The Crop

The old tobacco barn was packed with sticks of hanging leaves three tiers deep. The Hardy family, sharecropping the farm with the help of day laborers, had harnessed the mules, attached the “slides” behind the beasts and filled each slide with yellowing leaves from the bottom of the plants in the field. Bright leaf tobacco was the primary agricultural crop in rural North Carolina in those days and it was labor intensive. Once “strung” on wooden sticks (all by hand) the leaf laden sticks were hoisted to their temporary destination in the wooden barn for the curing process. Around the clock attention was required as the fire boxes were stoked with wood cut from the farm during the previous cold winter months. I often kept Mr. Hardy company by spreading a blanket in one of the slides and staring at the star filled sky until sleep came to visit. While I slept Mr. Hardy kept the fire going, checking the barn’s inside temperature to ensure the appropriate rendering of a bright golden leaf of “cured” tobacco that would be most attractive to the company making the bid that fall at the local auction house. Much more was required before the cherished crop was ready for market, but in the end, more times than not, everyone was happy when the marketing was complete and plans for the next season could be anticipated. Living well requires the daily attention to the tasks required for the harvest that is to come. Exercise yields greater strength in movement. Good nutrition underpins optimal metabolism required for a crop of healthy living. Attending to mind and soul by “stoking” the flames of passion for life and its giver, renders a product second to none. May your crop be one of high yield as you attend the things required in its preparation!