44 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | June/July 2024 SOME BOOKS WHICH SHOULD BE READ I still prefer to read books about threshers & old steam engines. By Ralph Winfield It is amazing the very interesting facts of life that are obtained when reading books. Unlike my younger daughter, who always has a book in hand, I seldom read books now that are not engineering-oriented. But two non-engineering books that have been around the house for many years attracted my attention again recently. The first one, Life’s Little Instruction Book: 511 Suggestions, Observations, and Reminders on How to Live a Happy and Rewarding Life, contains 511 instructions for positive actions that should be followed. Many of these instructions are common-sense items that we deal with on a daily basis. Some examples of positive actions include treating others respectfully, supporting local businesses, showing empathy and kindness, prioritizing fun, and making good decisions in business and in life. All of the instructions are positive, and indicate the actions that we can (and should) take regularly. The second book, Remembering The Farm: Memories of Farming, Ranching, and Rural Life in Canada Past and Present, is a must-read for any of you who started your life on the farm or wish you had. The book is a collection of short stories (often just paragraphs) about life on the farm – from weather to wildlife, growing up on the farm and the introduction of new technologies. It tells of milking cows by hand and also cranking the cream separator by hand before electrical power (hydro) was available. I can relate to both of those chores very well. If you didn’t crank the cream separator fast enough, the bell on the crank arm would ring. In an earlier article, I showed the large briefcase that I carried every day the year I attended the University of Toronto. It held all of the textbooks required for laboratory assignments that day. I still have some of those books, as I assumed that I would need them during my engineering career. And yes, I did use some of them, on a very limited basis. As time progressed, engineering calculations requiring textbooks became less essential on a daily basis. But like the slide rules, the books continue to take up shelf space, just in case I ever need to refer to one of them. iPhones have taken over Today if I need to determine some engineering data or facts, my older How it Works NDABCREATIVITY - stock.adobe.com Aurora Bancroft photo Aurora Bancroft photo Remembering The Farm, by Allan Anderson, MacMillan of Canada (1977). Life’s Little Instruction Book, by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Rutledge Hill Press (1991).
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