Good morning and welcome to the last Sunday in 2020. I've heard so many folks say they can't wait for 2020 to be over. They will get their wish Thursday night. This past Friday evening was our family Christmas in the cabin. Below are five brothers and a brother-in-law that have kept a positive focus on the events of our year.
We continue to haul corn for ourselves and others. 2020 is definitely finishing with strong positive grain markets. Since we market a lot of grain ahead of harvest we are busy looking forward, planning and pricing crops for the 2021 crop year.
Jim and I used frozen mornings to spread dry potash and phosphorous for ourselves and others getting ready for next year. No matter what the future holds it takes fertilizer to grow a strong crop.
We had an opportunity and Mike, BJ, and John used it to chisel a bottom farm at night we were hoping could go back to corn next year.
Last Monday evening Jupiter aligned with Saturn for the first time in 400 years and at night for the first time in 800 years. It created what folks called the Christmas Star. We visited about Bethlehem last week. I took a picture however my pic didn't have camels in it. 😊 2000 years ago it would have taken faith and a positive attitude on the wisemen's part to hunt up and find Jesus and his parents.
As a society we have considered 2020 a rough year and in many ways it has been. However I have often thought what would those who have gone before us have thought? How would they have rated our troubles? And would they have found us faithful or fearful? Below is a picture of a homecoming around our Mahaska County courthouse for a battalion of men who had just come back home to their families after the Civil War.
The only man in the picture below is Jan's greatgrandfather on her grandmother's side. The back of the picture indicates the purpose for the photo was a neighborhood get-together for a birthday. The only story that I recall hearing about this fellow is that he used to name his horses after the ladies in the neighborhood. 😊
Speaking of horses, farming and making a living in general would have been hard work, and dangerous. This piece of farm equipment is a harvester. It was delivered by rail to a depot in Beacon, Iowa. The owner is standing on top of his brand new machine. The turn of the century picture shows boys back then helped their fathers as well. A positive thing that created strong young men.
Speaking of strong young men, most went to serve their country just a generation or two ago. I'm sure there were many prayers said for their safety by their parents and spouses. During coffee early one morning this past week Jim mentioned his father was wounded twice during World War II. He recovered once in Australia and once in Germany. While he was fighting he had a wife and three children back home in Oskaloosa. Below, my grandparents had three sons in the service at one time. The servicemen are my Uncle Cornie, my Uncle Ed, and my father. My grandfather came to America as a teenager instead of going to court and maybe jail for kicking a dog in Holland.
Speaking of my father, he asked my mother if they could get married while he was on a two week leave. My Mom speedily planned a wedding. After they were married my father left for Germany for 14 months. While there he served with his cousin and best friend Roger. Roger was the only brother of Gert, Rosie, Pat, and a couple of other sisters I never knew. Roger was killed while hooking up a dozer to a grader. I was born nine months after my father returned home from Germany and named in memory of my father's best friend, Steven Roger.
This picture was taken close to 30 years ago. It's my Dad with his grandson's, Kurt and Karl. 2020 was Dad's last year on earth.
One more military picture. Jim, from Indiana, lost an arm in Vietnam. Brian, from Florida, lost both legs in Afghanistan. And Dan, from Texas, lost his eye in Afghanistan. All three of these strong positive men serve in the US Congress. Yet the news stations feature a couple of Muslim women negatively spouting insults about our country and talking socialism. Thanks to all of you who faithfully served our country and fought for the values and freedoms we take for granted today. Thanks for the picture Marv and others.
A sad 2020 story. John was a co-owner and Chief Operating Officer for the Iowa Barnstormers. We got to know John when he would bring his football team to our cabin for a steak fry prepared by our local cattlemen. He absolutely loved Diesel, our Saint Bernard, and even called and occasionally asked about him. When Cody needed a Winterim project this past January for Pella Christian High School, I called John and asked if Cody could job shadow him. John welcomed the opportunity and he and Cody became friends. John passed away on Christmas Eve from Covid related causes. Our sympathies to his wife Janice, his daughters Jacilyn and Juliann, his grandkids, and Jeff, his co-owner.
We have so much to be thankful for. A warm home, family and friends. And as of yet we still live in the strongest, most positive, most productive, most generous country known to mankind. We have so many positive things we need to focus on. And a Father in Heaven in charge.
We went as siblings to sing Christmas carols at Mom's assisted living home this past week. Mom has been locked up and confined alone much of 2020. Still she tested positive for Covid with very few symptoms. She has also recently received the Covid vaccine. Yet there is no end in sight for her confinement.
My Dad lived and died with no worries about the issues of 2020. And I am so thankful as a family we allowed him to do so. He went to breakfast with his friends at the Family Restaurant every day including the morning on the day he died. Four weeks ago this morning I found that God had decided to take him home to heaven. His death certificate says he died of natural causes. What benefit would it have been for us to keep him confined? We are not in charge of our future folks. What are we as a society scared of?
One way we can influence the future is what our children and grandchildren see when they watch us. And they do watch us more than one realizes. My hope and prayer is that they see a strength, a positive attitude, a grateful heart, a lack of fear, and an assurance that God is in control. When will Covid end? I doubt if it ends Thursday night, the end of 2020. It will end when we and they decide we are tired of being controlled by something out of our control, and decide to move on with our purpose in life, or death, whatever God has willed for us.
Our family is heavy on guys and you often see them in pictures on these Sunday morning stories. Yet we are nothing without the gals in our lives. I wish I would have asked Jan, Becky, and our daughter-in-laws to join this picture. These are our 8 granddaughters from 5 different families. Thanks for the visit. Come back next week and we will look forward to 2021 together. Blessings.
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