Things that are important

Now that the heat of harvest is on, we shouldn't forget about what is important, and what things we should purge from our mind's forefront.

When I got in from the field today, I got a bit flustered as I couldn't locate an important document; I may have taken it to my office in town, but I may not have, and not knowing bugs me. But, in the end, I can get a copy of the document if I have to, and all will be well.

Yesterday, as my father was hauling 300 bushels of soybeans back to the bins (total truck weight = 14 tons), some yahoo pulled out in front of him at a stop sign without stopping. They probably missed by inches. My father wasn't wearing a seat belt. Fortunately, they missed each other, and no one was hurt, but because someone was in too much of a hurry, lives could have been extinguished.

Next week some farmers in the community, including myself, plan to harvest the soybeans for the family of my neighbor who was killed in a rollover accident this summer. He was blading some gravel on the edge of the road with his tractor; he got a little too close to the edge, went into the ditch, and the tractor rolled over and crushed him. Things like this shouldn't happen, but they do.

Things that don't matter much here in The South of Iowa
- If Paris Hilton is keeping her abstinence pledge
- The creepy Dustin Diamond sex video
- The latest fashion style among the "chav" set in London
- Who will get kicked off the island next on "Survivor"
- How the David Gest - Liza Minneli divorce will be settled
- If Dennis Hassert will resign because of the Foley scandal

These things have little to no influence here, and therefore, aren't worth the time spent considering them.

Things that do matter in The South of Iowa
- My baby girl's red hair and giggles
- My son's growing vocabulary
- The great food my wife cooks, and the love we share
- My family, friends, and neighbors who, even though we butt heads at times, know what's important and right
- No matter what happens, God is still Lord of All and is in control

We would all do well to stop and think about what is important in our lives and focus on them, rather than the extraneous, puffy, and irrelevant that makes up our so called "culture".