60 years of Innovation

– C.C. Hoffman

Entrepreneurship is not only an American trait, but it certainly is one that seems to be more prevalent here than in other parts of the world. Independence, self-reliance, and necessity have often combined in the heartland to produce a myriad of products, ideas, and innovations that have contributed to the advancement of industry, economy, and our country.

The story of Vittetoe, Inc. is one such story here in our backyard. The almost 60 year history of this endeavor is replete with examples of innovative thinking, development, and overcoming challenges to not only survive, but also to thrive.

It begins in the 1960s just outside of Keota. Here, Francis Vittetoe needed flooring to elevate hogs off the floor. Getting the hogs up accomplishes two things: first, it gets the animals up and out of floor litter, waste, and other materials that can lead to health issues; second, it allows waste products to filter below which in turn makes it easier to clean. Not only did Francis need this for himself, but his neighbors were looking for a solution to the same problems.

Francis developed a wood and metal based flooring system allowed the individual floor boards to be easily replaced/removed when necessary, but also solved the elevation and cleaning issue. He did this in a garage (as many good products got there start) and grew from there. Soon, many in the area were using Vittetoe’s flat flooring system. Manufactured entirely locally, the endeavor began to grow quickly. The business incorporated in 1965 and started manufacturing more flooring systems.

The following decade, Francis’ son David took over. Eventually to be joined by his brother Bernard. At this time, Vittetoe’s began researching new materials for their flooring systems. While wood was a good and cheap option, it had one problem. It tended to decay rapidly, especially as the numbers of animals on a given farm continued to increase over the years. This lead to steel being chosen to construct the entire floor system. At first this was a carbon steel, but was to be replaced by stainless later. Regardless of the materials, the flooring continued to be manufactured on site just south of Keota.

The next decade (mid 1970s to mid 1980s) saw the business continue to grow in floor manufacturing. More people were employed (both full and part time), and processes were refined. During this time the company also began selling other products essential to raising pork (watering units, fixtures, heaters, and the like). It was the mid 1980s that would see then next big change for Vittetoe Inc.

You see, while the family was running the hog flooring business, they were also still farming their own land. And, as things are wont to do, changes happened in how grain was harvested. The new crop of combines worked great for getting the crops out, but they had a problem. They tended to leave chaff in large piles behind the machine. These piles caused problems during harvest and then the next spring. Being predisposed to innovation, the Vittetoes began developing a combine attachment that would spread the chaff evenly.

After research and development, they came up with the Vittetoe Chaff Spreader. Research included developing ways to attach to most of the popular brands of combines. They took the product to market mainly through implement dealers and soon were selling a number of units every year. Thousands of spreaders were manufactured during the 1990s and 2000s, but eventually the feature was added to most major brands as an internal component. However, Vittetoe’s still manufacture the attachment and sell it regularly to this day.

The early 1990s also saw the company join forces with a building company. This has allowed Vittetoe Inc. to offer turn-key hog operations since 1993. Here, you can tell the company the size and type of operation (farrow, finish, both, etc), and they will develop the plans, build the appropriate buildings, and outfit them with necessary and desired features so that you need only bring the animals to start producing pork! In the early years, those operations were on the order of 40 crates or so, but over time the operations they produce have grown to 1000 crates in size or greater.

Along the way, they also have developed other product lines such as Show Stopper Equipment, Friesen Seed Handling Equipment, KSI Conveyors, and EPS buildings. Show Stopper might be the most recognized of these. This line of products was put together to help livestock showers display their animals. Vittetoe’s provide everything from harness, leads, and grooming equipment to their own line of manufactured groom tables, gating, and shoots.

Today, Vittetoe’s is still a vibrant and varied business. David and Bernard are semi-retired and the third generation of the family is working their way into the business with Todd, who manages the daily operations. They employ 30-35 people full and parttime and actively support their community in many ways.

The retail store is open to the public Monday through Thursday 7:30 am to 5 pm and Friday 7:30 am to 3 pm. You can also shop and purchase online at their website www.vittetoe.com. The store is located at 2112 Keokuk-Washington Rd., Keota, IA 52248.

Dixie Shipley & Delta Grocery

April 15th, 1962 was just like any other day for Dixie Shipley. Every day of the work week, Dixie would drive to Oskaloosa for her office job at an overall factory. On this particular April day, her life would completely change. Returning home from Oskaloosa, her husband Melvin, better known as Tobe, announced to her that, “You don’t have to drive to Oskaloosa to work anymore; I bought the grocery store for you.” It was a bit of a shock for her as she said, “I didn’t know I minded driving to Oskaloosa to work.” She wasn’t too upset though and put in her notice at the factory, joining her husband in owning and operating the Delta Grocery, which she has done ever since.

