Fun in Tobacco Fields

I never was one to want to get my hands and nails dirty in the soil and I hated to squat and sow in the plowed rows. But, I always love to see the fields as the crops grow and to watch the farmers as they work to reap the harvest. Surprisingly to many of you, however, I did help my brother-in-law in tobacco: I handed the leaves to the loopers until I discovered my allergies to the sticky substance in the leaves and I began to form rashes on my arms. Then the fun began: my brother-in-law put me on the tractor and I pulled the slides full of tobacco leaves from the fields to the barn where the ladies and the small children worked/played. After I dropped off the full slide, I would then attach the slide which the workers had emptied and I would pull it back to the tobacco field where the primers used Rhody, the faithful though somewhat stubborn mule, to pull the slide through the rows upon rows of ripening tobacco. And the process would begin all over again. At lunch, we would stop, gather at my brother-in-law's parents' house for a wonderful meal. Mrs Lena would set up huge tables filled with several meats, vegetables, desserts, and homemade biscuits! After a brief break, we would go back to work for a few more hours. Usually, we would finish for the day by 2:00 PM. I loved it! (Well, starting to work before 5:00 AM was not too much fun but once there, I loved it). I miss those days (but mostly, I miss my brother-in-law who passed away 3 years ago).

Now that tobacco growing is almost gone and what is left is much more sophisticated, people don't even know how it once was. As for me, I'm still enjoying it, in a vicarious way. I am now an avid farmer on Facebook, a program called FarmTown (there are other similar farming programs also available, such as Farmville and Barn Buddies); I love buying, plowing, planting, harvesting, and selling my products. I have 15 neighbors/friends who will harvest and plow for me; I pay them "Coins" so they can keep their farms going too. Believe me this is addictive. It also gives you the opportunity to witness to others. You can go to the market and be hired out by other farmers; in fact, I went to one farm that had crops planted in the design of the Cross. They are Christian pastors/laymen who witness as you work. Other farmers may show their faith in other ways. And, on Facebook, you are able to identify your religious preferences and, thereby, connect with other believers.

Oh, how our world has changed, much of which is good; yet, much of the simpler way of life with the dependence upon our Maker, is gone. That's upsetting. Let's always keep our Lord first in all that we do.