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Priorities, discipline, and hard work are qualities that helped me to succeed in college and in all of my life’s aspirations.  I have always been a goal setter:  I set daily, weekly, yearly, and long term goals.  If my goals are not met, they get transferred to the next day, week, year until they are accomplished or re-evaluated.  After completing four years of college at UCLA, I interviewed for a position as an Orientation Counselor and was chosen from a pool of 500 candidates.  This was an honor and was a lot of fun,as well as, a huge responsibility.  One of my many responsibilities was to teach a seminar about “How to Succeed in College”.  Success requires work and being conscientious.  It requires a plan and a focus on that plan.  Recently, I got together with a group of friends from UCLA whom I had not seen in decades.  Every person in my group was successful.  We all shared a common bond of hard work, dedication, and passion for a good life.    John Wooden, a former basketball coach at UCLA, devised a “pyramid for success” http://www.coachwooden.com/pyramid-of-success .  One character trait that I would add to his pyramid is perseverance.  This requires hanging in there even though the task is difficult.  It is worth it if the goal is noble and you are giving your best effort.

People who “sponge” have all the time in the world to waste your productivity with excessive talking.  “Sponges” have been around for millennia.  Ralph Moody describes one in his autobiography, Little Britches.  “Then she told me (Ralph) that smart men like her father never did have to work hard, because they knew the world owed them a living and there were easier ways to get it than doing hard work.  Charles Moody, the hard working rancher responds to his son, “Don’t you ever talk to that girl again…There are only two kinds of men in this world:  Honest men and dishonest men.  There are black men and white men and yellow men and red men, but nothing counts except whether they’re honest men or dishonest men.  Some men work almost entirely with their brains; some almost entirely with their hands, though most of us have to use both.  Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest.  The same God that made you and me made this earth.  And He planned it so that it would yield every single thing that the people on it need.  But He was careful to plan it so that it would only yield up its wealth in exchange for the labor of man.  Any man who tries to share in that wealth without contributing the work of his brain or his hands is dishonest.”  Dishonest men are tricky and skilled at saying one thing (they are persuasively confident), but in their heart they mean something exactly the opposite.  They are two faced people who cannot be trusted and are not your friend.

“Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.” Proverbs 20:17 ESV

Recently, our kitchen has been filling up with imported Italian products.  We enjoy buying the imported Italian pasta, pizza Marguerita and Sicilian pizza, an Italian Parmesan cheese wedge, Italian wine from Trader Joe’s, and delicious Panetone and GMO free Italian butter from Costco.  My family does not have inflammatory reactions when consuming these products and they taste, smell, and look delicious.  I have confirmed this with friends who have traveled to Italy who are able to eat foods in Italy that normally cause inflammation in America.  It seems Italians take great pride in their farming and food production.  Italy leads Europe by having the highest number of organic farms and the most acreage of organic farms since 1998.  Thank you Italy for producing truly good food!

Early in my teaching career on a public school campus, a seasoned co-worker leaned over my shoulder on the way to a staff meeting and whispered, “Did you notice that the school ran fine without the Principal present?”  He was right.  Fortunately, the principal at the time ( a former teacher for 30 years), did not interfere much with the teachers during his tenure.  The younger, inexperienced Principals, however, repeatedly caused school wide disruptions and divisions.  A quote from a wonderful family book made by an early American rancher has much wisdom.

“Always remember, Son, the best boss is the one who bosses least.  Whether it is cattle, or horses, or men, the least government is the best government.”  Charles Moody from Little Britches:  Father and I Were Ranchers

The framers of our United States Constitution also had this in mind.  The laws are straightforward to ensure liberty for all.  The Constitution is not complicated and not many pages long.  If the law is obeyed, liberty is secured.  If the laws in the Constitution are not obeyed, it is like they don’t exist and liberty is lost.

While Paul the apostle was a prisoner in Rome, when Nero was emperor, he wrote an outline for government.  The bottom line of this passage is that the government is to protect citizens from evil.  His outline in Romans 13 is a description for a perfect government–one that loves its citizens because it honors the God of the Bible and creation above all else by obeying His word.