Fortunately, the grocery store wasn’t the young couple’s first introduction to owning a business. They had already owned a restaurant in Delta, which had two locations between 1959 and 1967. Tobe also ran a clock shop from 1967 until 2001, so they were certainly capable of running and maintaining a business.

Prior to their business ventures, they started dating between Dixie’s junior and senior years in high school. One night, while walking to a pizza parlor after their shift as carhops, Tobe pulled up in his car and offered to give Dixie and her friends a ride to their destination. Dixie and Tobe began dating after that. They were married a year later in December of 1961 and were the owners of the Delta Grocery just six months after marriage. Tobe passed away in 2001, and Dixie has continued to run the grocery ever since.

Owning a grocery store wasn’t all that Dixie had her hands on. She spent 24 years as a substitute mail carrier for the post offices at both Eldon and Sigourney. Tobe spent his time at the clock shop at the back of the grocery store or in Sigourney painting signs for businesses. He also painted freehand designs for demolition vehicles and did some oil painting; the Delta covered bridge being his most popular subject matter.

Over the years Dixie has seen many changes inside and outside of her store. When she first started, all of the inventory was delivered. Today, only Little Debbie, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper makes deliveries. Because of that, she has to restock her inventory on Sunday afternoons before opening at 4pm. She has also seen changes in the kinds of things she has sold over the years. There weren’t any electronics sold in 1962, hunting and fishing licenses, lottery tickets, nor were there credit cards to pay with. All of those things are common in today’s grocery stores. Dixie has seen plenty of change on the outside of her walls as well. The elementary school closed years ago in 1974, the bank closed its doors in 1988, and the post office said goodbye to Delta in 2008. One of the bigger blows to Dixie was the loss of the bank. When it was open, she would pop in to make deposits and get quarters for change. Now, without a bank in town (and one that was right across the street) Dixie is forced to close the grocery if she needs to travel to one.

One thing that makes her grocery store so unique is all of the things that grab the attention of visitors. Dixie enjoys collecting Christmas gifts, salt and pepper shakers, and miniature lighthouses, among all of the other treasures she has collected over the years. She has an entire aisle dedicated to her personal collections, which are not for sale. She is an avid collector of Delta memorabilia and has a display case of various Delta treasures. She also keeps her wedding album in the store and is more than happy to allow anyone to look through her memories.

She is on a first name basis with all of her regular customers; many come in to grab a snack but also to say hi and check on her. Dixie says that a lot of her customers are from the area and quite a few are residents of Delta. She also catches travelers on their way between Ottumwa and Waterloo.

If Dixie has any thoughts of retirement, she hasn’t indicated them yet. When asked about her future plans, she said, “I guess I don’t really know. I just take one day at a time.” As a young girl she always “figured I would just work for somebody local”. She never imagined that she would be working for herself. Looking back at her life as a grocery store owner, Dixie says, “I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done and the people that I’ve met have been very special to me.” As long as she has customers, it’s inconceivable that Dixie will ever close the Delta Grocery.

Delta Grocery
101 N Center Street
Delta, Iowa 52550
(641) 624-2080
Hours: Sun 4pm-6pm; Mon-Sat 8 am-6pm

Photos: Jacob Glandon
Video available at https://youtu.be/ipELSxXfC3M

Photo: Jacob Glandon

Solar Eclipse 2024

– Jacob Glandon, Black Oak Films

The long awaited total solar eclipse of 2024 is over. People across the United States and the world traveled to the areas of totality to experience a truly once in a lifetime moment. For the folks in Carbondale, Illinois, this wasn’t their first opportunity to view a total eclipse from the comfort of their backyards. Back in 2017, another solar eclipse swept across the United States, passing through southern Illinois. So the people of Carbondale, in a seven year period, have seen two total solar eclipses. That’s an incredibly rare occurrence in such a short amount of time. While planning their eclipse festivities, Carbondale took advantage of these circumstances and chose, “Once In A Lifetime. Again” as their slogan, something that certainly sums up the rarity of two total solar eclipses. The city is also being called the “eclipse crossroads of America,” after it has had such great luck with the last two eclipses.

