A nutty way to catch a fish

ABC News has an interesting story on a method of fishing employed by some Missourians, but not any with any sense, as far as I'm concerned.

I've never been interested in noodling or grabbing. Sticking your hands and arms into a hole that might contain a snapping turtle or a snake makes no sense to me. Back when I was a kid in junior high and high school there was a guy who was an avid fisherman who talked about grabbing catfish. It gave me chills then, and still does.

Some resources for those who like fresh produce

I found a couple of interesting blogs about homegrown and locally produced foods. I posted a short message on The Ozarks Chronicle Forum Homesteading Board.

Good Missouri roads

We complain a lot in the Ozarks about our roads and highways, the cost of maintaining them and constant construction.

Branson Daily News reports our roads in Missouri are better than roads in most other states:

Missouri’s ranking in overall performance of its state highway system jumped 11 spots in one year, from 28th in 2004 to 17th in 2005, according to figures released last month by the Reason Foundation. It was the second-largest increase in the nation.

From 2000 to 2005, Missouri jumped from 39th to 17th. Missouri was only second to New Mexico in the largest five-year improvement.

The non-profit research and education organization cited Missouri’s major improvements in road conditions statewide, which keeps improving state-wide as well as locally.

Maybe we ought to quit complaining and be more grateful.

Tall Tales of the Ozarks

The St. Helena (Calif.) Star has a thorough and thoroughly interesting story about a former Rolla resident, John Wilson, and his book, Tall Tales and No Lies: Coming of Age in the Missouri Ozarks.

Some excerpts from the story by writer Carolyn Younger:

Young Wilson grew up being called “John Oliver” by his Great Aunt Lou, “Pete” by most of his family and friends so as not to be confused with his father, and “Son” by his mom, who had a nickname of her own, “Jack,” short for Jacquetta.
His world then included a large extended family, school buddies, neighbors, townspeople, the mechanics at Wilson-Smith Motor Company, a hound named “Cocoa,” a black Schwinn bike and the oak forest behind the family farmhouse.
“My values were deeply honed there,” Wilson said. “The primary one was honesty. I was taught when I was 12 that you shake a man’s hand and look him square in the eye. Your handshake is firm, your word is your bond.”

Wilson next earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan and taught economics at Yale University where he was recruited to build the school’s urban economics program. He took a leave of absence to serve in Washington as deputy director of the Office of Economic Opportunity under Donald Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld’s special assistant, Dick Cheney.
When the job ended, Wilson and his young family went next to Minnesota where he was director of a research institute at the University of Minnesota, “but I didn’t like hustling for money,” he said.
Instead they packed up and moved to a farm in Connecticut where Wilson planned to write the great American novel and his wife to write poetry. In the course of a year they had a grand time — and went bankrupt.
Wilson next turned down a commission chairmanship in Washington and instead moved the family to California where he became a professor at UC Berkeley and served as executive vice president and chief economist of Bank of America. Along the way, well before “Tall Tales,” he published several books on economics including “After Affluence: Economics to Meet Human Needs” and “The Power Economy: Building an Economy That Works,” as well as a number of articles and reports.
Three years ago he woke early one morning with an episode from his youth buzzing around in his mind, sat down at the computer and four hours later was reading the results aloud to his wife.
“He would get up at 3 a.m. and write a chapter before breakfast and read it to me at the table,” Beclee Wilson recalled. “If I cried he knew it was good.”

This was the routine until April last year when Wilson learned he had esophageal cancer. He put the stories aside as he slipped into survivor mode. The treatment he underwent at the Marin Cancer Center was “horrendous.” He was told it involved one of the toughest chemo regimens there is, and he believes it.
“I came through ... Beclee and I, even when I was in the deepest pain, would walk from the house down to the bottom of the hill and I’d crawl back up on my hands and knees with tears in my eyes from the pain,” he said, “but I never quit ... I never lost my will to live or my fighting spirit.”
Wilson credits this strength and determination to lessons ingrained in childhood, adding that the book is a thank-you to family, friends, mentors and institutions that influenced the course of his life. He is pleased when he hears from readers that “Tall Tales” triggers their own childhood memories.
“We are shaped by our surroundings for better or for worse,” he said. “We are an accumulation of all that’s past ... We never travel alone.”

I've not seen this book, but judging from the interview in the St. Helena paper, this man has some interesting stories to tell about growing up in the Ozarks. You might want to go to Readers Corner in downtown Rolla and see if Larry Bowen can get you a copy. You might also go put in a request at the Rolla Public Library.

Ozarks in the NYT

Believe it or not, there's a FAVORABLE article about College of the Ozarks on the New York Times website.

