It’s that time of year to stop and think of all the things we have to be thankful for. I am very thankful for being born in America where we have so much freedom and opportunity.
Sometimes it is easy to think how negative everything is and yet many people would trade places with any one of us.
I am thankful I was raised in a Christian home and, even though I am a very crusty person, I do believe and feel that is the only way you get to heaven. I am very thankful for my four boys even when you consider that a steering wheel can break if they get mad—not the best choice unless you like walking for a few weeks. Or even when one boy got stuck then the other son hooks onto him but couldn’t get him out so then we got a third pickup with everyone pulling. It works great until the second son hit first son’s pickup. Imagine that. Or perhaps BB guns and of course windows are a great target. Then lying helps eliminate a few branches off the closest tree.
Or the time at the sale barn where when the oldest son—11 years old at the time—came in during the sale and said, “Dad I don’t think you are going to like this.” No. 2 son—9 years old—decided to get on the Bobcat and unload a load of big hay bales. Not a better time to learn to drive a Bobcat unless dad finds out.
The two smaller boys were doing something ornery so I told them to come sit the rest of the sale where I could watch every move they made. Their chosen seats were low and it just so happened had rained earlier so the cattle had carried in a lot of mud and manure, slinging it at the two boys for several hours as the cattle were turned around.
And, yes, it was very funny watching their heads jerk back every little bit to avoid the muck coming their way. And, yes, I got to laugh several times, motioning to them—“No, you sit right there.” That reminds me of that old song, “These Boots are Made for Walking”—not always—because the boys and I both learned the side of the boot and their rear end got acquainted more than once.
I think God had this planned long before I thought of it; and, no, I wouldn’t have traded it for how ever many million dollars that I could have been offered.
I have a soft spot for the underdog and always will. I’m also thankful God created me where I am—not much of a worrier. I hope everyone of you had a great and blessed Thanksgiving. I challenged every family to do two things before you ate on Thanksgiving Day. Have each person there go around and name at least one thing that they are thankful for; then hopefully tell God, “thank you,” and remember all the service men and women who sacrificed it all so that we could be free.
Editor’s note: Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
