Saturday, December 20, 2008

C and I will be spending part of this Christmas at our family farm at my father's behest. For those who don't know my father, let me tell you about how he is arguably the smartest person I have ever met. Eloquent, thoughtful, educated, well-read, cultured etc etc etc. My dad is the person I call when I need a mini-lecture about quantum physics or string theory or when I need to know what the scientific name of the sea cucumber is (all three of these things are actual bonafide questions that I have posed to my father and he has had the answer to.) 


HOWEVER...put my father within about fifty miles of our family farm and he...changes. I think my father wishes sometimes that he could trade in the civic for a john deere and call it a day. He wishes that he preferred labs and sheep dogs to tiny, nervous greyhounds. Most of the time he's ok with it. He likes his iPhone and routers and his hybrid civic...none of which are functional in the country. But being around our farm really hits him hard. 

SCENE:
Dad (drives up in light blue hybrid honda civic with my sister and I. Callie is a French major, I am a graphic designer. We have a tiny greyhound in the car. Our relatives are leaning up against a tractor wheel discussing the harvest (I think.) Dad waves and gets out): Well fellas, I reckon the soybeans are about as high as an elephants eye!!!

(Our relatives sheep dog tries to come after Oliver and he is mortally offended and makes a scene)

Our Relatives (collectively): Yep. 

Dad: Billy, I saw you got 'bout fi'ty head o' steers on the back forty!!

Billy: Sure do!  

I'm paraphrasing of course, because who wants to hear about breeding heifers? Well, some people do, but I'm not sure they're reading this blog. The point is, when we got back in the car Dad was right back to waxing poetic about our ancestors and popping in Ani DiFranco.
 
It's ok, Dad. I get it. Sometimes I too wish that my life were uncluttered and simple and free of the city. I long for it most when I look out my office window and see the tops of buildings and only slivers of sunlight. 

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