Green tractor pulling a trailer along a winding rural road
2026, animals, Farming Update, Music, Songs, Uncategorized, work

ON THE ROAD AGAIN–

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This week’s farming update from Ben

There really wasn’t a lot happening on the farm this week.

It rained through Monday and then there was work work, and rehearsal for a show. So I still haven’t gotten rye planted and that seed tender trailer is still parked in the shed right where I left it. And it’s raining again. The new concrete has hardened and other than driving the gator across it, I haven’t gotten the edges back filled either. You’d think I haven’t been doing anything. Except homework.

I’m really enjoying the Humanities class. Lots of writing, which I can do. This week’s chapter was on Film and Television. We had to pick a movie and justify why it should be considered a classic using the themes taken from the chapter we read. (I picked All That Jazz. Honestly, I am still finding tidbits in that movie. Other student choices were Legally Blonde, The Hunger Games, and Sound of Music. Hmmm…) An upcoming project is to watch a classic film from a provided list. We can watch Casablanca or Citizen Kane, or a movie by one of these directors: Kubrick, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Fellini, Godard, Truffaut, or Resnais. Really? I have to watch Citizen Kane again?? Well, if I must!

The music class has been a little more challenging. My music lessons were a long time ago and it’s taking a long time to get the names of the notes back in my head. And I never did learn bass clef, so that’s all new. And trying to remember what a 1/8 rest looks like. And put bar lines in 6/8 music. And there was some confusion regarding the textbook and if we really needed one or not. Turns out we do. Both classes are online so I do homework late at night.

Back to the farm.

Last Saturday, Padawan and I worked out in the machine shed finishing up some of the little odds and ends that haven’t been finished since I started the shop project. We ran some conduit and reconnected an outlet on the other side of my main shop door. The wires got disconnected during construction. I had other outlets, so didn’t really need that one, but I do sometimes need it. I practiced bending conduit and we added an upper outlet for the security cameras. I had padawan pull wires and install the outlet. I double checked it.

The pipe in the middle with the outlet at the top is what we did.

And we talked a lot. He sure makes life hard on himself. He’s not a self-starter, and I don’t know how many more times I can tell him, GET A FRICKEN JOB! Honestly, he’s a little afraid of having to become a responsible adult. He’s trying to coast through life without becoming “an adult”. It’s not working very well. He sure is a nice young man. Just dense.

Thursday morning, I drove my big tractor 20 miles to the John Deere dealer in Plainview. A few weeks ago, I had the water pump and thermostats replaced. And it still overheated. I drove it to them so they can work on it up there. They’ll hook it to a ‘dyno’; a gizmo that connects to the power take off and puts a ‘load’ on the tractor to work it. The tractor goes about 24 MPH. It took about 50 minutes. I try to take some secondary roads as much as possible to avoid the traffic. I like the wider roads better than the narrow roads.

A nice wide shoulder
A narrow stretch

I was lucky not to have too much traffic, and none of the drivers passing me did anything stupid. Tractors with cabs or ROPS, Roll Over Protective Structures, have seat belts. We don’t often wear the seatbelt, but I do if I’m on the highway, or I get into a sketchy situation. I went to put the seatbelt on, and the buckle wouldn’t latch. I futzed with it until I broke the latch. I was glad no one drove stupid.

And then, just before I got to Plainview, there was a dead skunk on the side of the road. You know what that means:

Listening to the 1940’s station the other day, I saw a song title, “Life Gits Tee-jus Don’t it” and that caught my attention. Sung by Carson Robison. He was a country singer from the mid 1920’s until his death in 1957. Wiki says he was a composer of ‘event’ songs that usually included a moral. Such as Remember Pearl Harbor, or The Wreck of Number Nine. The aforementioned Life Gets Tee-jus.., was a 1948 “worldwide hit” for MGM records. How about that?

