heirloom foods (Tapioca Fruit salad and Plum Pudding) were big hits.

    Ben, I am sorry to hear of your cousin’s demise, but those pictures are cute, and you look like you all throughout your life. And your now electrified and heated shed/barn is quite an accomplishment. Your story about dad helping until he breaks something, then he goes home, sounds like stories from my mother’s family. Grandpa was famous for doing exactly that same process–especially the day he drove the tractor into the hog shed and collapsed the roof. His bum hip would not allow him to hit the brakes. Oops. I think on that one, both the perception that Grandpa was not much help, and the perspective that he was a menace, matched each other.

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  11. I don’t have enough mental energy to think about perspective right now. It’s been an extremely busy long weekend. In addition to big Thanksgiving on Thursday, we went out to lunch on Friday and then hit curtains for poinsettias on a wreath. We’ve made six kinds of cookies so far, taken down all of the Thanksgiving decor, put up the tree and all of the solstice decor as well. Except for the candles because I just don’t wanna go down to the basement one more time to get the last box. I’ll do that tomorrow. So now I’m settled in with Miracle on 34th Street and hot chocolate.

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  13. perspective and perception
    my 70th just around the corner and its like the old mickey mantle quote “if i would have known i was going to live this long i would have paid closer attention”. i came back from a years travels in the vw van and realized the reason no place i visited ever quite measured up is because i teally love minneapolis. i love traveling and in ideal circumstances i would be somewhere in the world a week a month just to keep me wanderlust in the proper place. not just the exotic Katmandu and paris ( an artist friend who was my bass player just sent a picture of the back of his new home in france which is a castle. im looking forward to visiting and asked him to send a picture of the front” “hes a little understated as a rule”
    i signed up for art and music classes at the university of minnesota and decided to go to sork with my dad to get to know him a bit. manufacturers rep biz selling garden , hardware and houseware products to the chain stores around here. i ended up loving it and my dad ended up being my best friend. he retired when his brain fogged and had 10 years left on leach lake before alzheimers got him but he got to meet all his kids spouses and all his grandkids. now im up with kids and spouses and grandkids ( today denver turned 4 and rory and lily turned a month. file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/87/07/CBD4ECAF-E507-436C-A28C-9C0529408408/IMG_7013.JPEG
    perception. today on cbs sunday morning the had a ditty about how your perception that you are old will cost you 7 1/2 years in longevity. ive never felt old and am always surprised when it is suggested that i am having senior stuff happen to me. ive held off yhis long and will continue for the forseeable future.
    i missed steves rememberence the other day and felt bad. i sure like this group and am richer for all your friendships and blog postings (get togethers too)
    ben i was gonna ask if you need to keep the pipes from freezing in the shed or can you just crank up the heat a couple hours before you plan on headiing in.
    ill be in rochester on the 20th and can help out for a couple hous screwing sheetrock or taping or setting up pallet racking if you are that far along
    let me know and ill grab my screw gun

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