Life's Not Fair

"Life is never fair, and perhpas it is a good thing for most of us that it is not." ~Oscar Wilde

This isn't going to be a whiny, life should be fair, boy isn't it sad life isn't fair, speech. Instead, it's more of a suck it up and deal with it. Life's not fair. Just ask Colt McCoy.

Photo courtesy of American-Statesman

Here's a kid who did everything right. He worked hard, he played hard, he was a good leader, a great role model, came back for his senior season to finish his education and lead Texas to a national championship. He worked his whole life to play in the National Championship game this past Thursday. And it all ended with one hit in the first 5 minutes of the ball game.

McCoy took what looked like a pretty routine hit to his shoulder and left the game. Soon, we saw him leaving for the locker room. Then watched him emerge out of his pads headed to the x-ray room. Later, we saw his dad enter the room. Finally, the announcement came that McCoy would not be returning to play in the National Championship game. The look on his face, along with his parents faces, told the story. This was not fair.

It wasn't fair, but you know what he did? He put on a head set and tried to help his team. He cheered when the back-up quarterback did something good, and talked to him on the sidelines when he did something bad. After the game, when he was interviewed, he congratulated the opposing team on winning the game, he bragged on his back up who did the best he could in the situation he was in, and he spoke of his faith and things happening for a reason.

Here's a link to the interview:



He had a reason to whine and moan and groan.....but he didn't. Colt McCoy knows that sometimes, really probably most of the time, life's not fair. But you suck it up, deal with it, and try to stay true to yourself and your values. Might not be fair, but it's life.

Colt McCoy doesn't leave Texas as a national champion, but he leaves Texas one of the classiest college football players in history. In the end, that probably matters more.

Family Farm Friday #2 - Returning to the Farm

"For them, the value of the land is the land, and the family that's a part of it." ~Beverley Corbell

As I was looking for articles, stories and issues for my family farm blog this week, I came across an article from a newspaper in West Texas. It titled "A fading way of life: West Texas ranches sturggle to stay float" and was written by Ramon Renteria from the El Paso Times.

In the article, he quoted Albert Miller, a texas rancher. Miller was quoted as saying, "The biggest threat to family ranches is the lack of a shared dream." Now, I know there are a lot of threats to family farms and ranches.....I won't argue with him there. However, I really disagree that the biggest threat we face is a younger generation who doesn't share the dreams of their parents, grandparents and beyond, to maintain the family ranch.
I think if you ask most kids who grew up on a farm or ranch, they would tell you that they thought it was the best way to grow up, and they will tell you they'd like to be able to raise their kids on a ranch as well. I think if you ask most kids who have lived and worked on a farm or ranch that has been in their family for generations, you'll find that a lot of these young people would fight to the death to keep that land in the family, and in production agriculture. I can show you two kids who most definitely feel that way about our family farm and ranch. Here are a few more examples I found on the internet.

http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/family-farming-has-deep-roots-for-mount-gilead-ohio-dairy/13912.html

http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1599745.html

http://www.startribune.com/slideshows/29979614.html?elr=KArksi7PhD_iLcCiUo7PhDiLcCiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

http://agmarketing.extension.psu.edu/begfrmrs/OptStratSmlFrms/FarmSucStrat/GoingHome.pdf
http://www.barbersfarm.com/Barbers_Farm/Welcome.html

For farm and ranch families, the land is important for their legacy. I don't think they believe thta the land itself is their legacy, but I think that land allows for them to have the way of life that lets leave the kind of legacy they want. I remember before an extemporaneous speech contest, my ag teacher talking to me about potential topics. He said to me, "Agriculture is about a way of life. Don't you think your parents have the farm as much for the way it lets them raise you kids as anything else?" Yes, sir, Mr. Franklin. I do.
While it may be hard for kids to return home to the farm due to finances, production costs, trying to find jobs in small town America, I seriously dispute the idea that it's a lack of desire that prevents their return. If that's true, it's because those kids weren't raised right and didn't learn about the land, the family and the legacy that they are a part of.

