Under the Wire

How often have you asked someone “How are you doing?” and received a reply of, “I’m doing OK but I wish someone would shut off this wind!”

I find this notable because rarely does anyone want to “shut off this rain, snow, cold or heat.” Why does everyone pick on the wind? Wind does a lot of good if you think about it. For centuries it made travel across oceans possible powering sail boats. Sue has cousins who live on a sailboat, traveling to all sorts of exotic places, courtesy of the wind. Gas could get to 20 dollars per gallon or thirty-two cents, and they would not care as long as the wind blows. Here in eastern Colorado and many other locations as well, wind drives windmills pumping stock water to livestock with no monthly electricity bills to pay.

I am sure that somewhere in my past, in a class somewhere, an instructor explained how wind is created, perhaps several times. All lost on me.

However, today is Memorial Day and true to family tradition our American Flag is waving gracefully from our deck. I have spent the past few minutes drinking coffee and marveling at its stately beauty as it moves with the wind until, it suddenly stops moving. OK, so who or what just turned off the wind? Then, a few minutes later, the wind returns and Old Glory once again billows out in response.

After providing me with several minutes of entertainment it once again suddenly stops. What’s going on here?

Does God have his hand on the on/off wind switch? It would seem like it.

How can whatever factors combine to make wind turn off then back on so quickly and often? Wind also drives storms our way, not often enough but it pushes rain or snow over us, for which we are grateful. I have seen drawings of a giant face, cheek’s puffed out, blowing wind somewhere. Somehow I just can’t believe that is our source of flag movement.

Obviously, I’ve got too much free time on my hands to be worried about what is powering our flag to perform.

Next think you know, I will be wondering how birds fly in the wind. Do they really fly or just take advantage of a free ride … somewhere? Do they really care where the wind takes them?

I, like most in agriculture, often curse the winds drying out our fields, blowing my hay windrows and leaving tree branches of all sizes scattered over our yard. Today, however, I’m just going to take a lesson from the flag. Just appreciate what it does and accept that some things are just out of our control. Not a bad lesson to remember.

As a popular song says, “The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.”