The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
1/13/2010 column
We lead a very sheltered life here on our farm in Central Minnesota. The evening news seems so irrelevant to our daily lives that we wonder if we are even living on the same planet as everyone else! It feels like we must be content to only observe the stories unfolding around the world.
What do major snowstorms, terrorists and crime rates have to do with our daily lives anyway?
But I’m sure most other people wonder what is so interesting about the latest bull proofs, swinging commodity prices and capital gains tax issues too.
The snowstorm that hit the country just before Christmas threw a monkey wrench in many people’s holiday travel plans. Mark’s sister Judy and her family were able to make it from central Iowa up to central Minnesota for the holidays, but it caused much anxiety for family members until their safe arrival. We played the white elephant game, but I didn’t come home with the Santa candle. Guess I’ll have to keep my eyes open at garage sales this summer for that perfect grab bag gift.
After all the presents were opened, Katie and Austin packed up their bags to head south for warmer weather over Christmas break. They were heading to Houston, Texas to spend the holidays with my parents at their winter home. They were excited for their first airplane flight. I knew they would be safe with the step up in security due to the terrorist in Detroit who tried to blow up his underwear on Christmas day. There were extra security guards and extra long lines throughout the airport but everyone seemed to just go with the flow and make the most of the situation. I never thought that what had happened in Detroit would even touch my life.
Katie and Austin had fun dipping their toes in the Gulf of Mexico, visiting NASA and touring the Alamo. I don’t think they missed the chores, cold weather or the first days of school this year, but I think they were glad to get back to their own routine.
Their return flight was uneventful, until we tried to leave the airport. As we were searching for a way out to the parking garage, a bomb sniffing dog reacted to a beat up pink bag in the baggage claim area.
Just as we found our exit, the security team started evacuating the airport, hanging yellow crime scene tape and stopping traffic from entering the airport. We missed all the commotion by “that much”. It was wild to hear the evening news and know we were just there!
2010 was starting off to be an exciting year, but nothing could prepare us for what was still to come. The next day Al went to town to replace a battery in the bobcat. When he returned home he noticed the garage door was open and the blue farm truck was missing. He couldn’t figure out why we wouldn’t have closed the garage door after we took the truck. Minutes later the “cavalry” arrived. Law enforcement officers swarmed into Al’s yard, some with weapons drawn. A state patrol helicopter had spotted a stolen van abandoned behind the sheds next to the silo and they were searching for the suspect. The only problem was, he wasn’t there anymore. Apparently he went into Al’s garage and took our blue farm truck! He was the one who didn’t close the garage door after he left. Now which way did he go?
We thought he wouldn’t be able to go very far. Like most farm trucks, there was only enough gas for one round trip to the creamery. Unfortunately Al had just filled up the truck with fuel! It appeared our truck would not be coming home any time soon. At least no one was hurt.
The next day a Benton County Deputy called to say they found our truck in an abandoned farm yard 20 miles away. It appeared to be in working order and we could come pick it up. I thought they would at least want to take it to a crime scene lab and “dust it” for fingerprints like they do on CSI. Apparently that only happens on TV.
Mark and Al went over to Gilman to pick up our truck. Mark was teasing the deputy that the guy could have at least washed the truck after he was done driving it. Without missing a beat, the deputy told Mark that the thief probably couldn’t get rid of it fast enough.
Once the truck warms up, “it really stinks in there!” Well, it is a good old farm truck. It appears the only things missing from were a quarter tank of gas and the pocket change from the cup holder. I wonder if we could market the “farm truck smell” as an anti-theft device?
May we go back to being observers of the evening news and not a part of it. There is something to be said for leading a simple sheltered life.
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As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark are starting a new adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.
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