Throwback Thursday #9: Scariest Experience of My Life!

"Cab drivers are living proof that practice does not make perfect." ~Howard Ogden

So this week's Throwback Thursday will take us on my journey from Switzerland to Rome, and will include a brief description of the scariest moment of my life. It was a beautiful day in Switzerland, when we boarded to train from Cully to Geneva to catch our flight to Rome.

While in Geneva, we made a mad dash from the train station to see the famous fountain before we had to head to the airport. (I'm leaving a lot out...like Sean's two hour massage, me almost passing out from hunger.....Whitney getting angry at Sean's fashion advice. Let's just say we were all a bit testy.) Here we are at the fountain. I call this our official backpacking through Europe picture.We get to the airport and the chaos begins. First thing, we board the plane......it's an airbus. I don't know if you all remember back to last summer, but there were two crashes in two weeks tht killed hundreds of people--one from Brazil to France and one near India. Anyway, they were both airbus planes. I'm terrified of flying. I know, I do it a lot, but I hate every minute of it. As soon as I heard on the news about the second crash of an airbus, the first thing I did was be sure I was not flying on one from here to Europe or back. I wasn't. Somehow, forgot to check about from Geneva to Rome. On top of that, I had promised my dad I wouldn't be flying on an airbus. His encouraging words before I left of, "If you die over there, I'm going to be really pissed off," were ringing in my head.

Anyway, we live through the flight---no problems, and we are trying to find our way from the airport in Rome to our hotel. I had been told to take the train, but it was hard to figure out and cousin Sean was impatient, so we got a cab. Thus began the horror.

Let me start with I get terrible motion sickness. Frequently. I've puked my way across America--California, Arizona, Kentucky, Washington, DC, Dallas, almost New York.....so I've made it habit to always take the barf bag from a plane. That way I have a stash. You can probably see where this is going.

It's about 95 degrees, 99% humidity and rush hour. The cab starts down the tiny street next to the airport, which is lined with cars on both sides. There is barely room for cars coming and going to meet each other. What does our lovely driver do? Goes like 85 mph, weaving between cars, passing on what must have been no passing zones, I swear we were as close as someone can get to a head-on without having one. Whitney and I are in the back praying. Sean's laughing in the front trying to be tough. I have one photo of this time. You know it's bad when I'm not snapping photos. You'll notice it's blurry....pictures look that way when you're going 90 miles an hour.
So long story short, it takes us an hour to get to our hotel. It's hot, sticky, nasty, cab driver dude is driving like a maniac, and I start to feel sick. I hand the camera to Whitney and take out my bag from the plane. She's traveled with me enough, she knows what that means. I tell Sean I'm going to be sick, he laughs. I held it as long as I could. As we pull up to the front door of the hotel, I could not take it anymore and the bag is put to good use. The flustered driver can't imagine what caused this.....YOU, moron! Here's an idea how I felt an hour later. (I can't believe I'm posting such a terrible picture, but it's needed to give you the full idea)
Anyway, we survived the plane, train and automobile trips and only used one bag. Oh yea, here's a picture of our lovely hotel. And no, this isn't one bedroom, it's the whole thing. I'm standing in the door taking it. That's the one bed we all three shared for three nights. Hey, when you start off yacking in the street, suddenly, everything is a step up. When in Rome, right?
Stay tuned next week for our wonderful day at the Vatican!

That Quarterback's a Hero!

"If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another." ~Tenzin Gyatso

Well, it's BCS week, so you had to know there would be a football blog this week. However, this one has very little to do with the game or the players that become heroes when their teams become bowl champions. Instead, it's mostly about a player being a hero off the field.

If you watched the Orange Bowl, you might have seen the 30 second mention of this story. If you ask me, it deserved top billing at the beginning of the programming, halftime, and after the game. We hear stories all the time about athletes and coaches screwing up, making bad decisions, and doing bad things. This is the kind of story that should be getting attention.

Meet Iowa Hawkeye quarterback, Ricky Stanzi. And meet four year old cancer patient Jenna Waters.

