* * *
All those butterflied Pork sandwiches were good preparation for the debate over the $700 Billion bailout plan. Before it passed, the Republican Congressional opposition highlighted some of its newly aquired "Pork".
And my mouth began to water.
For fun, I targeted the $2 Million earmarked for "wooden arrows for kids".
Essentially, two Oregon Senators lobbied to get Yes votes from three Oregon Congressmen by inserting a provision that will repeal a 43-cent excise tax on blunt-nosed wooden arrows distributed as training tools to children by the Myrtle Point, OR based manufacturer 'Rose City Archery'.
For fun, I targeted the $2 Million earmarked for "wooden arrows for kids".
Essentially, two Oregon Senators lobbied to get Yes votes from three Oregon Congressmen by inserting a provision that will repeal a 43-cent excise tax on blunt-nosed wooden arrows distributed as training tools to children by the Myrtle Point, OR based manufacturer 'Rose City Archery'.
In business since 1932, Rose City Archery distributes the "kiddie-arrows" as training tools for the next generation of archers, and "don't make a penny" on them. The 43-cent tax would still apply to all their big-boy Arrows used by game hunters. But the savings would allow them to "compete with foreign arrow makers".
Does all that mean Rose City Archery was worth saving? I don't know.
I have something of one foot in the city, and one out in the country. I live on the West Side of Chicago, but as mentioned, went to school and still spend a lot of vacation time in Iowa.
This "Rurban" lifestyle gives me a nice balance. I feel comfortable in the concrete jungle and in a cornfield.
But the price for this balance is less than total immersion in either lifestyles. By dividing my time, I knowingly divide myself. Every now and then, I feel cheated: There are some things I am resigned to just never fully understand. Appreciate, yes. Understand fully, no.
That said, I spoke to my college roommate today. Mike lives in Iowa and understands those things that I don't. We talked about the Bailout and he mentioned, of all things, that he was sharpening his arrow heads.
His thinking? "Don't know how bad it'll get (Chuckle) but while everyone's shitting down their leg, I'm gonna go out and kill a Buck or three and feed my family."
No money for meat. No money for shotgun shells even. But there'll always be arrows. Which is great, as long as you know how to use them.
I didn't ask if he uses wooden shafts. (He once strangled a deer with his bare hands). But many of the alternatives are made from oil-byproducts. Which by proxy makes Rose City Wooden Arrows-- made from fine Port Orford cedar-- a symbol of American resilience and survival. Especially pertinent in these coming lean times.
Does all that mean Rose City Archery was worth saving? I don't know.
* * *
I have something of one foot in the city, and one out in the country. I live on the West Side of Chicago, but as mentioned, went to school and still spend a lot of vacation time in Iowa.
This "Rurban" lifestyle gives me a nice balance. I feel comfortable in the concrete jungle and in a cornfield.
But the price for this balance is less than total immersion in either lifestyles. By dividing my time, I knowingly divide myself. Every now and then, I feel cheated: There are some things I am resigned to just never fully understand. Appreciate, yes. Understand fully, no.
That said, I spoke to my college roommate today. Mike lives in Iowa and understands those things that I don't. We talked about the Bailout and he mentioned, of all things, that he was sharpening his arrow heads.
His thinking? "Don't know how bad it'll get (Chuckle) but while everyone's shitting down their leg, I'm gonna go out and kill a Buck or three and feed my family."
No money for meat. No money for shotgun shells even. But there'll always be arrows. Which is great, as long as you know how to use them.
I didn't ask if he uses wooden shafts. (He once strangled a deer with his bare hands). But many of the alternatives are made from oil-byproducts. Which by proxy makes Rose City Wooden Arrows-- made from fine Port Orford cedar-- a symbol of American resilience and survival. Especially pertinent in these coming lean times.
* * *
Rose City Archery, and the arrows it manufactures, just might represent the skills and values we've lost as the generations have migrated from farm to city. But now it is saved, and maybe one day we'll look back at a generation of self sufficient Bow-Hunters who learned their trade using Rose City tax-free arrows.
I'm yet to sit in a tree stand and shoot a bow in the direction of an animate object. But I do know Venison is good eats. And depending on the context... so is Pork.
.
(There, I did my part. Its up to someone else to explain the $192 Million for Rum and $100 Million for NASCAR.)
No comments:
Post a Comment