I went to the prison at Lexington with another person as a volunteer for a prison ministry this past weekend. Whatever you do, never think that all people in prison are bad.
Most of them are in there for bad choices and sometimes just one bad choice and I’m sure there are a few that were wrongly convicted. The only way they could have this get together was if a certified volunteer was there. They had a band—two guitars, a drummer and a singer.
The singer had written several songs they sang and one song was titled “3 Nails and a Cross.” The one man there had said the last time I was there that he wanted to be out but if this is where God wants him, he is fine to stay there. That is quite a statement. I only barely know a few of them but I can tell you there are several there that are definitely committed. All of us are entitled to our own opinion but I definitely think Christianity is the only thing that can truly change the hardest of hearts.
Don’t get me wrong. I have more faults than most non-believers. I am going to try to promote as much as I can to have more work for the prisoners. It gives them self-worth and besides keeps them busy. Plus they could be making enough items to sell to make the prisons pay their own way.
The cattle futures had a setback in price a day or two last week but most feedlots realize the numbers are short, so cattle still sold extremely well. And whenever our rebuilding of our herds starts again that takes away that many more cattle from going into the feedlot.
A friend of mine sold his heifers last week that averaged 750 pounds or somewhere close and they brought $1,610 per head. That makes a pretty expensive 2-year-old pair by the time you sell the ones that didn’t breed plus a few problems. Oh, yes, don’t forget a year’s feed. We all like to talk about how high those $3,000 to $3,500 pairs were the last time cattle were high right before the bust. But this time you can sell that open old cow for $1,000 to $1,600 depending on the size of the cow. That makes a big down payment on that 2-year-old pair.
Do you realize how hard it is when the doctor tells you that you need to drink eight glasses of water. I told the doctor there is no way—I can’t. But then I went to the sports bar and drank eight beers and six shots in three hours and that went down easy.
Get some roosters for eggs and raise some bulls for milk and then you will see that gender matters especially at milking time.
Editor’s note: The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the view of High Plains Journal. Jerry Nine, Woodward, Oklahoma, is a lifetime cattleman who grew up on his family’s ranch near Slapout, Oklahoma.