Jenna was diagnosed in early 2009 with a rare form of liver cancer. Stage 4. She's gone through 13 rounds of chemo, several surgeries, and a liver transplant. She's on the mend, but it's been quite a fight.

Stanzi is the junior starting quarterback for Iowa. He lead the Hawkeyes to a BCS bowl game this year after passing for 2,186 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He's also helped change Jenna's life.

The two met when the football team visited the hospital, which is located across the street from the football stadium. They became fast friends, and talk or text every day. Jenna texts him a picture of her in her Iowa shirt before every game. Ricky wears a pink bracelet that says "Pray for Princess Jenna" all the time, including on the football field.

Maybe Stanzi puts it best: "Anything can happen. You have to really cherish the time you have. In the position we're in as athletes, a girl like Jenna can really make you see that. Once you see it from that perspective, it kind of makes you enjoy it a little more. You can only play football for so long and here you're looking at a 4-year-old battling cancer. We all have to take what we have and be very thankful for it."

P.S. - The Hawkeyes won the 2010 Orange Bowl. Sometimes, the nice guy finishes first.

Sad Day at Tavern On The Green

"The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is our sould remaining over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves." ~Kahlil Gibran

On New Year's Day, the last meal was served at New York's famous restaurant, Tavern on the Green. The owners filed for bankruptcy and the restaurant was auctioned off.

For those of you who are not familar with the restaurant.....it's located in Central Park in New York City, on what as a sheep meadow back in the day (my interest suddenly makes sense, I know). For years it was one of the highest grossing restaurants in America. It has beautiful architecture, including a beautiful Crystal Room and gorgeous garden that overlooks the park and is decorated with lanterns.

I remember being a kid, living on a farm in the boonies, really never thinking I'd go to New York City, much less eat at Tavern on the Green, but thinking that was what really important people did in New York. When I finally got the chance to travel to NYC the summer before I started law school, Tavern on the Green was on the top of my list (both my travel list and it was also on my bucket list!) of things I had to do.

So, my Cousin Whitney and my Teacher Friend and I all dressed up and went for a fancy dinner. It was so worth it--that place was elegant and classy and exciting. I don't remember the food being that good (or even what I ordered!)---but I do remember the beautiful rooms, the great garden where we sat, and a lady standing in the bathroom handing you a towel to wash your hands. Yep.....I knew then it was bigtime! I so regret not having a picture of that....why did I not take my camera to the bathroom!?!

The whole time we were there, it felt like we were movie stars. I remember Whitney was even scared for us to take pictures at the table, becuase they had their own fancy photographer going around taking pictures. Tha didn't stop me from snapping the one above.

While we were dining in the garden, there was a wedding going on, and as we were leaving the restaurant, we saw the NYPD band headed in to play the reception. It really was like a movie.

It's sad to me that no other kids from small towns will be able to check off "Tavern on the Green" from their bucket lists. They won't get to feel like a movie star when they dress up with their friends and are handed a towel to dry their hands in the bathroom. I think I know how old people feel when they think back to the good ol' days....

The Year That Changed My Life....

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." ~Bernice Johnson Reagon

I'm re-posting this for an awesome link up with Tracy. The topic is an experience that made you learn about yourself. Here we go!

As we start off a new year, I remembered this segment I saw on Good Morning America a year or so ago called "The Year That Changed My Life." Each of the anchors talked about the year that changed them. Some talked about childhood, some about college, some about becoming parents.....but all explained how one year changed them forever.

This got me thinking....what year has changed my life? The obvious answer might be 2009---I did gradute from law school, buy a house, get a job, and go on my first trip to Europe. Another guess might be 2004---for sadder reasons, because I lost 4 people that year who were very close to me. I also thought about 2002, when I graduated from high school, or 2006 when I graduated from college....but in the end, there really wasn't much comparison.

The year.....2008. Particularly, my summer in San Francisco.

For those of you who don't know the story--my second summer of law school, I moved to San Francisco to work as a summer associate at a top tier, internationally prominent law firm, Paul Hastings. I really think that I learned more about myself in those three months than during any other time in my life.

