Beauty in resilience
A reflection and tip of the hat, by Ethan Goff
The Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Grasshopper Plague of (18)’74. An industry born through hardship. And as is life, trials evolved as the years carried on. Monopolistic entities, market crashes, environmental disasters, and blockages of water body straights. Yet, countrysides reveal fertile ground of thriving crops.
Norman Borlaug, Justus Von Liebig, Hariet Williams Russell Strong. Pioneers of tribulation, endurance, toil; innovators forgotten, resourced daily without knowing. Albeit, knowing their contributions would have lasting impacts.
Green lush wheat that waves in a Midwest wind. A red tailgate that will serve as a family dinner table in the middle of a hay field late June. An orange sunset that dims out yet another day of hard work, and an orange sunrise that will follow the next dawn. For that same wheat crop who lasted through a late March frost. The tailgate that’s held together with bailing twine and memories. A sunset that provides an end, and a sunrise that brings new opportunities.
Homesteads that once housed a family of eight, now sit vacant on a rotting foundation. Wooden barns where hay was stacked from a dirt floor to ceiling for livestock, is now a field marker. A tractor that was once used to plow dirt, is now a pasture ornament. All still standing, providing their own stories in time.
A testament to those before us, around us, and ahead of us.
Beauty’s always been in the eye of the beholder.