Amber Waves of Grain

 Amber Waves of Grain

By Jon D. Vrana

As we quickly approach our nation’s 242nd and Nebraska’s 150^th birthdays, we should take a pause in our busy lives to recognize the many blessings that we have to be grateful. Through the hard blood, sweat, and tears of our nation’s farmers and ranchers, Americans benefit from the world’s most bountiful, diverse, and safe food supply.

As I drove down the highway, I looked to the south to a beautiful golden field of bearded wheat. With the timely rainfall and golden sunshine, the wheat stretched itself upward out of the rich, dark prairie soil, resulting in a large, full head of grain. I pulled the car over on the shoulder of the road and took some time to watch the combine harvest the wheat. The wheat straw was already being baled into small square bales that not too long ago, I helped my grandfather put up in the hay loft in his barn, way too many years to feel comfortable in saying. I can still remember how it felt to have the straw fall in the back of my tee shirt in 100+ weather. But the memory was worth it.

Next time you drive down the road with your eyes focused straight ahead on a “mission,” take a little time to slow down, look to your left and right (North and South, as they would say here in Nebraska) and appreciate the results of all of the hard work that our nation’s (and especially, Seward County’s) farmers and ranchers have done and continue to do to make our lives comfortable and plentiful in matters, physical and spiritual.

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea! 

Words by Katharine Lee Bates,

Melody by Samuel Ward