Welcome to the Friday mailbag where you will find some of the comments, questions and ideas sent recently by subscribers of this newsletter or our publications. They are edited for space and clarity.
“I always enjoy your writing, but today’s musings on how and why things work was spot on (I don’t understand, July 27, 2023).! And funny. And now I’m picturing all of those mysterious workings in my head!” - Judy
Unfortunately, that list could have gone on. And on. And on. - Shane
“I used to have young cops ride with me. They could recall details of incidents with names, clothing, pets in the house (including once a duck), the list went on (I don’t understand, July 27, 2023). I would tell them my brain is a storage room that I've filled the shelves of and apparently someone comes in, empties some of them and sends those to the land fill. Their brains have all kinds of room for storage.” - John
The shelves seem to get dusty, too. - Shane
“Our house has a big hill on one side. Every other year (crop rotation, you know), we have tall corn on the other three sides (I don’t understand, July 27, 2023). We may not be able to see much those summers, but it is oh so much quieter! That tall corn is a wonderful sound barrier. When picked, it results in a big noise adjustment!” - Diane
If only soybeans grew tall. - Shane
“Shane, interesting factoid, but I don’t know that I ever really thought about meat lockers (The locker, July 31, 2023). Had a few relatives on farms in the early 1950s who may have had meat in the locker because they didn’t have a home freezer of any size and needed a place to store. Back in those days, refrigerator freezer compartments were barely big enough for two ice cube trays and a half-gallon of ice cream!” - Chuck
No room for ice cream? That would be a problem. - Shane
“Shane, I have many happy childhood memories of driving into town to get meat from our town's meat locker (The locker, July 31, 2023). My farm family raised both beef and pork, and, about once a year, the local locker would process whatever it was we needed for the upcoming year, then freeze it and keep it in the store's freezer to be picked up as we could use it. Obviously, there was a lot of meat from a whole steer or hog — and not enough freezer room on the farm to store it. In Hubbard, where I grew up, the locker was located at the back of the local grocery store and, indeed, each family was assigned a ‘locker’ within that large, cavernous freezer space where their meat had been processed and frozen. The grocery store owner had two roles — cut /process meats that came to him from local farmers and run the grocery store. I remember the locker being freezing cold inside and my mother opening our locker with a key. It is a nostalgic memory.” - Connie
I remember a saying from a friend who waited tables in her younger years. She said when customers would tell her the food was hot, she would say, “It sells better that way.” Same principle with freezing-cold meat lockers.
“Good morning, Shane. Great piece this morning (The locker, July 31, 2023). Growing up in Adel, we had a ‘locker.’ I loved going in there with my dad as a kid. The bacon, pork chops, dried beef, and the fresh ground hamburger were the best. We also stored meat there that was butchered from my grandparents’ farm or from family friends who farmed.” - Jeff
For some reason, I keep thinking of Sam the butcher from “The Brady Bunch.” - Shane
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com | 