First, I learned I could make it on my own. Sounds funny---I had survived college and over half of law school. I'd lived on my own for two years. But there I was, in a big city that I had only visited a handful of times, with no car, with not a single soul I knew. You know what? I was just fine. I think it only increased my independence and confidence in myself. I figured out the bus lines, riding the trolley, carrying groceries up the hill to my apartment, where to go running in Chrissy Fields, and how to show all my friends and family a great time in the city when they came to visit!

Second, I learned that I could be successful at a big firm with people from Ivy League law schools. I swear....I'd never been so intimidated in my life. These people seemed so smart and together and to have their lives all planned out and to know what to do in any situation. I was freaked out the entire first week---I couldn't figure out how to turn on the computer, I got locked in my apartment (long story previously blogged about...), and the worst part was eating. We kept going to fancy restaurants.....Greek and Thai and I don't even remember what else. I never knew what to order or what fork to use.....I was sure I'd get fired on the spot! Thankfully, I didn't. Instead, I ended the summer with amazing friends, both other summer associates, regular associates and even partners. Everyone was so great and friendly and understanding....I could not have asked for a better experience.

Third, I learned that I could do things that I never thought were possible. I went canoeing down a river, ran a progressive marathon, was on a team that won a scavenger hunt that took us all over the city. I think that summer instilled in me a sort of fearlessness (within reason...I'm not going skydiving or anything!....) that has allowed me to think about having really exciting experiences.

I think it's true that at some point, we have to go out on our own and find ourselves. For me, the summer of 2008 gave me that opportunity. I think I came back in August a different person than I was when I left in May. I was exposed to a new place, new people, a new job.....and I not only survived, but loved every single minute of it!

Family Farm Friday #1: What I Learned

"Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." ~Sophia Loren

I recently came across a great article written by a girl who grew up on a cattle ranch. She discussed some of the lessons she learned....things like "Know how to work the calf jack blindfolded with no hands for a 3 a.m. calf-pulling," "Be able to work the broken head catch on a Powder River chute" and "Don't take an hour lunch break when you're cutting hay, ever." You're preaching to the choir, sister!

It made me think of some of the funnier lessons I've learned growing up on a farm. Thought I'd share a few.

• When a ram backs up and starts licking his lips, you better get out of the pen. Like fast.
  
• Never climb on a gate.
  
• When your dad yells stop the sheep, he means leap 6 foot tall metal fences, summersault underneath the stuck gate or figure out a way to be two places at once, however you do it, stop the sheep!
  
• No whipping hurts worse than one with a pair of roping reins.
  
• The laser listers that allegedly can't cut you, can cut you if you try really hard.
  
• Don't tie your horse up to your grandma's air conditioner stand. Those things are flimsier than you think and the airconditioner will fall out the window if pulled.
  
• When loading something in a trailer, if you EVER think to yourself, "ah, they won't go through that tiny space," trust me, they will.
  
• No matter how hard you try, or how many different types of tags you put in, you will always have a "no tag" cow or ewe when it comes time for tagging their baby.
  
• Swimming in the irrigation ditch is fun, until you unset tubes your dad just finished.
  
• No matter how hard you try, you can't put hair back on a show animal after you slip with the clippers.
  
• If someone flips a 4-wheeler and has a hard time catching their breath, beating him on the back is apparently not helpful.
  
• Never leave your papers with your sheep records on them where they are close to reaching distance of a ewe's mouth.
  
• When you're doing anything remotely dangerous, specifically riding a 4 wheeler at high rates of speed, standing up on the saddle of a horse you're riding, or driving a pickup when you're 4 years old, be sure it's not in front of the picture windows.
  
• Things you think are normal (i.e. manure on your shoes, talking about buying semen, having ringworm on your arms and legs come October) aren't so normal to other people. Nor do they seem to find them funny, for that matter.