Back here in Iowa, we were unfortunately not given the opportunity to view a total eclipse. Iowans did travel to the areas of totality, but myself along with many others, stayed home to view the eclipse. Although it didn’t get completely dark like the areas of totality did, the amount of light reaching Iowa did decrease enough to be noticeable. The temperatures also dropped upwards of 7 degrees in our area despite not losing all of the sun’s light.

Without solar glasses, people would have only noticed the decrease in light and drops in temperatures. It’s amazing to think that hundreds of years ago people may not have had any idea an eclipse was happening if they weren’t within the area of totality.

Graphic: Data: AirDNA; Map: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Looking back on the eclipse, we can see the lengths that people went to view it. Airbnbs across the path of totality were completely booked, creating an amazing map that illustrated the amount of people who were staying in the eclipse zone. As the days and weeks go by, we will surely hear about more stories about the experiences of people who made their way to see the full eclipse.

While the eclipse has come and gone, we still have other astronomical events to look forward to. 12P/Pons-Brooks, or the Devil Comet, is viewable right now until April 21st. It is currently approaching the Sun on its 71 year orbit. The Lyrids Meteor Shower will reach its peak on April 21st and on April 23rd, April’s full moon, the pink moon will reach its fullness. The next total solar eclipse will be on August 12th, 2026 but will only be visible as a partial solar eclipse in parts of the United States. It won’t be until 2044 that a total solar eclipse is seen from the continental United States, but it will only reach Montana and North Dakota. A year later on August 12th, 2045, another total solar eclipse will carve a path from California to Florida but will once again only be visible as a partial solar eclipse from Iowa. By then, a whole new generation will be experiencing a solar eclipse for the first time. I just hope it won’t be cloudy!

“There’s sunshine and fresh air. Let’s play two.”

Ernie Banks played for the Chicago Cubs from 1953 to 1971. He was nicknamed “Mr. Cub” and “Mr. Sunshine.” He used the phrase above to remind himself and other players that whatever their complaints, they got to play a game for a living, and hear the cheers of strangers. It is a reminder to all of us to cherish life and the chance to have work that gives enjoyment to others.

As I see it, why not take a page from Mr. Banks’ life as a baseball player and start this column with: “Let’s play two! Let’s play two!” Ernie was referring to playing a doubleheader (two games in one day). But the subjects that follow aren’t baseball related … so please don’t stop now; but read on.

Game One is about “living alone.” Game Two is about the “trials, tribulations, and trauma” that most people will find themselves working through at some point in their lives.

During lunch the other day a friend said to me: “I am thinking about finding my own place and living alone. I wonder if I will feel comfortable in that situation. Do you know if there are any side effects living in those conditions?”

My answer came from some research about that very subject: YES! There are side effects.

• You run the risk of experiencing ‘extreme contentment’ – a direct result of inner and outer peace, uninterrupted happiness, and consistent mental AND emotional stability.
• The atmosphere in your home and your moods will consistently be all your own from day to day, and not influenced (a.k.a. messed up) by any other person.
• You’ll be able to go to bed and get up whenever YOU think it’s right for you (including taking a nap without interruption any time of the day).
• You can sleep with 1, 2, 3 or more pillows, ‘steal’ all the blankets and covers for yourself, and hog the entire bed, lying flat-out ‘star-fished’ at any given time.
• You can cook, eat, and drink whatever you want.
• You can watch, read, or listen to anything you like without ‘needing permission’ to do so, and/or face continually being questioned for doing such – (as if you need to actually ‘justify your decisions’ to any other person for their acceptance and approval).
• You can go out anywhere, for as short or as long as you like, or change your mind the minute you step outdoors and go right back inside.
• You can shop wherever and buy whatever you like – or not, etc. etc.

So… I would highly advise you to think VERY carefully before you continue down this “path less traveled” – there are consequences that some people never get to experience – (or perhaps are just too afraid to). Co-incidentally, some of those people will be the very ones who may speak out the loudest and most often AGAINST your choice of these “questionably hazardous living conditions.” That’s when you will know that you’re on the right path; that this is most likely the best thing to be doing for yourself; and can reassure yourself to stay on it. And also know, that many of those others would join or trade places with you, if only they had the opportunity, courage, and/or wherewithal to do so.

Oh, and welcome to ‘the club,’ (btw).

That takes care of “Game one” of our doubleheader. Game two starts below.

There are days when I have minor “trials and tribulations” to work through. This little poem I read recently will help explain one of them:

“It’s been that kind of day. Realized I had to use the bathroom. Got up and walked across the house to the pantry. Couldn’t remember why I was in the pantry. Remembered I had to use the bathroom. Walked back across the house to the bathroom. Sitting on the throne I remembered why I had walked to the pantry… Toilet paper.”

