Compensation

FTLComm - Tisdale - Thursday, September 20, 2001

This morning's dreary sky, the declining temperature, the morbid West wind all should contribute to a rather depressed feeling but that is not the case. The sky's monotony merely sets off the wonderful array of colour display from one end of town to the other and indeed throughout all the country side. Fall colours are as cherished as the appearance of green in the spring both signal change, both evoke memories and promises, hopes and perhaps even dreams. This morning as I left Hannigans after breakfast I met a friend and asked him about the absence of smoke from the West of town (Dehydration plant). He explained that they ran out of alfalfa two weeks ago, he said it was a bad year and there were no bales to do. As a field machine operator he said they only got a total of 800 hours this year. The poor rainfall certainly affected yields and in an agricultural community that is a major concern, but I am certain that as the talk over coffee continues someone will explain eloquently how another factor will balance that off. Just looking at my friend, who looked healthy and rested I can see that gaunt drawn look he had of other years was not there so perhaps working less time was hard on the income side but for he and his family his health certainly seems to have enjoyed the less stressful summer. We are all hopeful beings and with every negative intrusion into our lives we will always endeavor and strive to find a silver lining somewhere in the midst of confusion and sometimes deep despair Timothy W. Shire