Throwback Thursday #8: Lausanne Olympic Museum

"And we compel men to exercise their bodies not only for the games, so that they cn win the prizes-for very few of them go to them-but to gain a greater good from it for the whole city, and for the men themselves." ~Lucian, 170 AD

So back to Throwback Thursdays, which were momentarially interrupted due to the holidays, and our day in Lusanne (pronounced Lo zan) Switzerland. This was going to be our last full day in Switzerland, so we were trying to figure out what to do. We debated taking the train to Zurich (so we could see the German side of the country) or to Paris (to say we'd been to Paris), but in the end we were kind of tired, knew we'd be traveling the next day to Rome, and decided just to go to Lausanne. Um....maybe the best decision on the whole trip!

We went to the Olympic Museum. I'm not much of a fan of museums....in general, I find them boring. If you are going to one museum in your life....go here! It was so awesome--stuff outside and inside, old and new, historical and more pop culture, statues and videos and jerseys....it was awesome.

This is a cauldren lit with the actual Olympic flame from Greece. Cool, huh?
Now, right off the bat, I feel the need to just admit my obsession with all things Michael. Yes, that's right, Phelps and Jordan. Love them both, and when I got around ANYTHING involving either of them, I turned into the paparazzi! Here are a miniscule sample of the pictures I took. :)

This is a sand sculpture of him right at the entrance of the museum. My understanding is that they will make it into an actual bronze statue. (As I stated on facebook when I posted this, if anyone knows him, send this on. I feel he might love me if he meets me).

A pair of his actual goggles from Athens.

Yes, I indeed did take my shoe off right there in the museum and make poor Whitney take the picture. I also really enjoyed the historical sports stuff they had there. Here's a discus and a golf club for examples.

It was also super exciting to see the actual jerseys and uniforms of the athletes. There are tons more I have pictures of---Steffi Graf, Muhammad Ali, Katarina Witt.....but here are two of my favs.

This is Nadia Comaneci's suit from the Opening Ceremonies in the 1976 Montreal Games. (FYI in case you're not a sports person, she was a Romanian gymnast who won 3 golds and received the first ever perfect 10). Look how tiny it is!

And here is Shannon Miller's suit from one of the Olympic games she participated in...I think Barcelona in 1992. She's always been my favorite gymnast---and she's the most decorated in US history. (I also learned she has her law degree. I knew I liked her!)
Now these two pictures show one of the craziest parts of the museum. Here is Whitney standing under a pole vault bar set at Olympic record height. Now how crazy is that?? Then there's me standing under the high jump bar. Can you imagine that someone actually jumped that high?

Now these next pictures are some of my favorites. They have an Olympic medal podium that you can stand on and take pictures. My favorite part was how people from all over the world, who didn't even speak the same language and might have had nothing in common all enjoyed taking their picture on the podium. Everyone was so excited and friendly and cheering. It was great. That reminds me, it was interesting to wak through the museum with people from all over the world. You really wouldn't have known where anyone was from, but you could tell by what they would freak out upon seeing and start taking pictures like crazy. Let's just say after my Michael and Michael photos--there was zero question we were Americans.

I believe these guys were from Italy.

This guy was the most excited of anyone to be on the podium. I talked to his wife (well as best we could since we didn't speak the same language) and they were such nice people.

So after the museum, we decided to try our hand at paddle boating. It was a warm, sunny day, and we thought it looked fun. We were right again!

At first, we wanted to paddle to the sailboat. Honest to goodness...I took that picture and it was more beautiful in person than it even looks there!
However, we got scared. Not that we couldn't make it or that we'd drown. But when you get out there a ways the water starts getting pretty choppy. We had Sean's expensive camera with us. When we hit a wake the first thing we did was grab that camera and hold it up in the air as high as we could. We talked about it later and both said our biggest concern if we had tipped over wasn't our own safety, our money, our passports....but Sean's camera.

I also remember screaming at one point thinking this ship was going to hit us. It seriosuly started moving and we paddled and paddled and seemed not to be getting out of the way fast enough. Luckily, we surivived.

So...this blog wraps up our time in the Swiss countryside. I'd go back in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anyone who wants to travel. It was beautiful.

Stay tuned next week as we travel to Geneva to fly to Roma! (And have the scariest experience of my life after we land!)