Here's a portion of what the article says:

Those students and the college’s longtime president, Jerry C. Davis, think the up-by-the-bootstraps credo is one that more campuses should adopt. Too many parents, they say, think children should focus only on the “full college experience” of classes, clubs and sports, and be spared the economic realities or have those realities postponed through loans.
“The work ethic is not what it used to be,” Mr. Davis said in his Georgia drawl. “When you go out into the real world, they don’t care where you went to school. They care if you show up on time, if you don’t do the job right, if you’ve got a good attitude. Employers will tell you that graduates of College of the Ozarks have qualities they like.”
Mr. Davis, a self-made man who overcame a life that included a broken home and expulsions from two colleges, says that his school’s outlook is particularly pertinent in an era when the price of tuition can buy you a Mercedes-Benz, and when loan companies are so eager to hand out money that lenders have been accused of offering stock deals to college officials.
The College of the Ozarks — a four-year college since 1965, and rated No. 30 by U.S. News and World Report among Midwestern colleges offering both liberal arts and professional degrees — is one of seven so-called work colleges. Six describe themselves as Christian institutions and often, like Ozarks, are socially and politically conservative.

Maybe more colleges should adopt the College of the Ozarks methods.

Grow something, Part II: How about a fall garden?

Before he gets down to teaching the lesson, our Sunday School teacher gives us an update on his garden. Because of the timing of the rains this year, gardening has been good in our section of the Ozarks. "If you can't grow anything in this kind of weather, you might as well give up," our teacher said last Sunday.

His weekly reports have been so enthusiastic that one member of the class, a young feller, said he had never gardened, even though his parents and his wife's parents both put out gardens. "But your talking about your garden every week has got me interested, and I've decided I'm going to till up some space this fall so I can plant in the spring," he said to the teacher last Sunday morning.

Why wait? Why not go ahead and till up the ground now and plant a fall garden? This is the time to plant for a fall harvest. There's some information about it in the Gardening and Preserving Board on The Ozarks Chronicle Forum. Go there and learn. Then plant and tell us this fall how everything turned out for you.

What have you read so far this year?

The other day Family Feud was on the TV at home (and for the life of me, I do not know why), and one of the questions in the final round was "How many books does the average person read in a year?" One person said "3" and another said "5". I forget what the right answer was. Ten, I think.

Well, so far this year I've managed to read 17 books, which isn't really very many. I work at the Rolla Public Library and we have a few patrons who will read that number in a couple of weeks.

I've posted those 17 titles in The Ozarks Chronicle Forum, and I invite you to take a look and reply to the post with your own list of books or at least a couple of titles you have found interesting this year.

While you're in the forum, take a look around. Feel free to offer an opinion if you like (you'll have to register first; don't worry I won't sell your e-mail address).

Become a Master Naturalist

Lynda Richards, who writes the wildflower/native plant column for The Ozarks Chronicle, sent me a news release about the upcoming Master Naturalist classes. If you're interested in learning more about the natural world (and if you're a reader of The Ozarks Chronicle, TheOzarksChronicle.com, The Ozarks Chronicle Blog and/or The Ozarks Chronicle Forum, you very likely are), find out more in The Ozarks Chronicle Forum.

A couple of harsh winters will shut these folks up

Right off the bat I'll tell you that I am skeptical about the rants of the global warming crowd. Yes, I'll acknowledge that the winters in the Ozarks have been milder than usual for the past few years, although we had a heckuva ice storm in January and a late freeze in April. Summers are always hot here. Nevertheless, I tend to think that if there is global warming we (puny little mankind) are not causing it. It seems to me that the Creator is the force behind global warming in Creation, just as He's been the force behind previous periods of global warming and global cooling. I think there must be a purpose for period climate changes; the Creator knows those purposes even if we don't. (By the way, if you want to know who the Creator of the Universe is, read the Gospel of John in the Bible.)

No amount of regulation or taxation is going to stop global warming if the Creator wants to heat up the globe. I heard that Mars and Jupiter are also warming, and puny little mankind can't be the cause of that.

The Old Farmers Almanac this year has an article titled "The Good News About Climate Change." The article notes that warm weather is good for our health and well-being (it's why retirees head South), it saves energy and is conducive to a longer growing season. More people die from cold weather than hot weather, the article also notes.

I didn't watch that Al Gore benefit that was on TV last weekend. I think the whole thing is just an attempt to put more laws on us and more taxes and fees. Maybe the Creator will give us a couple of harsh winters; that would shut these people up. Well, maybe not.

I have a difficult time getting all worked up about global warming. I like our four seasons in Southern Missouri, but I like a short, mild winter with just enough cold to keep the bug population down.

We need doctors in the Ozarks, but not these guys

Our hospital in Rolla, like every other hospital in the country, is always on the lookout for new doctors.
That's about all I know regarding the physician recruitment program here. I don't know about screening procedures they have, if any, but I sure hope they do, because we don't need
doctors like these Muslim extremists in the Ozarks.

The Ozarks Chronicle Forum

The Ozarks Chronicle has what could be a lively forum, if you'd take the time to visit it and post something.

The forum reflects the editorial content of the magazine, which is gardening, farming, home arts and crafts, music and literature--all with an Ozarks orientation.

We'd like to hear about your garden, the birds that are coming to the feeders in your back yard, your Ozarks memories, your comments on current events.