Now on to a more serious thing called “trauma,” which is defined as either physical or psychological (mental or emotional) stress. After World War I, soldiers were known to have problems with what was labeled “shell shock.” Then following the Viet Nam War, the term used was “PTSD” (post-traumatic stress disorder). Trauma was categorized two ways: one known as the “big T” for the major problems such as the death of someone you love, experiencing abuse, having a serious illness, a natural disaster like a tornado, or an extremely difficult relationship resulting in a breakup or divorce. The second one known as the “little t” for such things as loss of job, minor illness or injury, or financial worries. All are difficult and a disruption to daily life, challenging our ability to feel healthy and happy.

If you feel shocked, saddened, anxious, or otherwise overwhelmed by an occurrence like one of the above, you’re probably experiencing trauma. The trauma isn’t the event or experience itself but rather your body and mind’s response to it. Traumatic stress affects the brain, which makes it crucial to take steps toward recovery and mitigate its negative effects and impacts as much as possible.

Some pointers I found in my research on how to deal with trauma: Remember there is no “right” or “wrong” way to feel. Don’t ignore your feelings, it will only slow recovery. Avoid obsessively reliving the traumatic event. Reestablish routine in your life. Put major life decisions on hold. Get help from an accredited therapist.

I also found some quotes to understand things better and hopefully aid in the healing process.

“With trauma we may feel like we have failed because we have had a bad
day, a bad week, a bad month, or even a bad year. But you know what?
If you wake up in the morning, you haven’t failed. If you brush your teeth,
you haven’t failed.” – Roxane Gray

“Often what happened to us takes time to reveal itself. It then takes courage to confront it and peel back the layers of trauma in our lives. This is where healing begins. – Opray Winfrey

“One of the hardest things to learn is that we are worth recovery.” – Demi Lovato

“Healing is not a one-time event, but rather a journey. Healing from the
wounds of trauma, is a journey from helplessness (which is the essence of
trauma) to mastery. – Jasmin Lee Cori

“In searching for ways to heal, you will find that kindness is the best way.”
– Lady Gaga

“Someone who has experienced trauma also has gifts to offer all of us…
in their depth, their knowledge of universal vulnerability, and their
experience of the power of compassion. – Sharon Salzberg

That completes “Game two” of our doubleheader for today.

As I see it, before closing I should leave you with a follow-up to my poem above. Just wanted to let you know, being I live alone, I will now be storing a spare roll of toilet paper in the bathroom right next to the throne.

I saw a video of a young girl trying oysters for the first time; she was not impressed. I laughed at her expressions as she was encouraged to try it without being able to swallow it. This jogged a memory of the first time I ate oysters.

It was 1976 during my first trip to El Salvador. There I met a man, Pedro, who owned the local gas station in Usualtan. He needed to go to the coast on a business trip and invited me along.
The drive to the coast was beautiful. Pedro did his best telling me about his country with his poor English and I tried to talk back with my poor Spanish. It was quite the conversation. That evening we stopped at a restaurant on the beach for supper. Not so much a restaurant as a hut with a few tables and chairs sitting on the sand.

He ordered oysters and soft boiled turtle eggs for us with supper. I grew up on beans and cornbread and didn’t even know oysters were considered a food. My face probably looked about the same as that little girl that couldn’t swallow her oyster.

But before I went to El Salvador I’d decided that whatever food was offered I was going to eat it. As I watched him pour the oysters straight from the shell into his mouth I regretted that commitment. Yet, I swallowed mine the same way.

He washed his down with a beer; I washed mine down with an orange Fanta.

I don’t know if it was the seafood, or if I caught a bug, but the next morning I woke up to a nasty upset stomach. By the time my co-traveler arrived on our borrowed motorcycle I was not feeling the least bit well. He wanted to spend the morning driving up the beach, and asked me if I thought I could make it. I told him yes.

Seldom have I ever been more wrong. We spent the morning frequently stopping the motorcycle so I could dig holes in the sand and purge my body.

It was a long time before I could ever look at oysters again, let alone eat one.

When I got back home, beans and cornbread never looked so good.

