I write a lot of letters to the editor, mostly critical comment on the way our society is developing. That seems to be the king word: develop, develop, develop. Our politicians all seem to be on board with increasing the population, and creating more and more jobs ad infinitum. I find it all a little depressing, so I try to do my best not to buy in, though we are all guilty. It seems to be getting harder and harder to find any hopeful development.
I recently hosted my grandchildren at my small farm in Glade in order to allow my daughter-in-law to go to the dentist, and my other daughter-in-law came to visit to help out, bringing along two more grandchildren. Four of them, age one to five, are quite a handful for the adults, and mostly a lot of fun for the kids. We spent the day wading in the river, eating ice cream and drinking chocolate milk, the good stuff, old style, 3.25 per cent butterfat. They had a good time, and so did we. Being a farm, there were chores to do, so we all had to walk up to check out the cows and move the pasture sprinklers, after which, being a hot day, we sat down for a little rest under the wild pear tree. My granddaughter, Juniper, gazing out over the pasture, turned to me, sort of squinted one eye and declared: “Grandpappy, you have a beautiful place here.” She is five, just about to start school.
So there it is: my hopeful development for the future. If a five year old has been taught to recognize beauty and what is important in life, well maybe, just maybe, there is still hope.
Rod Retzlaff
Glade
