friday, i went gleaning for the first time with my father. i really enjoyed it, it was hard and dirty, but we had a good time. my father goes every year, he grew up and graduated with the owner of the farm, and he gets enough potatoes to last all winter and through much of the spring. now most of you don't know my dad, but if you did, you would know that that is a lot of potatoes. he loves potatoes; mashed, boiled, fried, baked, seasoned... must be where i got such a love of them from, i think he has them at least 5 nights a week.
i took Carley, and she had a great time. she was all over the place looking for the funny looking ones to take for show-and-tell, and boy did she find some. i really think it was a good experience for her to really get down and dirty, and we did, to see the tractor and diggers go, and to really get some real work under that four year old belt. she also got to ride in the back of the pick-up while we went to the next spot, and giggled the whole way. so cute.
anyway, while we were out there, i noticed we were the only ones, so i asked my dad, 'don't a lot of people come do this,' to which he replied, 'they used to'. he then went on to say that most people just beg a box off the workers, he used some language colorful to the effect of lazy sun-of-a-guns, the farmers need to make a living too. anyhow, this got me thinking, here we are, with all the free potatoes we could ever want right in the palm of our hands, and there were millions of them, more than we could ever take home, or even try, and yet we were the only ones out there. now i know what you are thinking, it is friday, people work, but my dad and his buddies all said the same thing, not many people do this anymore.
here are potatoes as big as my foot to as small as my baby's fist, reds, russets, Burbank's, golden, the works, free to anyone who wants them, plenty to go around and as much as anyone could want, and yet we were it. i was astonished and disappointed, it was not bad work, it was more dirty than anything, but it only took a couple of hours to get all the potatoes we wanted. i even got plenty to share.
the point i am trying to make is this; we live in some troubled times, people are crunched by the gas and mortgages, and just basic living expenses, and here is a way to save a few dollars, and it is totally free. farmers everywhere are quite generous when it comes to this, because it is not economical for them to go back, and what they leave behind just goes to waste. there are so many that are left behind, you could get enough to share with friends and family, maybe start a booth in the farmers market and give some to the sweet widow down the street. what i am saying is i am tired of all of the belly aching, and crying for the dumbo-crats to fix our problems for us, like they are the ones that told us to get in over our heads with cars and houses and whatever else. it is time that we get off our lazy-loungers and start working for ourselves again. take care of our families in a way that would make our ancestors proud. now is not the time to cry that it may ruin our manicures, that goes for you women, too, we have to get back to our roots and do whatever we have to to get through this. we are Americans, for the most part, and i have no doubt we will get through this, but until then, we have to keep plugging along. and when something this easy comes along, don't sit around and say, 'potatoes aren't expensive and i don't want dirt under my nails,' get out, take your kids, teach them a thing or two about real work, and service. Carley is so proud that she has potatoes to share with people, and she gets to say she harvested them. she really loves that, and your kids will too.
at the end of the day, we had to leave behind hundreds of great potatoes that would have made some tasty baked potatoes for someone, and it was really upsetting. don't mistake my words, i know this will not solve all our problems, but every little bit will help, and maybe an honest days work could even spark something in our country again.
By the way, they are really good. everyone we have given some to loves them as well, now don't you all wish you lived closer. this is amber by the way, for anyone who did catch that.