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Ralph Feller of Caldwell, Idaho, once stated he had never seen a truck with too big an engine or too much brakes. He had his own fleet of potato and cattle-hauling trucks. He started out with F-600 and F-800 series Fords, with tag axles and fifth-wheel hitch, pulling 38- and 40-foot-long semi trailers.

Minneapolis-Moline gave us several other mechanical innovations still in use today. I have often thought about what the agricultural equipment industry would look like today if Minn-Mo, Allis-Chalmers and especially Oliver were still in business.

Yer lookin’ at a feller with no tennis shoes, a ’76 GMC pickup, an outhouse and a learning permit for a cellphone. But, lest you lump me into that group of stodgy ol’ dinosaurs who cling to the days of Garth Brooks, pygmy Angus and real spare tires, let me assure you I have stepped boldly into the modern world of manly footwear.

Clichés we should drop from our everyday speech might include, “It is what it is.” I actually used that in an email today and thought, “That’s a stupid statement.” It’s a five-word waste of breath, a 16-character waste of keystrokes. Of course it is what it is – what else would it be?

Early January. Most of the country is concerned with things like, “Did the water to the house or cattle freeze up last night? Will it freeze tonight?”

It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well, but I was running late. I had to make the 230-mile drive to the Salt Lake airport to catch a flight to Dallas on my way to Tulsa.