The song starts off with these lyrics, spoken in a slow drawl: 

The sun comes up and the sun goes down
The hands on the clock go round and round
I just wake up and it’s time to lay down,
Life gets tee-jus, don’t it

And then goes on with these verses:

Hound dog’s howlin’ so forlorn
Laziest dawg that ever was born
He’s howlin’ ’cause he’s sittin’ on a thorn
Just too tired to move over

And ends with this:

Well, the cow’s gone dry and the hens won’t lay
And my well dried up last Saturday
My troubles keep pilin’ up day by day
And now I’m gettin’ dandruff

Sheez. Talk about a downer.

I will skip songs by Bing Crosby or Vaughn Monroe. I just can’t take their voices.

WHICH CLASSIC MOVIE WOULD YOU WATCH FROM THE LIST?

ANY MUSICIANS YOU SKIP?

47 thoughts on “ON THE ROAD AGAIN–”

  1. Since I’ve never taken a class and learned what the themes are for classics, it makes it hard for me to pick a classic. After having added the Young Frankenstein clip to the Trail yesterday, I felt the need to watch Young Frankenstein yesterday. I consider that a classic, but does anybody else? Besides maybe Wes?

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  2. I’d like to say I’d watch a Truffaut or Resnais, because I am unfamiliar with them, but i’m just as likely to rely on Casablanca or Citizen Kane.

    I can cheerfully not hear Iris Dement (sorry) or Philip Glass.

    I can sympathize with Padawan on the adulting thing, but there just don’t seem to be good alternatives. And lots of less than stellar examples seem to have the upper hand right now.

    I woke up abruptly from a vivid dream about work going badly, and I’m having a hard time shaking it.

    But it seems I dream in color sometimes!

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    1. I have told Padawan we live in a capitalist society and he really doesn’t have a choice.

      I did ponder watching one of the other directors simply because I’m not as familiar with them. That assignment’s not due for a couple weeks yet.

      I believe next week we need to write a haiku.

      Several of these assignments have me wondering what the point is, but if you think about what is “humanities”, I think it’s all to help develop critical thinking and to keep an open view of the world. If you remember many of the students are 18 and 19, it gives you a different perspective on the assignments.

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  3. I’m familiar with the Carson Robison version of Life Gets Teejus. Doc Watson also did a version.

    I am not, in general, a movie buff and probably wouldn’t have chosen a class that focused on analyzing films but in that situation I would have probably chosen something by Kurosawa.

    As far as musicians I skip, I sort of skipped about 90 percent of rock music from the late ‘60s on. The mention of rock groups from that period brings up nothing except perhaps recognition of the name of the group.

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  4. Love Young Frankenstein, I think I was at the perfect age when I first saw it. I had a coworker who could quote lines from it chapter and verse.

    There are a lot of good choices on your list, Ben, but I’d choose Kubrick’s Doctor Strangelove. Very relevant for our time.

    Husband loves Iris Dement, but I have to plug my ears when her music is playing. I’ve always had a hard time listening to Dylan singing; some songs are more fitting for his voice than others.

    There’s a jazz singer named Kurt Elling who is beloved by many other jazz singers and performers, but to me he always sounds off key.

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    2. I liked Iris Dement when she first appeared on the scene enough to buy her CD, but now I think of her in the same vein as Lou Berryman, who, as I’ve said before, has a voice that could peel wallpaper.

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  5. I avoid Bruce Springsteen. I find his voice and many songs monotonous.
    For this posting, I looked at the Billboard Top 100 songs for today and recognized that I’m entirely out of touch with modern tunes. I recognized a few from watching Fil on Wings Of Pegasus. He analyzes all sorts of music using software that graphs out the notes. Most music today is “faked” even so called live music is made or altered by computer. I recommend his work. My car radio has settings for three NPR stations, one Cincinnati news, and one classic rock.
    Casablanca has forever been my number one favorite movie. I enjoy watching it along with those “first time viewing” reactor videos. I can’t watch Kane without watching the Columbo episode. “Rosebud.”

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  6. I admire your being able to do these classes online, Ben, which I’ve never done. Can you access the class whenever you want to, or is it just at a specified time?

    Would Breakfast at Tiffany’s be considered a classic film? I’d want something with either Katherine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn in it. Philadelphia Story, Charade…

    I can hear Iris in small doses – one of the two songs I remember from TLGMS, and it’s because I like the lyrics. I’ll try to remember others I generally avoid; I know there are some. (Please notice the semicolon).

