Do They Still Exist?

 Do you remember these guys?

Some one sparked a memory....

When I was a freshman in High Scruel, I joined the FFA.  When you did that, a series of events unfolded that can only be described as professional hazing.  Lots of memorization was required in the FFA.  That emblem above figures into it.....  "The plow signifies..... the owl represents.....  The ear of corn is a symbol of...."   Had to be word perfect.

On a certain Monday, you were to appear at school, dressed as a girl, or guy if you were a girl.  You had to put some effort into it.  I was about the homliest girl in four counties.  We learned quick to stay in a bunch.  Like zebras, if you got too far from the herd, you'd get pawed all over.  It was crazy.

After enduring that mess all day, you had a night meeting of the FFA chapter at the ag barn.  All current members were there as were the teachers and loads of parents.  It was a torture fest. 

We were barefoot in tee shirts, and blindfolded during this entire quest.  We were led by a guide.  I was directed onto some wooden steps then....  into a trough of ice water up to mid thigh and yelled at to start quoting the stuff we'd been memorizing.  "Stop, you missed a word, start over!!!!"  No one got farther than a sentence or two into it.  I think I was in there for forty two hours.

Out of the water and then you crawled through a tunnel with pieces of liver and other organ meat hanging down in it.  Blindfolded, with slimy stuff oozing over your face, hearing the noise and shouts and yells, and sometimes screams and laughter and.... man it was a mental overload if there ever was one.

I was put in a squeeze chute, my blindfold was barely lifted and before me were two oil pans.  One had sheep dookey in it, the other was full of cow manure.  When a cow is on grass their poop is like green soup.  That was in the pan.  There was a big serving spoon in each one.  "Take your pick, make it quick, or you'll get them both."  I choose the sheep crap, the blindfold came down and I got a mouth full.....  of raisins.  My buddy took the soup and got nasty spinach.... 

Two long 2x8s were laid out with cow manure dripping off the sides and piled high.  Blindfold up and you were given an egg.  "Hands and knees bub, keep the egg between the boards, push with your nose, and keep your hands outside the boards.   GO!!!!!"  Covered in manure, it was all over me by that time I got to the end.  I never minded cow manure, like the smell and I knew it would wash off.  Pig plop was just foul and dangerous.

The one that freaked me out......  gravy, still gives me chills.  I was put up on one of our work tables.  My feet were off the floor a good two feet.  They lifted my blindfold, and under my feet was a board with nails poking up.  16 penny nails with all kinds of blood and meat in between them.  I bet there was a hundred nails on that thing pointing in all directions.  The blindfold went down, and a couple seconds later, I was pushed off the table.......  and onto a pile of corn flakes.  I about passed out.... 

There was lots more, but those stood out to me.  I survived it and won EARNED the right to wear this:

My town wasn't Roosevelt

 

 Next morning I woke up with a crippling headache.  I could hardly move.  I had that headache for four solid days.... and I was bedfast the rest of the week.  Saturday, it started to fade some, but was still difficult to function with.  Sensory overload, I guess....

 Different times man....  Way different than now.  

AAR  (After Action Report) *

I look back on that, and I'm proud to have made it to the end.  I didn't realize how important that little life lesson was to me.  I learned there was more to me than I even knew.  Found some limits I didn't know I had, too.  

The hard times we are facing now are just like that hazing.  We don't know what to expect, and likely, will be different than what we plan for.

Time blindfolds us to the future.  We can't accurately see ahead.  So, we have to trust our Guide to get us to the next step.

There is depth to us that we don't know.  IF we grit our teeth and resolve to do what it takes to make it.

There will be hidden limitations that we will find out about.  Hard stops that we don't pass over, and they may be surprising.  

Going Forward Intentionally

Make your mind up now that you are in this for the long haul.  Set your hard limits before they are tested.  You don't want to wind up saying, "I should have stopped that before it went too far."  I'm positive we'll have enough of those regardless of planning anyway.  Minimize them by planning what you can now.

Keep a notebook with an index - bullet journal (one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do)

Lessons learned - so you don't have to relearn them

Supply cache locations - my reading list on the right and left panes

Learn new techniques and skills - never know till you try.

* You do study things after you go through them, right?  It's a habit worth learning.  I started by telling my family what happened during the day.  That gave me a chance to remember and my mind always came up with something as a result.  This blog and commenting helps me now that I'm solitary.

 

Bullet Journal Tutorial