It certainly didn’t feel like the 13th of May with the cold wind and rain we received today. It seemed like a day where neither man nor beast ventured outside which gave me more time to continue on with my playing catch up with neglected duties. I even had to chase down a few people today and let them know I hadn’t forgotten about them. Perhaps after this weekend is over and possibly the first days of the coming week, I’ll be able to breath easier and move forward with the lesser items on my agenda. I found again today that haste does make waste. I was depositing some checks and coin into a bank account and discovered I’d mis-counted the coin by 5 cents. The teller said she’d make the change on the deposit slip but I said, “No! I’ll go out in my car and see if I can find the five cents.” I found a nickel and when delivering it to her I said, “We can’t possibly leave anyone to think I’ve mis-appropriated a nickel can we?” She laughed and said, “You nearly always have everything correct so I guess you have your reasons for being so precise.” While walking out I reminded myself that he who does nothing makes no mistakes.
It seems the promoters of the hog processing facility are back at it again with a petition for a re-vote on the City Council’s decision. I’m almost to the point of saying, “If people think one side or the other had an effect on the Council Members decision, then perhaps it should be put to a citywide vote and let the residents decide once and for all. I hope this is not going to create a precedence where if the Council votes on something in the future for or against, we’ll not be finding a backlash of people saying, “We’re getting a petition to make the Council change its mind.” Now don’t get me wrong about progress because it’s an ever-evolving and adapting entity to specific times and places. If Mason City were in the throes of economic death, then certainly all doors would be opened to any and all types of industry. Of course we’re not, and with that said, I do know that we live in an agricultural community and much of our industry is based on it. What I’d like to see, and I’ve mentioned it before, is to have more start-ups of natural food processors to where there’d be grain, milk, and livestock farmers gearing their operations toward supplying those newly formed factories. I’ll not back down from believing that in our future more of our general public will be steering away from purchasing food that’s been tainted with FDA “approved” chemicals and drugs. If those drugs and additives are either eaten by, or injected into those animals, it’ll end up in the meats we find on our local meat counters. Most don’t realize that many of those drugs and additives leave trace elements which are stored in animal fats. We can’t buy meat that’s 100% fat free, so I’d rather pay more for less than eat something tainted. I won’t be the least bit surprised if some day soon our scientists will discover that the growth hormones given to the animals we’re eating have affected the growth and development of children. I’m nearly convinced there is a crossing over from animals to humans that’s not being fully addressed. It makes me sad in knowing it’s all about greed, competition and corporate balance sheets. But as we all know, nothing remains the same in a world where we find ourselves changing directions for a very good reason.
