torque

Every family has an uncle Wilbur who is a little off kilter!  Maybe you might think I’m just that uncle Wilbur!  And I could be.  I don’t expect you to agree with me about stuff (i.e. you  might think I'm cuckoo from Cocoa Puffs).  Why should you agree with me anyway? I’m just a little old farm boy from a mile and fourth south of Roseland, MN. 

I saw an ad on TV by Evinrude that said—Our motors give you 30% more torque.  Sooooo what does that mean? I suspect that means more power and more speed and better performance. You gotta have more torque! More must be better!  

We went to see Chet and Jessica in Waukee, a suburb of Des Moines, recently.  We took state highways and county blacktops.  I sorta kinda enjoy this.  We have time, we are retired! Time means nutten to us! I noticed that most little rural towns look like they are struggling but farmsteads look better.  I also noticed that the signs I saw about Crocked Hillary (i.e. as Donnie calls her) were mostly bad. It appears that the rural IA is more for Faker Donnie (i.e. as Hillary calls him).  BUT it appears that rural America doesn’t really count anyway (i.e. a waste of time). The large metros are the ones who elect the president it appears (i.e. I read in the paper so it must be right that the candidate who wins Des Moines and one other major city will win IA).  Maybe that is why many rural folks seem to think that Washington stinks and don’t want any part of it; just leave us alone.  That is unless folks are getting some government payout like some subsidy of some kind. Rural folks get them tooooo you know.  It’s pretty hard to kick the horse that lets you live the good life. Butler County, IA, the county we live in, has about 17,000 folks. Butler County has voted for a Republican Presidential candidate for the last 5 elections while the Democrats won the electoral votes the last 4 of 5 presidentual elections in the State of IA.

It’s always good to learn something, always.  I try to learn something every day.  How about you? I learned recently that water is not continuously formed, it stays the same amount all the time (i.e. I really never thought about that before).  We flush a lot of it down the toilet but we still have the same amount on this earth.  It might be polluted more than it use to be but we have the same amount.  I also was reminded  that Lucy was (i.e. maybe one of the most famous fossils ever discovered – Australopithecus afarensis).  Lucy is very popular with the evolution believers.  Not sooooo with the folks who believe in creation. 

It’s football season folks. Do any of you watch football? Here is something you might learn.  Jesus is His name and Christ is His title (i.e. Christ is a Greek translation of the Hebrew messiah, meaning “the anointed one.”) Sooo it’s much like JohnTheButcher or butcher John.  Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus. SusieQ said—I have been a Christian for 40 years and didn’t know that.  So now if you are at church and hear a pastor talk about Jesus Christ you know and if you are at a party and hear some football fan say—Jesus Christ, that was a bad play call, you know.  Crazy football fans never say—Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin.  No no, you hear them say Jesus Christ (i.e. especially if they have had a few beers).  Why is that folks? Now maybe a lot of beer might put a lot torque on their brain. 

My Daddy, Chester, would say to me—erv, the best way to learn is to ask questions.  It probably even helps more to ask wish/smart questions.  What do you think? WorldClassLarry says—Leaders are learners.  I have been around a lot of smart folks/leaders and it seem that they always ask questions.  They seem to question everyone; I mean everyone.  They don’t think they are above anyone to learn from them.  CadillacJack says—Ask questions and listen to the answers; the good folks can accept criticism.  I like to ask questions of you guys.  I try to listen but maybe always don’t understand.  Good questions to ask are—What do you think? And then listen.  Another good question is—Am I missing something here? And then listen.