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” Romans 13:1-7 ESV

We are growing beets, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, broccoli, multiple varieties of lettuce, rhubarb, celery, parsley, carnival carrots, and Swiss chard.  We are also planning to plant onion and Allstar strawberries.

We began sprouting in September.  Some of the sprouts (beets, lettuce, carrots, and cauliflower were transplanted into “mommy’s garden in early October.  Within 24 hours they had vanished.  Those little roly poly (pill bugs) ate them all.  We are starting to sprout from square one again in October.  Our plan is to build foil tents around each sprout to prevent them from being eaten.

Our soil in the entire yard is being prepared for spring planting.  Currently, we have cardboard lying on top of the soil.  We have spread leaves and straw on top of the cardboard.  We plan to add manure and compost topped with wood chips.  Our “lower 40” is littered with branches from fruit tree pruning using the permaculture philosophy of “chop and drop”.  We have also used top soil in the past with excellent results.

6-Piece Chicken Dunks:  Provided by Oscar Mayer, Kraft, Absopure, Kool-AID, Pringles, Hershey’s

Label ingredients from the box given to the student:

Water:  Spring Water
Fully cooked breaded nugget:  shaped chicken patties-(Nugget shaped chicken patties):
Patties:  white chicken, water, potassium lactate, potassium lactate,  modified corn starch, contains less than 2% of salt, potassium chloride, dextrose, sodium phosphates, carrageenan, sodium diacetate, lemon juice solids, flavor.  Breading:  wheat flour, destrose, yellow corn flour, modified corn starch, wheat gluten, egg whites, whey (from milk), spices, caramel color, salt, paprika (color), onion powder, extractive of paprika, celery seed extract  Batter:  bleached wheat flour, food starch-modified, yellow corn flour, dextrose, flavor, garlic powder, extractives of paprika, MSG, caramel color  Seasoning blend:  enriched wheat flour, enriched with niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enriched bleached wheat flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), tapioca dextrin, modified corn starch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, soybean oil (as a processing aid), spices, spice extractive, extractives of celery seed (browned in soybean oil).  Contains wheat, eggs, milk  Ranch Dipping Sauce: water, soybean oil, corn syrup, distilled vinegar, cultured buttermilk (nonfat milk solids, culture), egg yolks, food starch (modified), sugar, salt, whey protein concentrate, parmasean cheese (pasteurized, part skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), buttermilk powder, romano cheese, (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt enzymes), xantham gum, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate (preservatives), lactic acid, propylene glycol, alginate, garlic powder, onion powder, disodium inosinate,  and disodium guanylate, sodium acid sulfate, spices (contains celery seed), phosphoric acid, polysorbate 60, calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor), natural flavor.  Contains eggs, milk  Barbecue Sauce:  high fructose corn syrup, vinegar, tomato paste, water, molasses, apple cider vinegar, modified corn starch, salt, contains less than 2% hickory smoke flavor, mustard flour, dried garlic, potassium sorbate (to preserve freshness), spice, dried onions, paprika, caramel color Potato Crisps:  dried potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following:  corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, and/or sunflower oil), corn flour, wheat starch, maltodextrin, salt, rice flour, and dextrose.  Contains wheat, milk  Chocolate Kisses:  milk chocolate (cane sugar, milk chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural flavor.  Contains milk soy Tropical Punch Artifical Flavored Soft Drink Mix:   sugar, fructose, citric acid (provides tartness), contains less than 2% of natural and artificial flavor, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), vitamin E, acetate, calcium phosphate (prevents caking), acesulfame potassium, and sucralose (sweetener), artificial color, red 40, blue1, BHA (preserves freshness).

This “artificial” lunch is full of chemicals, colors, flavorings, and preservatives concocted in food labs.  Here is my idea for school lunch ingredients:  organic chicken from a whole cooked chicken, gravy made with chicken drippings, flour, butter, salt, milk, baked potato with real butter and raw cheddar cheese, grass fed cow milk, and a side green salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Simple, nutritive, real food that is delicious!

“How do we make the change?”  Joel Salatin  http://www.polyfaces.com/trailer-english/