From snowplows to newborn calves: Weathering winter’s challenges

I awakened this morning to the sound of screech, scrape and laboring pickup engines. Kyle Potthoff and his crew of young guys were pushing the newly arrived snow off our streets. Then it wasn’t long before my grandson-in-law, Brant and his oldest son Elijah appeared with their snow blower and a shovel to clean sidewalks and driveway. Sometimes there are advantages to being the old guy whose wife and daughter forbid me to scoop for fear of a heart attack or some other malady. All it takes is a little $$$, for the loved ones, plus the taxes we pay to keep our City happy. Thank you all.

With the expected snow and cold February weather my heart goes out to our local stockmen who are making frequent trips to their pastures to search for mama cows having their babies. The newborn is wet due to their trip from inside the warm mother to the cold outside. It is important to get the young one dried off so they can stand up to get a bellyful of nice warm milk, colostrum, from mama and then somehow, they can withstand the cold. God’s plan, plus a little help from the stockman and life is good!

The cold weather here makes your old columnist think of the many stops– fourteen at last count–I have made in our 50th State, Hawaii. Courtesy of the Air Force, most stops were for fuel and required crew rest. Hickam was the base of choice, but in more current times the airlines, as well as the military, land at Honolulu International and taxi over to Hickam AFB. Ah, the warm balmy air when one opens the exit door on arrival.

My first trip was in 1958 while Hawaii was still a territory of the U.S. I remember the bus ride into Honolulu from Hickam was through several miles of pineapple farms and tall waving sugar cane. No more; it is city driving all the way now. We had a tour of Pearl Harbor, which was only seventeen years after the battle there, and were allowed to stand on the observation deck of the Arizona, a few feet above the surface of the water. Presently, there is a nice observation deck over the remains of that huge sunken battleship where tourists can stand, gaze and remember. It is hallowed ground.

My most memorable trip to Hawaii was about a weeklong stint that son Don purchased to honor his mother for a significant birthday. She brought me along as well as his wife Jane. It was my only experience of going to an island other than Oahu where Hickam is located. We rented a helicopter and toured the active volcano there. Actually, the Island of Hawaii is a bit similar to the western United States which is agricultural grazing dry plains.

Incidentally a few of the young persons that come to join the Rodeo program at McCook Community College hail from that area. Yes, mountains in Hawaii are tall enough to be snow-covered but one only has to descend to near the level of the Pacific Ocean to enjoy warm weather the year around. No blowing snow and near-zero temperatures as we see here today.

I correspond with Darrell Meister regularly who lives permanently on Oahu. Darrell is the owner of the Bison enterprise that is located out by our Hugh Butler Lake. Incidentally, his Bison enterprise is for sale. Darrell married a lady who is a native of that area and so he elected to live his life over there. He became a very successful stockbroker but now retired. He is also a retired Marine and keeps close watch on the many military happenings on the Islands plus worldwide so we have a lot in common. Yes, there are interesting people that got their start here in southwestern Nebraska.

It takes all kinds and some people actually like the snow. I just visited our daughter in Omaha, for whom snow brings back fun memories.

She remembers riding the bus from junior high school, dropping off her books and strapping on her skis. Then she, with friends, would street ski on the snow-covered roadways for a few blocks , over to the ski hill on base, and enjoy slaloming and everything else until her folks insisted she come back home. Wonderful memories.

That is how I saw it