It’s remarkable how some things, which are of no interest, and are meaningless to anyone else, are amongst the most important things to others.
The Middle East and Central Asia are awash with blood and terror. Some parts of the world are flooded or burnt to catastrophic levels. While other regions are facing serious famine.
There are entire societies counted in the billions of people, where personal freedom is only a vague concept. Where women are treated as things to have and to own. And the slave trade is still a vibrant business.
And then there is this weekend which Anne and I spent taking in our first hay crop. This is what was important to us. And what a fabulous crop it was. THE BEST EVER!
I sort of felt guilty in my absolute joy, as the bales were being stacked on the hay wagons, which were being towed (one at a time) behind the hay bailer, which was being towed behind the tractor, which I was driving.
The scene could have jumped right off the canvass of a Norman Rockwell painting. This particular hay field is 3 acres wide by 3 acres long, framed by rows of trees and rock walls, and leads into a forest where we have several miles of groomed riding trails.
Anne was with our 10 year old Shetland Sheep Dog Scot, who sat on the seat of our two seater RTV, while 3 strapping teenagers piled the hay on high. I could not have ordered a better day to bring in the hay.
And I couldn’t see how life, at that very moment, could have possibly been better.
I worked hard to grow our hay. I seeded, fertilized and nurtured what the horses would be eating for the next year, with absolute love and devotion. And as we spent the day hard at work, there seemed to be nothing else in the world that was nearly as important as was this moment.
We always have at least 2, and usually 4 or more teenagers (about 18 years old) working on the property everyday, but especially on weekends. And at around noon, everyone comes into our home for lunch, where Anne never fails to lay out a feast to enjoy.
These teens are mostly neighbors’ kids we hire for the spring and summer seasons, who work hard, and are very appreciative of the job and the pleasant work atmosphere, which shows in their attitudes.
As we sat around the dining room table yesterday amidst laughter and light-hearted conversation: I couldn’t help but smile.
The scene was picture perfect. There were three guys still sweaty from lugging the hay. There was one pretty young woman (the older sister {18} of one of the guys) who was making signs for our Equestrian Center. And there was Anne, Scot and myself.
It’s a terrible pity that this kind of pleasure is so ephemeral, and in such short supply. But it is also a blessing that we enjoyed the moment, and can dream to look forward to more of them.
And then it’s back to the other real world, where Palestinian Arabs are murdering each other with perverted pleasure. Where the whole world stands by and says nothing, as far more than 600, and possibly as many as a 1,000 people have been murdered in Gaza alone.
Not that long ago, the entire planet, including many of Israel’s friends pilloried the Jewish State for the Jenin Massacre that never happened, that supposedly killed as many as 500 people during a military battle.
There were calls for Israeli leaders to be held accountable at the World Court as War Criminals. There were instant UN investigations launched while the ruins of Jenin still smoldered. But there was no massacre.
As hard as the UN and other Jew and Israel-haters tried to prove that Israel committed an act of genocide, the more these bastards proved that Israel did not.
Where are they today? Where are the investigations of Arab on Arab genocide in Gaza? Where’s the outcry? Where’s the World Court to point fingers at Palestinian War Criminals?
I have yet to hear, read or see one person in a position of real leadership write-off the Palestinians as a failed people. Yet, we will all hear from them, that Israel must make peace with people who take pleasure in murdering their own.
Today, I will work with 2 of my young men to finish off our horse shelters that our Equestrian Center guests will use to paddock and protect their horses while they stay with us. And life will be good.
But life will only be good for us, as long as countries like Israel, the USA, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Europe continue to battle the foes of Freedom for all, Democracy and the Secular rule of law.
I will stand with these countries forever, because the moment they give up the fight, will be the moment my little Norman Rockwell existence will forever be torn from the canvass, never to be seen again.
Lest we forget, our perfect little world is fragile indeed, which takes brave men and women to keep it all together.
One Comment
Were it not for my age, and the fact that our family is in “bankruptario”, my wife and I would do what you are doing. God speed.
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