“Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread.”
About
A connection to the bread, a connection to the places it comes from and the people who live there. That is the goal here. This idea has been bouncing around in my little pea brain for years. For some reason I've decided to give it a shot, and since today is day one, I can't really tell you what it is but what I hope for it to become. I want it to become a entertaining place for anyone who longs to feel a connection to the bread, the meat, the land, the people. Anyone who wants to see the images and hear the voices of the people out here. I want it to be authentic and real and honest. I hope others will help me bring it to you, and they are also the ones who are out here living it. I don't want anything from anyone who doesn't understand this life. I see it all the time, news reports, or photographs from people who really have no idea what the hell they are talking about or looking at, and its not their fault. They just don't know it, but there are some who do, and that's who I want you to find here.
I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel that there is a need for it. This country was once one big lonesome land. As generations pass, it seems there are fewer and fewer people out here. It used to be that almost everyone had a Grandpa or an Uncle that farmed or ranched. There is less and less of that now, but I feel that the interest is still there. I'm not the only one who thinks this, many major publications have an Agriculture Department, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, even Politico. The problem is that they are ran by Journalists in big cities. The articles are not written to connect their readers to the people of agriculture, they are written to give their opinion on agriculture. Their articles don't give you the Farmers or Ranchers point of view. Instead they write to tell you what they think of the farmers and ranchers. I want this to be different.
Yes, there are plenty of websites and magazines about agriculture by people who know it very well, but many are too technical for people who aren't involved to understand. Farm and ranch magazines are written for farmers and ranchers. I want this to be different. I want this to be something that everyone can understand and something that anyone with an interest in the goings on of these wide open spaces will enjoy.
I have a stack of magazines on my desk right now and I haven't opened a single cover. I have a feeling you might be the same. Its because they are just to damn boring. They are written by someone who was told to write a certain number of words on a certain subject and they try their hardest to sound real smart and its just blah, blah blah. You have to dig through ads and page fillers to find anything interesting, and when you do its so dry and dull, there's just no personality. I want this to be different.
This will be different. This will be real and raw and uncensored and it might not be for everybody. I want it to feel like a conversation. I want you to feel like you're eavesdropping on some ol' boys in the bar, or the cafe, or the sale barn. Listening to their stories, or their thoughts on the days news. There will be mistakes, and misspellings, and my sentences would probably make an English teacher cringe, but I don't give a damn, because it will be real and honest. I think that is what most people are looking for more than anything else right now. There will be no hidden agendas, or political campaigns promoted. These will be stories and perspectives that are NOT written to change your mind, or to affirm your ideology, or to get you to vote a certain way. The agenda here will be simply to share what goes on in the wide open, and to support the people working in it. I don't take myself too seriously and I don't want this site to be all that serious either. I want it to be entertaining and funny. I want you to leave feeling good about these people and looking forward to coming back.
Lonesome Lands
When I first read that line that Theodore Roosevelt wrote, "They live in the lonely lands..." It struck a cord with me. I had grown up where most would consider the middle of nowhere, but that line still rang with mystery. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with the lonely lands, the people who live there and those that came before them. I am excited about finding out more and sharing it with you. I hope you like it. I hope it grows.
Side note: You're probably wondering why I didn't call it Lonely Lands? Well, its 2017 and finding a domain name available that makes any sense is pretty close to impossible. Lonely lands was not available, but lonesomelands.com was and since lonesome is also part of the title of a movie that is one of the greatest reenactments of the beginnings of the beef industry, I loved it. If you don't know what that movie is, I am glad you're here.