The flags outside my window today are waving to the south. As I write, a stiff northerly wind is making this Star Wars Day (May the 4th) chilly. The past couple of weeks have been particularly rainy in Missouri, and I keep checking the weather website for hope that it will end and the warmer weather will return.
Torrential rains have brought extreme flooding to many parts of the state over the last couple of weeks. Gov. Eric Greitens declared a state of emergency because of it. Hundreds of roads, both rural and urban, are impassable and closed. Honestly, we are all just waiting for the waters to recede.
Sometimes, if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. So, in the meantime and in honor of Star Wars Day (even though you’ll be reading this after the fact), here are some memorable quotes from the “Star Wars” movies that could double as humorous farmer flood philosophy.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” – Pick your character. What farmers feel when they see thunderheads in the distance.
“Your focus determines your reality.” – Qui-Gon Jinn. Focusing on the positive serves a person well. If we look at the situation through Qui-Gon’s filter, and focus on a positive outcome, farmers who have lost time, already-planted fields and livestock will bounce back, a little soggy but successfully.
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda. This one is a family favorite in my house. And true. If you do not start, there is no result, either way.
“In my experience, there is no such thing as luck.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi. For farmers, luck wears jeans and is disguised as hard work.
“Stay on target.” – Gold Five pilot. GPS-guided tractors will do this by themselves as seeds are planted, or replanted, in Missouri soil this spring. Farmers use it to remind themselves to stay the course.
In all seriousness, it will take weeks to recover from the flooding this days-long rain event has caused, and it won’t be an easy task. So, I’ll leave you with this: “A New Hope,” actually a title, the one that started it all. The weather website is calling for 70- and 80-degree temperatures and sunshine next week. It’s a beginning.
