Deer Meat, Orca's and Ella's Grand Deduction..

Tales From Yesterblog: So one Monday evening after work, I gathered up the family and headed east to Blue Springs. My uncle graciously offered to let me use his meat grinder, and finally tackle the 20 or so pounds of deer meat that I wanted ground up into burger. I was going to just make this trip on my own, but my Aunt Nana invited us all out for dinner to just "hang" for a bit, so we took them up on it.

I had already done the prep work on the meat, and it was probably fifty percent thawed, so all that was left to do was grind it, bag it and tag it. My uncle's grinder was a beast and we able to run it through twice in no time. A beautifully simple process. Roone decided to hang with us guys downstairs and it took every last ounce of his self control to not to try and eat raw deer meat! The boy just loves the stuff. Bambi is currently his favorite movie, but rest assured, he will soon fully comprehend where Bambi's momma turned up. He kind of understands the connection, because he asks where the meat comes from.. Anyway, mission accomplished, Deer Chili here we come!!

Meanwhile upstairs Rachel, my Aunt, and Ella was getting to watch Free Willy. Ella is now five and she has quite an affinity for ocean life, and took to the movie pretty quickly, or so I thought... Roone and I came upstairs to see the finale, and Ella was quite stirred by the drama of Willy's rescue attempt that seemed to drag on for an eternity!! A fallen tree in the road, Willy needs constant spritzing, then more nets and boats, and then finally he jumps over the rocks into the ocean...

So we drive home in a rainstorm, and get the kids ready for bed. As I am tucking Ella in, I take a moment to ask her something. "So Ella did you like the movie - Free Willy?" I was making conversation at this point to direct the subject to something other than the "dark", or "scared", not expecting the response I got. Ella quipped quite quickly. "No Dad, they need to just leave orcas in the ocean!"

I had to choke back a burst of laughter, and just grinned in the dark and said, "You know what Ella, you are right!" What an insightful remark from a 5 year old girl! She wasn't impressed with the storyline whatsoever. All of the ridiculous stress and drama she was put through watching this poor creatures life hang in the balance for all of 112 minutes could have been SO EASILY avoided, had those guys just left Willy in the ocean where he belonged!

A grand deduction indeed, and applicable to so many other aspects of life. So the lessons learned for the day: 1. Don't leave a carnivorous bear cub named Roone alone with raw meat on the counter. 2. Before you remove something from it's natural habitat, be it orca, human, plant, mineral, or Windows Vista.. go watch Free Willy again and then put it back where you found it.. unless you are going to eat it!

A Historical Event!!!

It's been a little over 3 fortnights since my last post, but there is an explanation. I pried some lesser aspects of life from my hands during the holidays and enjoyed my time off. I am not of the millennial generation that lives and breathes in this virtual world. I dabble in it. I'm not fully integrated into it, mainly because I am the last generation that remembers when it didn't exist, and life was just as enjoyable without it. I see it's vast potential, and it's usefulness, but just like the microwave for my parents generation; It's a convenience, not a necessity.. Regardless, that is not the topic of my post today. It's about this moment and how it relates to the future....

I wanted to wait until my first 2009 blog could wax on a topic of importance, and that time has come. I could never have imagined 8 years ago that we would be where we are today. We stand on the verge of a new age, literally. It like we have moved past the stage of infancy, and into the realm of literacy in the blink of an eye. We can now read for ourselves the "Writing on the Wall". The world has changed, we have have changed, and we can step outside and feel on our faces the winds of change that are blowing on this day, TODAY is of very significant importance.

It's a turning point, a hinge in the fabric of time that moves us from one chapter in this book of life to the next. Many questions have been answered to this point, but there are so many more to be asked. It's the beginning of a new phase, and it stirs ones soul to think about what is to come. There are so many opportunities that lie ahead, and yet so many hills that need climbing. But at the top of each of those hills, is a glimpse at the beautiful horizon and the future that is brighter than the noon day sun...

Yes there is hope!!! and Yes We Can, Let the celebration begin!!!

We are so proud of you Ella Grace Bowman! We Love You! Happy 5th Birthday!

(Now those of you that thought this post was about something else, can go back and reread this post in it's true context. :)