Air November 22, 2000

Thank you Mark, and good morning everyone. The cool weather continues and I say it’s just about time! In fact, I’m loving it!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. If I close my eyes I can already see the table, crowded with wonderful dishes. I can see myself sneaking into my mother-in-law’s kitchen to try and sneak a piece of turkey skin off the bird just after it comes out of the oven. I can smell and taste it in my mind. I can see family arriving before we eat. A chance to visit, get caught up and hear what’s been happening. I see myself dozing off in the middle of a football game when I probably should be out taking a walk, considering how much I ate. But in the wink of an eye, all those visions can be changed. I can see a homeless family eating turkey in a shelter. I see war torn houses where they have no knowledge of a holiday, let alone a holiday called Thanksgiving. I see ghostly images of men, women and children dying of starvation. And now we come back to present day USA and I hear people complaining, griping, yes, even whining about some of the darndest things. I love the Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. I think we all tend to get like George Bailey sometimes and start to forget what a wonderful life we have. All we can think about is what everyone else has that we don’t have and it’s not fair. But we don’t go hungry, and we have clothes on our back. Our lives aren’t torn apart by civil war. We have a lot to be thankful for. I have one of the greatest jobs in the world, and I would be hard pressed to think of any where else I would want to do it. I get to work with some of the best people in the world everyday - all of you. Pure chance brought me to Geary County the first time. It was the fall of 1977 and I was on the soils judging team, yes, we really judged dirt, from the Univ of Nebr and the regional contest was held in Geary County. I spent three days here and fell in love with the area. Fate and good fortune brought me here to stay when four years later I was hired as the Geary County Extension Agent. I had no idea what a life altering experience that would turn into. Like George Bailey, I feel like I have had a very wonderful life. And I will be forever thankful for this job in this place at this time. This is Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, with Ag Outlook 2000, wishing each and everyone of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

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