Lots of folks are LOOKING at the forum, but they're not using it as a tool. Post a question about a flower or a bug or a bird; someone will answer it, I'm sure. Make a comment about the news, especially Ozarks news or your town's news.

The Ozarks Chronicle Forum is there for you to use, so feel free to use it.

Happy Fourth of July

Today we celebrate our nation's declaration of its independence from the rule of the king of England and the beginning on July 4, 1776, of a series of events that eventually led to the Constitution and our republican form of government.

We were taught in school that the original settlers were people seeking freedom to worship as they believed the Bible taught. We also believe that God had his hand in the formation of our government and in the development of our nation.

I'm having some trouble with Romans 13:1-5. Here's what it says in the New International Version: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment, but also because of conscience."

I think the apostle Paul wrote this at the time Nero was beginning his persecution of Christians, burning them alive as torches for his garden parties, feeding them to lions, leopards and bears in the arena and other ghastly forms of torture.

It sounds like Paul is saying that the emperor has the divine right to do so and is God's tool of judgment on evildoers.

Move ahead in time to the 18th century. I wonder what Samuel Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and the others thought about this passage. It sounds to me like the Bible says if you rebel against king, you're bringing damnation upon yourself.

Or maybe I'm misinterpreting it.

Maybe I'm just taking the Bible too doggone seriously. I'm grateful that the Founding Fathers either ignored this passage of scripture or decided it meant something else, for I'm pleased to live in this great nation.

Have a happy and safe Fourth of July.

May God bless America, and may America praise the name of Jesus.

This Can't Be Good-Part II

Oh, no, not again. Scientists are goofing around where they shouldn't be. This can't be good.

From the BBC yesterday:

A US and Canadian team used a drug called propranolol to target unwanted memories, while leaving others intact.
They injected the drug, which is more often used to treat heart patients, while a volunteer was asked to recall a painful memory.
The Journal of Psychiatric Research study found that this seemed to disrupt the way the memory was then stored.
The researchers, from McGill University, in Montreal, and Harvard University in Boston, hope their work could lead to new treatments for patients with psychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress.
However, others have warned the research is still at a very early stage - and expressed concern that it could potentially be abused easily...
In a separate study, a New York University team said they had successfully erased a single memory from the brains of rats while leaving the rest of their memory intact... .
Professor Chris Brewin, of University College London, said the research was still at a very early stage, and much more work was needed to demonstrate that it could lead to tangible benefits.
"One also does not know what effect such a drug could have in the long term," he said.
"After all, fear reactions are there to protect people from danger in the future."

So now the scientists are working on giving us a pill in a few years that we can use to wipe out an unpleasant memory. Maybe we want to forget an embarrassing performance in school or being spurned by a sweetheart or even an entire marriage. Well, shoot, take a pill.

Our memories make us who we are. Take them away and we aren't the same person. Messing with them is something we ought not to do. I've said this before, and I'll probably say it again: This can't be good.

Killer wind

My gosh! Is there no safe form of energy?

Burning coal, natural gas and heating oil and fueling our cars with gasoline causes global warming, they tell me.

Nuclear energy, which the Europeans use, is too dangerous to use in the United States, they tell me.

The sun causes cancer.

Now even the wind is a killer!

From ABC Online today:

A wind farm proposed for a property near Kalbarri, in Western Australia's mid west, will moved to a new site to protect a rare species of orchid.
Verve Energy says it has moved the location of two wind turbines 150 metres away on to cleared land where the orchid does not grow.
It is building a road to access the site and will then work on the foundations for the turbines which will be installed in September.
The wind farm was due to be operating by the middle of this year.
It is being built as a back-up for the town's irregular electricity supply from the south-west grid.

From the BBC today:
Golden eagles are gravely threatened by a £200m wind farm scheme proposed for the Hebridean island of Lewis, campaigners have warned.
Three of the predatory birds a year could be killed in collisions with turbine blades - the highest mortality from any wind power project in the UK.
The figures come from the developer's own environmental statement.
The planned 205 megawatt (mW) Pairc wind farm in south-eastern Lewis would comprise 57 turbines.
When people talk about displacing birds from one area to another, they are simply moving them on to another wind farm.
Campaigners are also alarmed at the possibility of peat slides in some areas where the 145 metre (475ft) structures are to stand.
Developer Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) found 10 infrastructure sites on the Pairc peninsula were at a high risk of peat slides, a further 16 were considered to be at moderate risk.
"The eagle kill is pretty horrific, as is the threat of peat slide," said Catriona Campbell, of anti-wind farm group Moorland Without Turbines (MWT).

What are the alternatives to the alternatives of wind, solar and nuclear?

Best fishing spots in Missouri?

Field & Stream magazine has picked the top 150 fishing spots in the country and lists these three places in Missouri:
Missouri River for catfish in the stretch near St. Joseph;
Lake of the Ozarks for bass, especially near the mouth of the Osage;
Table Rock Lake for bass, especially on the east side from Kimberling City to the dam.

Anyone disagree?