Corn Equity

There is nothing easy about sweet corn.  If you are not familiar with this delicacy, you will just have to trust me - it is one of the few greatest pleasures of my life.  I count down the days until the new crop comes out each year; but, gathering and processing it involves lots of work!

To begin with, I think I am slightly allergic.  When I am standing in the corn, I can hear my throat wheeze a little; but I remind myself "Keep your eyes on the prize, Karl."  Depending on your tolerance for bugs, you may or may not be annoyed by the mosquitoes, flies, gnats and whatever else flies and crawls around a corn field.  This usually amounts to me rescuing Laura when I hear the screams of "It's in my hair - It's in my hair!" as she darts out of the field entirely.  

Sweet corn harvest is during the hottest time of the year (late July).  Every time I bend over, my glasses slide down - then, when I straighten up, sweat runs in my eyes.  The buckets of corn are heavy - there is dust and weeds and itchiness!  And, that's just in the field.  After wrestling the buckets into the car, we still have to "put up" the corn at home.  Oh, and I usually say "I shouldn't have lifted that" at least once during the process.

Putting up corn amounts to blanching the corn and either cutting it off the cob or just bagging the "roasting" ears whole for later use.  No matter what precautions you take, the kitchen will be trashed!  I mean trashed when you get done.  The thin "silks" will on everything - the floor will be sticky and there will be little corn nuggets EVERYWHERE!    

So why do we do it?  Why so much work for 50 or 60 tiny little bags of corn?  The answer: fast forward to January 15th, when there is snow on the ground and you've just whipped up some enchilada soup and the thought hits you "Wow, you know what would go great with this?   Some sweet corn."  It is even sweeter in January than it was in July!

Without the investment, we can't enjoy the reward.  Consider an alternate example.  What if I just went to the field and gorged myself - made my self happy every day of the short harvest season?  The corn I could consume would fill me for a few hours; but I have to come back.  I would probably spend about the same amount of hours in the corn field; but in the end, I would have nothing stored up for the days ahead. 

Even though we quickly recognize that scenario as foolish, we often life our lives in a consumer mentality.  We consume what feels good, we spend money before we earn it, we spend more than we earn, and we rarely think about creating equity in our lives.  Equity usually refers to stocks or companies having value; but, the only way to create value in our lives is to invest in the things that matter.  Any time we spend what we have not earned, we create a deficit - a debt that must be repaid with interest.  Conversely, when we sacrifice now (spend less, save money, exercise) we create equity that pays "dividends." 

I hope we all can put up some corn in our life this week.  The super delicious kind and the figurative kind such as: exercise, eating right, saving money, working hard and making tough decisions.  Build some equity - January is coming!

Gas or Heart Disease?

I offered my 3-bean chili to someone the other day.  It's actually only 2 beans because I substitute brown rice for the chick peas.  This chili allows me to satisfy my desire for good spicy food without the oily sheen that accompanies most "real" chili.  I even remember telling someone, in years past, that real chili must contain meat (otherwise it's not chili).  

Anyway, when I offered to share my discovery with someone, they declined on the basis that beans give them gas.  I didn't have anything to say because it didn't make sense to me.  Is heart disease more desirable than flatulence?  Before I became an adult (something that is still up for debate), my friends and I actually enjoyed letting one "rip."  Come on, don't be afraid to smile - you know you did it too!

It didn't make me smile when my dad and grandpa both had to have heart surgeries.  I'll spare you the graphic details of that - but, suffer to say, it is worse than have a little extra gas.  There is only one diet that has ever been proven to prevent and even reverse heart disease.  That is a whole-food, plant based diet.  In my mind, it's my only option.  I'll probably have gas either way - but, I don't have to get heart disease.   

And, by the way, my new chili is so delicious I have to take my shoes off to eat it.  If you ask me right, I'll share the recipe!

Why "Black Lives Matter" Matters to Me

Just yesterday, my wife was telling me something important.  Almost immediately I was telling her my opinion or maybe even just telling her something important from my day.  She said, "You are not hearing me!"  I was quick to respond, "Of course I hear you, you said...."  She said, "If you heard me, you need to acknowledge me."  Too often when we hear something like "Black Lives Matter," and our instant response is to give our opinion or respond back "All Lives Matter."  To do this only dismisses the first statement.  This movement is not asking for all the problems to be solved immediately.  But, like my wife, they want us to take the first step and acknowledge the problem.

Law Enforcement is one of those jobs that I respect.  It is dangerous - it takes bravery -- it is pristine in it's intention (to sacrifice your life for others).  This is the reason, not the excuse, that members of law enforcement should demand their brothers and sisters be held to a high standard.  Even though I have great respect for this profession, the younger generation is losing it quickly.  Whenever members of any profession begin to downplay illicit activity, it sows seeds of doubt over the whole profession.  Just look how we feel about politicians and professional athletes! 

Another communication tool my wife is teaching me is to ask questions.  When someone says "Black Lives Matter," couldn't we ask "What do you mean by that?"  Might we also ask someone of color "What does it feel like to marginalized?"  or "What are some ways I could help improve this situation?"  I might just ask myself some internal questions like "How do I treat people on a daily basis -- do all people matter to me?"

Remember it all starts with the acknowledgement of the statement!  Back Lives Matter!  Yes they do!  Let's start there!

1 Year Plant-Based and a New Goal!

I  cannot remember the exact date, but it was around this time last year that we started making the transition to a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle.  In most ways, we are just as optimistic about it as we were back then.  The anniversary of our change just so happened to fall on the 4th of July (Independence Day).  

It was pretty nice of our new in-laws to make special bean burgers at the family get-together; but we still ate some things we shouldn't have.  No-bake cookies are my favorite and, although technically okay, I ate way too many!  Overall, maybe just a little too much sugar -- a little too much salt -- maybe just a little too much!

The next day, we didn't feel that good; but it just reminded us of how good we consistently feel on a whole-food, plant-based diet.  For whatever reason, we also got the wild idea to run, not walk, a 5K this September.  So, we have already begun training "couch to 5K."  Wish us luck!  I'm not a natural runner.

Why I Love America

My love for anything always begins with the realization that the object is not perfect.  God's love for us is not based on our performance or our perfection.  Our nation still has problems.  We still have issues with race relations -- we still don't assimilate other cultures well -- we have issues with greed and selfishness -- we don't honor God as we should -- we have a serious health crisis based on our eating habits that we stubbornly hold on to.

We often talk about our freedoms, but miss one of the greatest freedoms we still have.  One of the greatest freedoms we have is the freedom to discuss ideas.  Over the course of human history, people have proposed outrageous ideas and discussed and debated those ideas until they actually became practice.   Nothing is inevitable as long as we continue to TALK about it.  Ideas spark conversation that leads to hypothesis that leads to change.

I pray we don't give up this freedom to discuss ideas and sacrifice it on the altar of condemnation and criticism.  We need to elect people that are willing to discuss ideas instead of preserving the past.  I pray we continue to have a hope for our future and realization that nothing is impossible (especially with God).  Keep the dialogue open!  Don't just criticize - DISCUSS and LISTEN! 

Also, remember that politicians are followers.  They will be the last to change - they always are.  They only say what their constituents tell them to say.  We need to realize that individuals can still lead by our ideas and our conversations - so, let's talk about ideas!