In my Bible study group, we are studying a book on “Steps to Answered Prayer.” Last week we were given an assignment; find out what God wants to give you and ask Him for it. The Bible clearly states that when we ask in accordance with His Word, He will give us what we ask for. So, I asked God what He wanted to give me. His answer was, “Confidence”. I thought that was a good idea. I often come across as very confident, but truthfully, I do struggle in that area. I needed to do some searching to find out more about this ‘confidence’ God wanted to give me. First, I went to the dictionary: Confidence- trust, reliance, assurance, belief in ones own ability. And I thought, “Great, I do want to be more confident in what I can do.” This was a good start, yet I needed to check out what the Bible had to say about confidence. The first reference I came to asked a question; II Kings 18:19 – ‘on what are you basing your confidence?’ “Wow, that is a good question – I better keep digging.”

• II Chronicles 32:8 …with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people gained confidence from what the king said.
• Psalm 118:18 – It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
• Proverbs 3:25, 26 – Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence…
• Jeremiah 17:7 – But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
• Ephesians 3:12 – In Him (Jesus) and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
• Hebrews 13:6 – So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

There were more references, yet not one of them had anything to say about how to gain confidence in myself. They all pointed to having trust, reliance, and assurance on who God is and on what He will do for me and through me. My heavenly Father wants to develop my confidence in Him and His Word. I John 5:14,15 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.” So I prayed, “Father, I ask You to develop in me, confidence in You. I thank You for it, in Jesus’ name. Amen”

Around our house, teenagers are beginning to talk about summer jobs. When I was a teenager, I appreciated encouragement to explore new ideas. In the 1990s, farm kids worked at home, usually for no pay. I would haul manure, paint buildings, and mow the lawn — lots and lots of mowing.

My sisters had actual paying jobs like detasseling, babysitting, and house cleaning for neighbors. I remember thinking I’d like to switch places, if only to get off the farm for a day.

With more than three decades to provide a looking glass on my experiences growing up, I try to parent in a way that gives my kids the benefit of my vast wisdom. Disputable.

So, with the help of everyone in our household, we brainstormed a list of summer business ideas. I like this approach because it empowers a set of thinking skills which prime the next generation for entrepreneurship. What’s more, I think this will help my kids develop the interpersonal and leadership skills that will enrich our community.

Other benefits to teens exploring entrepreneurship can be intangible and convey the hidden lessons that are worth more than money can buy. Adults, you know what things I’m talking about— accountability, confidence, communication, honesty, belonging, and community pride.

Here are some ideas our teens have been considering:

• Car wash and detail
• Window washing
• Carpet shampooing
• Gutter cleaning
• Flower or tree planting/watering
• General landscape maintenance, like mulching, raking, mowing
• Bush trimming
• Painting fences, tables, or lawn furniture
• Gardening assistance or berry picking
• Oven or microwave cleaning
• Ceiling fan and light fixture cleaning
• Toilet bowl scrubbing
• Floor polishing
• Seasonal themed or patriotic window painting
• Sidewalk manicuring
• Farmers market vendor
• Pet walking and/or grooming
• For hire grocery shopping/pick up
• Application of natural spider or bug deterrents
• Lawn fertilization
• Bicycle maintenance and repair

Some things to think through:

• What supplies will you need to perform a service?
• What will you charge customers so you can be profitable, but also competitively priced?
• Is the job an hourly rate or a fee for service?
• Is the service ongoing or a one time thing?
• How will you promote the service — flyers, Facebook, word of mouth?
• Do you need to consider your customer’s schedule — is it necessary to schedule in advance? Are they home during the day? Do they need to be home for you to perform the service?

These are starting points for teens to get their cognitive wheels turning. In our community, we’ve seen a wonderful infusion of community support as of recent for new projects such as a new city pool in Keota and an effort to organize affordable childcare, as well as, efforts to improve nature trails and parks.

Encouraging creative business start-ups, especially by youth, is an extension of these efforts to promote community.

I plan to share in a future column what the Lyle teenagers choose for summer businesses and some of their successes and challenges. If you have additional ideas or suggestions to add to our brainstorm, please comment on my Facebook page LEVILYLE and we’ll consider them, too.

Have you ever had a time in your life that a special project or event pretty much consumed all of your time for days on end? Maybe planning for a wedding, a 50th wedding anniversary party, the first baby in the family, or maybe the 5-year Richland Homecoming celebration. And then it happened and is over, and with relief you sat back and were happy with the results of how things turned out. Now it was time to wonder, what now?

That is what I have been going through since recovering from a health issue (still getting better day by day); and also completing my book. I am very happy with the results of my six-months project of putting my book together to share the eleven years of writing my column for Neighbors Magazine. But now, what happens next? Where do I go from here?

