There are several breakfast or coffee meetings in our area. They are usually comprised of the same core group with a few occasional stragglers that drop in. I have observed that politicians want to “test the water” by making a photo op and pretend to be interested in the ideas or conclusions of these “grass root” citizens. Excuse me if I don’t see the common sense of our coffee clatches reflected in the national debate and policy- we are usually befuddled by the actions of those we thought we elected to represent us. We have firm ideas and opinions on most things that were on the local news and can hardly wait for this political cycle to really fire up.
One of the wisest groups that I get to visit with once in a while is at the Susank elevator. Jeff, Don, Jake, Brian, Richard, Keith and their buddies usually have the politics corralled by the time I get there which isn’t often enough. A special time is when Jeff’s wife makes rye bread. That meeting lasts lots longer.
It doesn’t take long to get the politics settled, and then we get to the most important topics. There are brand new baby geese on Don’s pond-- more this year than we can recall. There is a fox with kits in a iron pile north of the elevator-- we watch them carefully as they grow and stress their mom by not being very careful about being out in public view. The weather tested the wheat harvest and the milo planting. We’ve had some storms and will have to get the adjuster to look things over. Where are the turkey polts? None of us have seen any turkey hens with babies. There are lots of turkeys, and it seems strange to not see them everywhere. Each man knows his ground, and will check for polts.
These meetings are a real part of our world and are woven into the fabric of our lives. If we never turned on the TV we would still have so much to discuss and do.  Kansas is a wonderful state of mind!