Thank God for Big Spring, Texas…
by Dr. David Currie We are absolutely, completely, totally, flat broke. That is not to say that we don't have food in the fridge, cattle in the pasture, or a roof over our head. That is to say that you won't see us at the golf course, marina or any choice vacation spots in the near future. Truth is, we stopped vacationing years ago, and we never golfed. We have been so busy working on the new farmhouse for the past 3 years, that we haven't had time to notice the lack of vacations, the lack of money, or the general lack of time.
We did slow down this week to take a good look around and think about the things we are thankful for not just this week but everyday of every week. First and foremost, we are thankful for being in America. We are very thankful for our President… in case you haven't yet noticed that he is a great President, open your eyes and hearts. It is perfectly acceptable to feel good about a President… and it is perfectly all right to feel good about your nation helping to defeat tyrannical madmen who subjugate and torture people in foreign countries; it is perfectly acceptable to be glad that the hand of terrorism has been turned away from American soil. We are thankful and proud of those in the armed forces who choose to make continuing sacrifices to guarantee the unparalleled freedoms enjoyed by people in this country.
As economic indicators show continuing improvement, we thank those of you who buy American Made. We thank those of you who tolerate the strange looks you receive when you ask store clerks for American Made. We thank the store clerks who promote sales of American Made products first. We thank the contractors and tradesmen who were patient while we searched for American Made supplies and hardware during the construction of the farmhouse. And, of course, we thank the people who make all that are American Made. We thank those who recognize that a service-based economy, without a strong manufacturing base, cannot support a population of one quarter billion people. We commend those who recognize that people of other nations by products made in their home country to support their home economy.
We thank the good people in Big Spring, TX, who built the lightning protectors that prevented the farmhouse from burning up during the last major lightning storm. We thank the good folks in Loudon, TN, for the steel beams that hold up our house. We thank the good people of Plainville, CT, for the electrical fittings throughout our home. We thank the people at Southwire for miles and miles of American-made wire. We thank the good folks in Oklahoma City for the pumps that get our water out of the ground, those in Phoenix who built the products that filter the water, those in Illinois who built the products that soften the water, and the good people in Tennessee who built the products that heat the water. We thank the Americans working at Delta for the faucets that deliver the water. The list is endless.
When we look around the farmhouse, which is nearing completion after 3 years of construction, we see everywhere American made craftsmanship and quality. Often, we felt like we had to fight to find American Made, occasionally we were falsely led to believe that we would have to pay more for American Made (see us in 25 years when all of our American Made products are still working), and more than once, we had to search great distances to find actual American Made products from companies which produce only a fraction of their products in America. When our time comes to pass, we hope to leave this American Made home as a getaway for our daughters, and possibly even our grandchildren.
And finally, we are enjoying the near 20 degree weather… while we have 5 furnaces; the only one currently running is our England Wood Works wood furnace, made in Monroe, Virginia. Recommended for homes up to 3000 square feet, this American Made wood furnace is currently heating 4500 square feet… and doing so with relative ease. Of course, we have a lot of hickory, locust and oak to burn (we only burn trees that die or fall in severe weather). England Wood Works provided us with great technical support and information before we purchased the furnace. The model we chose has a 9 cubic foot firebox that easily holds 8-12 hours worth of wood (we've run it up to 21 hours on a single load of wood), a massive ash pan that only needs to be emptied every 2 days, and a child safe air jacket… the blower is factory pre-set to 125 degrees. American Made… Made Best! Dr. W. David Currie |