As I see it, all the follow-up to my book project will still take some time. But how do I get back to what is for me a normal, routine, ordinary lifestyle? I started by trying to catch up on all the things that I had left undone around the house. But all that boring stuff made me more anxious rather than feeling more at peace with myself.

Then I sat down and picked up my new book. On the back cover it says, “Month by Month. Through the Years.” I paged through some of the articles I had written in the past about how to deal with “life.” I needed some guidance to get back on track…
I finally found the answers I was looking for.

As I see it, when in doubt about something, go back to what worked in the past. For me that was sitting down with a good novel and getting lost in the world of adventure waiting there. (I had been reading books over the winter that I received as Christmas gifts. But they were out of my usual genre. I missed reading stories of suspense, legal fiction, and mystery.) So, I went back to the library, and it was like coming home and embracing old friends; like David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, and John Grisham, to name a few. I sat down and became absorbed in John’s latest book… I was getting back on track…

Then even better, I received an email from an old friend. We met as 2nd graders in 1946; so I have known him for 78 years. We still see each other at our annual class reunion. Hearing from a friend always helps to get things back in focus. (We talk about each other as “the other Wayne.”) Here is his email:

   Wayne, I’ve begun reading your book and I’m enjoying it very much! Thanks for sending it to me.
   Although I’ve just started it, I see where we have more in common than just our first names.
   We have both had tremendous women in our lives. You, Elsie, your mom (one of the finest people I’ve ever known), and Gert.  My gifts have been Esther, my mom, and now my wife, Donna.
   Then there is our love of sports. We both consider ourselves fortunate to have grown up in a small town, and at a time when we could participate in football in the fall, basketball during the winter, baseball and track in the spring, plus golf and softball in the summer. Great fun!
   But when it comes to writing, you are light years ahead of me. You do a terrific job! Thanks for sharing your book with me! Wayne

As I see it, “who’d ever thunk it!” I never thought I would go back and read some of my own advise to help getting back to where I am today. Already from my latest research I have found some interesting stuff to write about and share with you. Plus, with baseball season starting, I have the Cardinals to cheer on again, so that helps me look forward to another World Series championship! Who is it who always says, “Life is like baseball”?

The Bearings | Charlotte and I hadn’t been together all that long when I asked if she’d pick up a car part for me. At the time I was doing a lot of my own car repairs, but it was sometimes hard to get to the parts store around my work schedule.

She didn’t really want to go to the parts store for me. She didn’t know a lot about cars,and at the time few women worked in parts stores and few visited them. It was a man’s domain.

I told her I would give her very exact instructions as to what was needed so she shouldn’t have any problems. It took a bit of presauding but she finally agreed.

We didn’t have cell phones back in those days so I had to wait until I got off work to find out how it went.

She wasn’t all that happy at me when she told me what had happened.

She walked up to the counter and told the salesperson exactly what I’d told her.

“I need a set of muffler bearings, the gold ones, not the silver ones.”

Yep.

I’d set her up.

The salesman laughed and told her someone was pulling her leg, there was no such thing as muffler bearings, gold or silver.

There is a moral to this story. If you ever want your spouse to pick up car parts for you ever again don’t send them into the parts store to buy muffler bearings.

Blinker fluid I’m sure that would be fine, but not muffler bearings.

For Easter this year, our church learned a new song. It was written decades ago by Chuck Lawrence and is entitled “He Grew the Tree”. The song speaks of the deep love of God demonstrated by the fact that, as the Creator, He deliberately grew the tree that would be cut down and fashioned into the cross where Jesus died to pay for our sins. As the song was being sung, I looked around and noticed tears in the eyes of many in the congregation. We were deeply moved by the suffering and sacrifice Jesus made for us and so incredibly thankful for God’s amazing grace.

I have given a lot of thought to it this week and wonder if there may be more at work in the song than I first realized. Did God the Father take special care when He planted the seed that would become the old rugged cross? Was there a smile on His face since He knew what would be possible because of what would be accomplished there? When molding the hill of Calvary, was there anticipation in the air for the symbol of hope the hill represents? When watering the plant for the crown of thorns, was He satisfied knowing every drop of blood from the brow, hands and feet of Jesus would be a covering to redeem man back to Himself?

There may have been pain in the heart of God for the need of the crucifixion cross for Jesus, but I think there was also joy and excitement for the life changing experience that would occur for believers on resurrection morning! He had the whole picture, and He is excited to have us back into friendship with Him! The relationship mankind had before the fall into sin, has been restored by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Now every day can be filled with the excitement and joy of Easter morning!!