Roseland looked like this in 1957 (i.e. I was 12 years old)—There was a grain elevator north across the tracks on the east side. SE of the tracks was Edgar Van Den Einde’s Hatchery. Across the street on the corner was Bill Ammerman’s Hardware, next southerly was Sam Breem’s auto repair, then Gort Grocery, then a lot with an old shed in the back where Gort Brothers parked their 2 semis and one straight livestock trucks that hauled our cattle to market at South St. Paul, then John and Sadie Dykema’s grocery store, then on the corner Joe Sankey’s blacksmith shop.  That was old Roseland.  About an 8th of mile south was new Roseland which had Roseland Reformed Church, the elementary school and Earl Seehusen’s Mobil station.  Total population between new and old Roselands was about 100.  It was at Sam Breem’s auto repair that one day I saw Sam use this wrench that I never saw before. I asked Sam what it was.  The torque wrench was explained to me.  He was using it to tighten the head bolts to just the right torque after grinding the valves of a car (i.e. back then car valves had to be ground about every 30,000 miles).

MyFriendJohn (i.e. anybody can be a John) says—If you don’t get the torque right on the head bolts you will blow the head gasket.  What blows your head gasket?  What torques you off?  For me it is folks who are fakers (e.g. DuaneTheWorm will say anything and do anything for self-glorification). There seems to be some folks who think they are perfect (i.e. they are big turnoffs for me--frauds).  Ouchy ouchy!  I can accept most anyone’s ideas and opinions but with pretenders, I have a hard time with them.  It appears that maybe both candidates are rather jerks.  One seems to be pretty real in showing it almost every day (i.e. politically incorrect). The other one seems to pretend more (i.e. politically correct in trying to butter everyone up).  They both seem pretty good at talking out of both sides of their mouth.  They appear to be very slippery and slimy!

It seems like every time I’m in a grocery store I hear some kid begging to his mother if he can have something.  It appears it works as they keep doing it.  Children exhibit magnificent boldness to keep asking. Saturday question—Does prayer put torque on God?  While eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it, Oswald Chambers says—Ask God and it will be given to you; just like a little kid.  The problem with this is that most will not ever do this until they are at their wits’ end. When a person is at his wits’ end, it no longer seems to be a cowardly thing to pray; in fact, it is the only way he can get in touch with the truth…As long as we think we are self-sufficient, we do not need to ask God for anything. Huh, interesting.

I asked my cousin, Luther, to write about some of his memories of Roseland.  He was the son the John and Sadie Dykema of the grocery store in Roseland.  Here are what he shared: I also remember Joe Sankey's welding shop welding shop in Roseland. Everyone said he used chewing tobacco to hold everything together. ~ I think everyone in Roseland was related and if I remember right you were the first one who did not marry there cousin. ~ I remember my first kiss on the cheek, it was your sister and my cousin. ~ Life was simple in Roseland and I miss that. ~ I will always remember the day I went to tell the pastor at our church in Roseland that uncle Walt left them a million dollars. I got a clock that did not work. I still have the clock.

Roseland Reformed Church taught me about God (i.e. mostly a good experience; I didn’t like Catechism). It was pretty much our social life tooooo.  We didn’t have much money sooooo I guess we went to church.  I learned to play ping pong at church on Sunday evenings.  When our parents visited, we played. Winner stayed and loser had to sit down.  I learn to play well fast!!!! The new building was built in 1957.  That fall (i.e. I was 11) on Saturdays, we would walk picked corn fields and pick up corn that fell to the ground (i.e. I think it was a year when there was bad wind and there was a lot of corn left in the field). ANYWAY we picked up corn for the building fund.  My parents, Chester and Anna gave $1,000 to furnish the pre-school Sunday school room (i.e. my Mom, Anna, taught this class for years). I think our family's income was about $3,500.  I don’t know that for fact but when I was a junior in high school in 1962, our income was $4,500.  My Daddy, Chester, shared a lot of stuff with me. In 1957 we lived in a very humble farm house.  Crazy you might think! You might think--Why would Chester and Anna do that?

I talked to my cousin who lives in New Roseland recently.  He is 84 and a widower.  Soooo how is it going--I spend a lot of time alone (i.e. his wife was the social bug of the marriage)--sooo you go to church (i.e. he is a life long member of Roseland Reformed)--no, not any more; I fall asleep and fall over or I fall asleep and they have to wake me up when it's over sooooo I just stay home.  I like honest folks! Such is life. 

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean says—Correction does much but encouragement does more.