OK, so you are in a contest and you studied very hard. It was livestock judging and you wanted to place in the top five in the area and go to state so badly you could almost taste it! But you didn't win. You didn't even place in the top 10.The judge in the sheep reasons stared at his text on his cell phone the whole time you were giving reasons. Is that why you lost? You can react one of two ways if you're a high school student – resolve to come back and study…

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As noted in previous columns, I turned 60 years old last week. I usually enjoy when birthdays roll around, but this one made me think. And while I was, in reality, only one day older, I felt years older. It's all is a matter of perspective. Does getting older just mean more aches and pains, or does it mean you can demonstrate the wisdom you've learned from hard lessons along the way? After all, a good friend of mine, who reached 60 before I did, told me last week that when…

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If you're reading this before April 9, I'm almost 60. If you're reading it after April 9, I'm already 60. I'll probably feel more or less the same, no matter when you read this. But there's something about going over that hump that makes one pause and reflect. Last week I interviewed three people whose parents I interviewed 20 or more years ago. That starts to put things in perspective. People I'm talking to now were teenagers or young kids when I started this…

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Do you remember the Windex commercials of a few years ago where the housewife got the patio door glass shiny clean? Two talking birds, imagine that – only in a commercial – are gloating about how the door is finally open and they can swoop into the house. One takes off and barrels toward the window. He hits the glass and bounces off. The point, of course, was that the window was so clean that he thought it wasn't there. This is also the time of year when you're likely…

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Joy McClain writes a column called Joy's Reflections in Indiana Prairie Farmer. If you're a guy, you probably figure it's just for women and don't read it. You don't know what you're missing. Joy is starting to get requests to speak to ag groups, and there's a reason why. The stories she relates, often personal stories, hit home whether you're a man or a woman. Without totally giving away her column, here's an example that will appear in the April…

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If you don't think a three-year old can outwit you once in a while, then you don't know many three-year olds. Even before they're out of diapers, they understand enough about what's going on to say things you only wish you had thought of. Or maybe you thought of it and didn't say it. You've got to be pretty smart to stay ahead of savvy youngsters. Graham is our three-year-old going-on-thirty grandson. He loves tractors, trucks, toy or real, big or small &ndash…

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What's that country song say? If you're going through Hell, just keep on going, maybe you'll get out before the Devil even knows you're there? It doesn't work if 'Hell' is a soft barn lot and you've got a truck without four-wheel drive. Just keep on going and you'll just get really stuck! The foot of snow around central and southern Indiana melted. After the snow came heavy rain – about 3 inches in three major events over 24 hours. I had to clean…

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Whoever dreamed up the little guy in the black suit that falls off roofs, through roofs, throws rocks into picture windows with a lawnmower and creates all other kinds of "mayhem," all in the name of a commercial for car insurance, ought to get a bonus. Obviously, it works. It's hard to forget Allstate Insurance and the phrase "avoid mayhem like me." Everybody has some mayhem in their life at one point or another. Sometimes we're prepared, sometimes we're…

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I avoid 'chick flicks' at all costs. If I'm going to pay $8 or more for a movie ticket, I want the drama of a James Bond thriller like Skyfall, or a historical drama like Lincoln, two of the best movies I've seen in a while. Despite my aversion to sappy movies, something about Christmas drew me in to watching movies with my wife and daughters on the Hallmark Channel. For the entire month of December they run Christmas movies non-stop. Some are off the wall silly about…

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I must preface this by saying I've watched probably two dozen sappy Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel with the family over the past two weeks. This is not because anyone forced me to – they have a certain charm, especially at this time of year. That's true even though the plots are predictable and the facts are sometimes stretched just a tad. There's usually a message about love of one form or another, maybe several forms, and some hope and inspiration in there if…

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