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  7. Rise and Sing Your Sadness, Baboons,

    Lord, what a week here. After all of this week, I can understand the bleak lyrics you found, Ben. However, there is no dead skunk on my road to wail about, and I got the Wordle this morning in 5, even though it was a difficult puzzle and word. So maybe things will improve. What does Tee-jus mean? Lou is now treated for infection and doing very well, thank goodness.

    Classic movies: I love the movie Hook, with Robin Williams, with its theme of not wanting to grow up. Maybe Padawan should watch that, Ben.

    Musicians: Still thinking.

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  9. From your list, the movie I would watch is Casablanca. If I had a choice of a movie to re-watch, I’d like to see Up again. I adored that movie, but it was always on for a boy I worked with who was autistic and wanted the movie re-started the instant it was over. The home just kept Up on repeat. That boy was so adorable when the old man in the movie rode his chair lift down the stairway. “Wheeeee!” I don’t think I ever saw the whole movie from start to finish because I was working and it was on in the background for that boy.

    Ethel Merman. Seriously, you guys.

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    2. We really like ‘Up’. I pondered using that for my classic movie.

      The majority of these kids always wait till the last minute to submit their assignments. Some of the assignments, not all, but some of them are posted as “discussions“ so we can all see each other’s. Sometimes responding to a discussion is part of the grade. Last night when I logged into the class there were 25 new posts on Movies. I believe the assignment was due at midnight.

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  10. For what it’s worth, I really like Iris Dement. The first time I ever heard her voice I cracked up laughing. She was great harmonizing with her husband, Greg Brown, or with John Prine.

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  11. OT-currently in the Sioux Falls Airport waiting for a flight to Denver to celebrate Husband’s stepmother’s 90th birthday. We are both feeling rather coerced into this rather impromptu celebration by Husband’s younger siblings. Will have to use every ounce of “Minnesota Nice” we possess.

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  12. i think i would do the seven samuri the noted kurasawa film from the 50’s or maybe rashomon his first film of major acceptance (venice film festival winner)
    i do citizen cane and casablanca probably yearly any way along with others like the maltese falcon anything hitchcock or john ford fellini capra
    films with marilyn monroe, bogart and bacall, hepburn and tracy, astaire and rogers, cary grant, clark gable , jimmy stewart. gene kelley, the list goes on and on.

    i skip lots of musicians but my wednesday night guitar group has people who bring in pieces by groups or people i dont usually listen to. nirvana, acdc credence clearwater neil young neil sadaka barry manilow seals and croft. stuff i never think of but enjoy like gladys knight or taylor swift sneak in but songs by people like don mclean who i used to enjoy but listen to now with a different ear since he appeared at an event and spouted maga comments about be true americans. vincent will never be the same

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  14. Our gate is just across the hallway from the gate for a flight to Dallas. There is a bunch of younger guys in jeans, overalls, and cowboy hats. All are carrying instrument cases that appear to hold guitars of differing sizes. Too bad we can’t hear them perform.

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  15. I can take both Iris and Lou in limited quantities…. pretty sure a full concert by either one wouldn’t be my cup of tea. I can’t actually think of a musical artist whose voice I’m not crazy about but I am quite un-fond of a popular audio book narrator – George Guidall. Not sure why but he just bothers me to the point that I can’t concentrate on the actual book and have had to quit and get a hardcopy (this happened twice). These days I actually check the narrator on an audio book before I even request it from the library. (And I’m sure George is a perfectly fine fellow….)

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    1. I have had that experience with several narrators so I always listen to a sample from an unknown one. The worst was an AI narrator. Over the long term the speech patterns were way off and it was so distracting.

      George is now near 90 yo. I don’t know if he is still narrating.

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      1. Btw, last night we watched “Sheep Detectives.” Lou loved that movie. Pre-illness he never would have agreed to watch that. I enjoyed parts of it but I thought it got long.

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      2. I just found Gates of Midnight that came out this year and he is listed as the narrator. Guess he’s still taking on a project here and there. He narrated the first two books of this trilogy so maybe it was near and dear to his heart!

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