(I received a very nice card and note this week from a reader. Thank you very much. I do have a thank you card for readers who include a return address.)
Letter to Dave
Dear Dave, It is January which means anything, other than moving snow, is entertainment. I typically have a winter shop project but this year things are quiet in the shop. I did do a ten-hour maintenance check on my tractor, but it was barely even worth turning on the heaters and turning up the 70s music.
You have had a winter project for the last few years, Dave. Your employer, High Plains Equipment, wanted a new building. This project has been on the front burner for you however my sources tell me much of the project has been completed. My congratulations, these large projects are an amazing task. It seems there are always several months of punch list tasks after the structure is complete. It’s like a newly married couple setting up their household after the wedding is complete. My hope is the punch list is complete soon with no hanging chads.
I did get one little project earlier this week, Dave. I assembled a small shelf. Shelves used to arrive with two movers who would muscle the new shelf down steps and through doors. Nowadays, they arrive in a box and require assembly. Assembling a project such as this always presents a challenge and triggers a little depression (not clinical). The trick is to sit down with the instructions for a few minutes and to make several sub-assemblies until you get most of the parts used up. Final assembly is then usually a sprint to the finish. Of course it’s all big talk until you assemble something that stands on its’ own and you can triumphantly throw away the leftover parts. Lisa and I are right in the middle of binge season when it comes to streaming entertainment, Dave. We just finished the 6-episode series, “George and Tammy.” The relationship shared by George Jones and Tammy Wynette has achieved sometimes mythical status. It was a good story and really made you hope for their relationship. These were two very talented people who bore physical and mental scars all their life. The music made Lisa and I smile; the story was not as triumphant but held our attention every second of production.
Is Christmas over in North Dakota, Dave? Christmas finished here on Sunday when we took down our Christmas trees. Christmas is such an exciting time of the year, it’s tough to see it end. Monday, we took the tree down at work. It was a one-two punch for me as I really love Christmas. I just need to remember it is only eleven months until we get to put the trees up again.
December weather got its’ instructions mixed up with January, Dave. I know the Carrington area got more snow than we received, and I hope your cattle ranchers are holding up. It makes you feel very vulnerable to care about a herd and at the same time have to be tough enough to see them through a storm. I’m sure your ranchers are more than up to the task; I just recognize their plight.
That’s it for this month, Dave. Tell everyone hello, your little bro’.
