Pep Talk: "What Could We Learn"

The long flight from Paris, France to Toronto, Ontario, Canada was nearing its conclusion. To pass the time on the almost eight-hour trek, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln had been watched. A good book, It Happened on the Way to War, had been read. But there was still an hour remaining in the air over the eastern edge of America’s northern neighbor. What to do?

I began to watch a documentary focusing on desperate times in America back in the 1930‘s. The time of the Dust Bowl. For almost six years farmers in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico fought Mother Nature’s cruel wrath. Too little rain and too much wind. My goodness, talk about perseverance in the face of adversity. Farmers in the effected area went almost six years without producing a crop as moisture evaporated, winds howled and dust accumulated. Weather conditions and ill-advised soil conservation methods resulted in misery and despair for almost 500,000 American families.

Some packed their meager belongings and headed for California’s fertile Central Valley with hope of a better future. Few found relief. Instead many faced discrimination similar to what Blacks faced at the same time in the deep South. “Okies” were not welcomed and often were treated as second-class citizens in the Golden State’s rich agricultural belt.

But most chose to remain on their land. Times were tough. Fiercely independent men and women turned to the federal government. Under president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, policy makers began rewarding farmers embracing new soil conservation practices. Meanwhile, many were threatened with losing their land if they chose to not change tactics, in an area of our nation known, at the time, as “No Man’s Land.”

Almost 80 years ago, Amarillo, Texas was the largest population center of the region. Our nation’s 32nd president made a surprise visit to the city in the Lone Star State’s panhandle. An estimated 200,000 folks, four times the area’s population, turned out to see Roosevelt. In part demanding the federal government take a larger role in saving the livelihoods of so many. Farmers are independent spirits but these were desperate times.

Local newspapers encouraged anyone who was musically inclined to join what was called “The World’s Largest Marching Band” as it welcomed the Democrat with a boisterous rendition of The Eyes of Texas. What happened next has been described as ironic, fortuitous and by some, miraculous. It began to rain. Hard. A deluge. Precious moisture. For the farmers and their families, tears from heaven. Precipitation, better farming techniques and federal aid finally offered hope for the afflicted.

As I sat there and felt the Air Canada jet begin its descent into Toronto, I had an overwhelming sense of admiration for those who endured the suffering. Whenever blessed to encourage others with a live Pep Talk, we always discuss how life rarely goes as planned. Stuff happens leaving us wondering, “What the heck is going on around here?”

The unexpected and unwanted challenges life throws our way come from many sources. It might be Mother Nature, illness, job loss, relationship meltdown or whatever. The team at Victory Productions understands the venues change but encourages others to achieve goals and overcome challenges through embracing a belief the strategies for dealing with the challenges never waver.

Change is constant. What’s unpredictable is where it strikes. Physical? Emotional? Financial? Who knows? The only thing constant in life is change, right? Face it, change is constant. So too, how we face it. Four steps are critical: First, we focus on becoming a student, not victim of the circumstance. Second, we understand we’re not alone. Third, we seek out others in similar situations and fourth, we encourage one another to overcome fear with courage in effectively dealing with whatever ails us - home, work and elsewhere.

This journey, we describe as life, will kick up the storms, we know that. If the winds are howling ferociously, remember the resilience vividly demonstrated in a Dust Bowl documentary about hardship on the Central Plains in the 1930’s. What’s the old saying, “Tough times never last but tough people do?” Believe it.

The airliner glided onto the runway at Toronto’s Pearson Airport. It brought the film to an end. As we taxied toward the gate a simple dude from Missouri thought about the challenges confronting America today and what lessons could be learned from the past. The downtrodden farmers had no control over Mother Nature but learned from the experience, united with one another and committed to better farming techniques, especially when it came to soil conservation. Uniting and encouraging one another also kept something very important alive: hope. Remember the definition of encouragement: “Give hope and confidence to.” 

Challenges. Adversity. Catastrophe. Hope. Confidence. Life. Time marches on but some things remain the same. Stuff happens. The great question always is this: “How will we react?” This week, despite the storms howling and threatening our existence, let’s take a cue from the Okies. Drought and wind almost destroyed their livelihood but nothing could terminate their spirit.  

What could we learn from them?