It is 6:30 a.m., and it is time to pull on my boots.
I will be working again today with a friend, a man who has spent over forty years in the forests of Alabama. Thin as a cedar fencepost and about as tough, he is ready to get to the woods, as he is nearly every day. After all, there is work to be done, and he believes God has put us here to do it.
The details of the job are inconsequential. It matters not if the brush is thick with briers, the weather is hot, or the terrain is rugged. We will do the job, and it will be done right.
Today we will be cruising timber on a large tract in Randolph County. The owner has recently inherited the property, and he will need an accurate appraisal of the timber for tax purposes. It will be a hot day. The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory, urging caution for outdoor activities. We will leave our vehicle behind for several hours, and the only water we will have is what we can carry in a couple of water bottles.
"You think you can get 80 plots today?", he will ask.
I will hesitate. "Well, I hope so. It's gonna get pretty hot. I'll try."
"Well how about you man-up and put on your big boy britches and see if you can do it. After all, I'm paying you on production. I'd hate for you to ride all the way up here and not make any money."
I will get the 80 plots. Oh yes. I have been properly motivated by the master. He knows which buttons to push to accomplish his purposes.
I have asked him before about retirement. He says there will be none. "What would I do?", he asks, and it is a sincere question. He goes on to say that he will probably fall over and die one day in the woods. But that will be O.K., for he will go doing what he enjoys doing. What could be better?
We will drive home at the end of the day with a good appraisal. I will be exhausted, he will be talking about tomorrow's job like a teen-aged girl talks about the upcoming prom.
I'd like to believe I could be that tough and enthusiastic at 67.
But I doubt it.
Yes, you will (if you put on your big boy britches and trust God). I believe in Him and I believe in you! There is a "Payday Someday!"
ReplyDeleteThe woods are a good place to die.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the work of measuring land: After I got out of high school back around 1826, I got a summer job for the extension service, I think it was, been a long time since 1826, to measure acreage. There was nobody to help me. I had to do it alone or I had to hope somebody on the farm in question would lend a hand. Usually, that did happen.
It was southwest Georgia, and it was hot as the Devil. I didn´t make it through the summer. I wasn´t man enough because, well, I was only 17. I did find out later, however, that the acreage I did manage to measure the week or so I lasted was done correctly. I got some satisfaction knowing that.
I don´t like heat ... or bugs on sweaty skin.
The older you get the easier it is to spot the CON artists. This is the main reason they don´t like to give the Senior citizens a job, (He's senile, always complaining, etc.) The truth is He sees the bosses faults and screw ups just from experience. This is why a person should start looking for entrepreneural businesses early in life, even if you get less money, you're still your own boss can't fire or abuse yourself,
ReplyDelete