Guest Blog

As reported in my last article, I am preparing for my next deployment to Islamabad, Pakistan. I will spend a month or two at the U.S. Embassy coordinating our USDA and whole-of-government effort toward development. This will be my first deployment as a Civilian Response Corps active member.

After following The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, at http://thepioneerwoman.com, Leah Beyer and Cris Goode discovered she was on to something. This ranch wife and mother of four managed to intertwine her hobbies with her life on the ranch in a way that builds relationships while also creating agricultural awareness.

The word development is in the news. As one of the three “D” words (the others are defense and diplomacy) that describe our U.S. government’s foreign policy, the term may be defined as the long-term strategic effort at helping failed or failing states (countries).

In the many years writing this column, now just a year short of two full decades, I have written of expeditionary work. By my last count, the effort and energy spent in a dozen countries along with situational analysis are described here. As a young farm boy, FFA member and college student in the late ’60s and early ’70s, I fully expected to farm the rest of my life.

The past year has been full of celebrity infidelity and scandal. I’ve always been a news junkie, and it’s amazing to me how tabloid gossip has gained newsworthy status. In one of the “news” stories Tiger Woods’ former adviser was quoted as telling Tiger to “stay away from Michael Jordan,” claiming he was a bad influence on Tiger. Honestly, who’s really going to believe that No. 23 was the reason Tiger had extramarital affairs with a dozen women?!?

But somehow, this guy attributes Jordan with leading his former client astray. It was also reported that Tiger’s best friend helped arrange his mistresses’ travel plans so they could join him on trips and have hotel rooms adjacent to his.

An egg can support a large amount of weight. Its strength comes from its dome shape. Some research has shown that chicken eggs can handle as much as 17 pounds on the end. This amazingly strong shell brings protection to the valuable contents inside.

This strong egg is fragile. And once broken, it is complete and irreversible destruction. We are all familiar with the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Could not place Humpty as he was before.

It never says anything about an egg. According to some etymologists, the term comes from a French nursery rhyme and was a diminutive form of the name Humphrey. The term is reported in 1785 as describing a “short, dump, hump-shouldered person” according to Online Etymology Dictionary.