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Glenn Nelson's avatar

While one can never know exactly how someone else feels, Rob, one can search for analogous situations that one has encountered in order to empathize with another. I have never experienced pesticide drift to the extent you have, but have been victimized by Big Ag in other ways, so I can at least relate, if not fully understand.

On another note: Laundry! When I retired, in order to be more helpful, I took on some household chores; one was laundry. I was admonished to be very careful. My first time, Lisa was out of town, and I wanted to do well. I sorted the laundry according to the garment labels, "cold wash only, hand was only, line dry, low dryer setting", etc. By the time I was done sorting, I had eight piles! It took me all day to complete the eight loads! Upon her return, Lisa set me straight. So I guess I (thought I ) "understood", but you're right, Rob, I really didn't.

Paul A. Brewer's avatar

Thanks Rob. I think most of us that live anywhere in the Midwest, whether they know it, smell it, or feel it - have been victims of at least vapor drift. In addition, a trip down the "lawn care" aisle of any department, feed & seed, or farm store, (along with a careful reading of the ingredients label) should at least give folks pause for a moment of thought. Do you know what the lawn care people are spraying on your neighbors' lawns to keep them so 'clean and green'? I don't think most of us really do. Their trucks look eco-friendly, of course.

Trees tell lots of stories, if you know how to look.

I am beginning to see the decline in many pollinators out here adjacent to Industrial Ag Acres as "Bumblebees in a Bean Mine". Corn/Ethanol mine too, of course.

[ Living alone, I do laundry on my terms and generally don't pay much attention to laundry labels. I don't buy things that can't take a normal laundry cycle and last a long time. People who judge me poorly by the shirt on my back are probably not folks I need to associate with anyway. ]