Gramps
Mayor
There was a family who jointly farm a big spread in Minneota. It was predominantly overseen by two brothers who were getting along in years but were not getting along as a family. The problem got worse and finally neither of them would talk to the other but they managed to keep things running by using the elder man's wife as a go-between. I was a guest for dinner and was amazed how the two of them transmitted their messages to one another via the lady-of-the-house method -- one of those "you tell him" and "you can tell him" affairs that added some mystique to the meal. Later in the evening I asked my friend who'd invited me to dinner (he was a grandson to one of the elders) what that was all about and he explained that it had been that way for forty years, he never actually knew what triggered it, but his grandpa and great uncle just did converse. I was amazed that the relationship had survived that long. A couple of years later the woman died. The two brothers sold the farm and moved to different locations, still not having spoken to one another. It was a real lesson to me about keeping open all lines of communication. I weighed the pros and cons of their lifestyle and decided they wasted too much precious time dickering with one another through an interpretor. Perhaps we could all learn a lesson because there might come a time when we will really need one another to overcome some outside wrecking crew whose decided to take our house apart.
Gramps
Gramps
