Automatic or Standard?

 

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About five years ago I was the manager at a bulk plant that distributed fuel and oil.  We had 16 drivers that drove Kenworth, Volvo and Freightliner trucks to get the product to our customers.  Every last one of the trucks except for the Freightliner had automatic transmissions.  In fact, I was surprised to learn that none of the younger drivers knew how to even drive a standard!

I did some quick research and found that over 99% of the vehicles sold today are automatic.  Obviously, that means that less than 1% have a manual transmission. What a shame!  I vividly remember my Dad buying a Datsun 280Z in 1978, I think?  The color of the paint job on that car was Persimmon.  It really stood out.  Other than the paint color, what made it really stand out was its speed and the sheer enjoyment it was to drive.  It would run like a spotted ape.

In a world of automatic everything with push buttons and touch screens, is there anything that makes you feel more connected, more alive than driving a car with a stick shift?  I can picture myself sitting in the comfortable bucket seats in that 280Z.  The interior is clean and all black.  There is a scent of Brut cologne from a spray bottle that sat in the glove box.  I crank the engine, put it in reverse, and it is as if a dance has begun - a dance that you don't have to count the steps - you just innately know them.

Every part of your body is in alignment, in sync, with the car.  You shift it into 1st gear, pressing the clutch with your left foot as you give it some gas with your right.  The car reacts to your coordinated actions.  The shift knob fits in the palm of your right hand so perfectly, it's like an extension of your hand.  You are using your eyes as you're watching the RPM gauge and using your ears while listening to the sound of the engine.  In perfect choreography, your feet and hands know exactly what to do as you let off the clutch, hit the gas, and repeat the process as you shift all the way up into 5th gear.  By now you're flying and the music is playing while you sing along and a smile breaks across your face.  

The only thing that frightened me in that car was to have someone pull up behind me while on an incline at a railroad crossing while waiting for a train to pass.  You look in your rear view mirror and estimate how close they are to your rear bumper.  You know you've got to get this just right.  You must push the clutch and get it in gear and let off the brake and hit the gas at just the right time to not roll back into him or have the car die.  Sweat beads on your forehead.  Somehow, it all works.  Driving that standard made you feel like Mario Andretti.  The King of the Road.  There was no stopping you.

And where are we today?  Self driving cars.  Automatic Transmissions.  Touchscreen dashboards and digital gauges.  Have we taken all the fun out of driving?  The newer vehicles won't even let you put it in gear if you aren't buckled up.  Holy Moly!

What does all this have to do with farming?  Well, in our society's quest for all things efficient and automated and easy and fast, there's something to be said about sitting down in the barn and milking a cow on a quiet morning as the sun is rising.  There's almost the same choreography and timing in milking: squeezing and pulling, opening your hands and closing them in a beautiful rhythm.  And it's relaxing and makes you feel alive and connected to something that's real.  In whatever you do today, do something real, something stimulating that involves your eyes and ears and hands and feet.  Something that gives you satisfaction.

Ecclesiastes 3:13: "That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God."

It Costs A Lot To Die

 “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms...”

― Henry David Thoreau

Have you given any thought to dying?  From a spiritual standpoint, it is of paramount importance.  We will all spend eternity somewhere.  You want to nail down the fact that you will be spending eternity in the presence of God in Heaven.  There's only one way to get there and that's through faith in God's Son, Jesus Christ, believing that He's the Messiah and trusting in His finished work on the cross for your salvation.

Once you have that settled, there are some additional, unsavory things about death from a practical and financial standpoint that one must consider.  When I had heart surgery in August of last year, I sat down and wrote out my obituary.  What a project.  If things were to go south in the surgery, I wanted to save Tricia the time and trouble of writing that out.  She didn't end up needing it, but one day she will, and it's done.  But there are other things to consider.

The will is all done and filed away with other important documents.  The next thing to do is to think about the songs you want at your funeral, the pallbearers, singers, and other details of the service.  I haven't completed this yet, but it's next on my list.  Once done, I can put all that in a file and let Tricia know where to find it.  All it would take is a few minutes to read and make any necessary updates.

It seems like the only thing the USPS delivers to the mailbox anymore is junk mail.  Some days we don't get any mail.  However, I walked out to the mailbox the other day and there was a letter from a local funeral home offering a free consultation and funeral planning discussion.  That seemed like the logical next step in getting the planning squared away regarding "kicking the bucket."

I arrived at the funeral home and a professionally dressed woman led me to a well-appointed room.  We sat behind a large wood desk, and she passed the following folder across to me.

She went over a whole lot of information, regarding my wishes.  What I learned is this: "Dying is a doggone expensive proposition!"  Look at some of the costs below:

$7,360 for just the service.  We put a placeholder in for the casket as an average price of $4,000.  I did not bring up with her the thought I had of making my own.  That would be an interesting woodworking project, but where would you store it?  Could it double as a coffee table?  What a conversation starter!  The casket cost does not include the cement vault.  The total goods and services comes to $13,055.  But wait... there's more.  This doesn't include the real estate that your remains will be deposited on.  Local plots run between $500 and $800.

But where to be laid to rest?  We do have a family cemetery in Oberlin by the farm.  I always told my wife and kids that I wanted to be laid to rest beneath the old elm tree in the back yard.  They always respond, "Dad, we don't have an elm tree."  Louisiana law requires that one must be buried in an established cemetery, so I guess that removes my composting in the back from consideration.

Thinking about death is very important from both a spiritual and financial standpoint, and it makes a lot of sense to plan.  I'll continue to fine tune the plans, but thinking about dying reminds me that it is important to think about living, too.  We don't know how much time is still in our hour glass.  I want to make sure that I make every day count.