Post Thanksgiving Tryptophan Overload

Hey There David!

Dave from McElhoes Family Farm/Belmont here.

How did it ever get to be December already!?

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, and I hope, too, that you had time for reflection and thankfulness.

After the hustle of cooking two Thanksgiving Dinners to accommodate, differing family schedules, I finally had a few moments to sit quietly on Sunday evening. As I reflected on family and friends, I thought also of those that had not been here, separated by either distance or death. They remain with me, and I am especially thankful for that.

As I sat in my chair, pretending to read, I was really contemplating that which makes us human and thus special. With all the hype and push for the latest and greatest machine - Artificial Intelligence - I find myself even more resistant to "The Machine" than I normally have always been. Not out of ignorance or anger, but in defense of simply being human.

Some time ago, Herrick Kimball (whom I have mentioned before), blogging over at Heavenstretch, recommended the writings of Howard Douglas King. I had to go look it up, but a quote from one of his works came to mind and I wanted to share it with you.

"The biggest problem with the family is that it is a system of personal
relationships. It is a unit whose members tend to take a special
interest in each other, to be loyal to each other, to provide for each
other. Ideally, in a technological society, each person must have only
one loyalty — to his own temporal interests. That way, he can be
precisely controlled without resorting to force. He will infallibly
pursue what he perceives to be in his best interests, and that
perception will be infallibly predetermined by the technocrats who
control the schools and the mass media." -Howard Douglas King

As my inbox is screaming at me with an overwhelming cacophony of AI generated demands that I support the "technological society", I cannot help but to pull back. In this season, as I am planning next years crops, which I admittedly would like to sell, I feel humanity is being, has been drawn into a system where the profit outweighs the craftsmanship - indeed outweighs the craftsman. The suffering to humans is from the adulteration of life itself. I question just what it is we are living for. My answer is family. The human family by extension.

I'm going to get out of your inbox now. I need to quit writing this newsletter on Sunday nights so I am not so doggone philosophical. Some might say maudlin. Sorry. I'll try to do better next week.

I do promise to do my best to raise and grow the best food I know how.

I do that for my family, and for you, rather than for strictly financial reasons.

Still, I gotta eat.

Thanks for Listening,

Dave