At the Farm Show, whether it be in the cow stalls, watching square dancing or scarfing down a pulled pork sandwich, I'm thinking that I should have been a farmer.
I've had a few jobs. Started out as a salt miner, loading dynamite into holes about 2,000 feet under Lake Erie. Was nearly killed the first day on the job when a timber fell on my head. Yep, that answers a lot of questions, doesn't it?
Was a gold miner in Nevada, shoveling muck until my back didn't work anymore. Worked in a friend's deli and learned that pastrami will never again touch my lips. Was a sports editor in Indiana where they take high school basketball very seriously and in California, where nothing is. Graded grain for Pillsbury and watched corn, wheat and beans being loaded in a huge ship and floated overseas.
They were learning experiences. Most taught me that if I didn't make it in my chosen occupation, I could always go back to salt mining. Now, that's incentive.
But a farmer's life has always intrigued me. Working outdoors in the fresh air (some people might question that). Raising animals and growing crops. Being my own boss.
But whenever I'm feeling that I missed my calling (mostly during the York Fair and Farm Show week), I visit my good friends Leroy and Joyce Bupp. After watching them for about an hour, the feeling goes away and I'm heading back to the office at warp speed.
Yep, outdoor air at -6 degrees in February and 105 with smelly cows and pigs in July. Animals with more medical problems than most octogenarians. Daily decisions that could cost me a house and farm. Farm work is about as tough as it comes. And -- good grief! -- waking before the sun.
I'm a farmer for two weeks a year, and that's just about right.
The pictures above were both taken using the same technique, slowing the shutter and panning in the direction of the action to create a blur all around the main subject. It shows action in a still picture.
Laurie Enders, 8, center, of Armstrong County and the rest of her "Squares on Fire" square dance troupe, showoff their skills at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
Trinity Gillogly, 4, of Lancaster rides on the merry-go-round inside the Pennsylvania State Farm Show
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