For those of you that were not at the wedding and wanted to know what the "letter" was, I will try to put it in writing. When the preacher ask "who gives this women to be married to this man" I stepped forward and told the following story.....
Kelly and Regan, early on when we found out Jackie was pregnant, we knew it was going to be a difficult pregnancy. We were sent to a high risk Dr. by the name of Dr Thelma Yamboa. Over the course of the next months we would go in every week or so to make sure things were going ok. Dr Yamboa would encourage Jackie and tell her "Jackie, you can do this" and over the next eight months she was basically in bed flat on her back. During that time we had many family and friends come by to encourage us and help us through this time. The day Kelly was born, Dr Yamboa sat on the edge of the bed and watched to make sure things were going ok. At the end of the day, later that night Kelly was born. And you were perfect...and beautiful....just like you are today.
A few years later, Dr Yamboa was killed in a plane crash in Africa along with several other people from Amarillo. She never knew the impact she had on our family, because she was just doing her job. Let that be an example to the people in this room that if she had not done her job on that ordinary day, we possibily would not be celebrating this "extraordinary" day.
Kelly, you have seen your mother wear this though the years. (I have a gold nugget diamond drop in my hand). We have really never told you what it is all about. I gave it to your mother the day you were born in the delevery room with Dr Yamboa. It was always the plan to give it to you on your wedding day. Along with it, is a letter I wrote and will read it to you now.
"Jackie,
What a day of celebration! Take this token and cherish it forever. Let it not only be a sign of our love for each other, but also a symbol of the love that has been shown to us over the past months by both our family and friends. May it be passed on from generation to generation to show the love that was needed to create this special child. Because without that special love, this day of celebration would have never been! May we cherish our babies forever!
All my love, "
This was written on July 24, 1984. I wrote it on the back of an oil can box lid while changing water in a sugarbeet field, and later transferred it to this card. A very ordinary day to be read 26 years later on "THIS DAY". Today we celebrate all the people in this sanctuary that just live "ordinary" lives and "just do their job"that have had an impact on each of you to make you the people you are, and unit together to become a special couple.
June 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The truth about GM (genetically modified) corn
February 23, 2010
Vega Enterprise
PO Box 130
Vega, TX 79092
Dear Editor,
As a grower of GM (genetically modified) corn, I was disturbed to read an article, "The Hazards of GM Corn" in your recent edition. The study quoted in the article has been refuted by multiple sources, including the French High Council on Biotechnology, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand, and the European Food Safety Authority. More information regarding the soundness of the study can be found in the article "Monsanto Corn Causes Organ Damage? Not So," at the following address: http://blog.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/12/monsanto-addresses-study .
As a farmer and past president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, I sit on the Leading Growers Group for Monsanto. Monsanto and other multinational companies are currently in the process of bringing GM wheat to commercialization and consumer safety is always an important factor in all discussions. As farmers are faced with the important task of producing enough food to feed the estimated 9 billion people that will inhabit the earth by 2050, advancements in technology, such as GM crops, will become essential tools in achieving this goal.
I believe it is important to confront the myths circulating about advanced technologies in agriculture. Agriculture practices are being attacked from fringe groups around the world and many do not understand it is going to take ALL forms of production agriculture to meet the challenges of the future, including organic, traditional, and GM technologies. Many radical groups have tried to paint the picture that organic crops are sustainable, when in fact, there is no way that farmers can feed the growing population of the future with organic practices only. There is a growing segment of our population that has chosen to purchase only organic products and I appreciate that decision, but this choice is not practical for all consumers.
Monsanto and other agriculture companies work to protect their name and research to the highest degree. In order for farmers to protect the availability of new technologies in farming practices we must ensure that FACTUAL information is printed and distributed to our consumers. This is not an attack on the author of the article, but a caution that we must check out the sources we quote to make sure they are credible. While some may think that this is "just little ole Vega Texas," and our paper does not reach a national audience, I assure you that many sideline groups look for this kind of reporting to substantiate claims of abuse by major companies.
Over the past years I have had the opportunity to work with upper management of many of these companies and these individuals are just like you and me- they want what is best for their family and community. To allude to the claim that they are some "beast" that seeks corporate profits with no regard to the environment, consumer health, and sound science is simply not true. We, as their customers and producers of consumer products, must work to protect the sound science that will help feed a growing population. As always, producing safe, abundant, and stable supply of food for worldwide consumers is the primary concern of all agricultural producers. The use of advanced technology, such as GM crops, is another safe, productive tool we utilize to feed the world.
David Cleavinger
Past President
National Association of Wheat Growers
Wildorado, Texas
Vega Enterprise
PO Box 130
Vega, TX 79092
Dear Editor,
As a grower of GM (genetically modified) corn, I was disturbed to read an article, "The Hazards of GM Corn" in your recent edition. The study quoted in the article has been refuted by multiple sources, including the French High Council on Biotechnology, the Food Standards Australia New Zealand, and the European Food Safety Authority. More information regarding the soundness of the study can be found in the article "Monsanto Corn Causes Organ Damage? Not So," at the following address: http://blog.monsantoblog.com/2010/01/12/monsanto-addresses-study .
As a farmer and past president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, I sit on the Leading Growers Group for Monsanto. Monsanto and other multinational companies are currently in the process of bringing GM wheat to commercialization and consumer safety is always an important factor in all discussions. As farmers are faced with the important task of producing enough food to feed the estimated 9 billion people that will inhabit the earth by 2050, advancements in technology, such as GM crops, will become essential tools in achieving this goal.
I believe it is important to confront the myths circulating about advanced technologies in agriculture. Agriculture practices are being attacked from fringe groups around the world and many do not understand it is going to take ALL forms of production agriculture to meet the challenges of the future, including organic, traditional, and GM technologies. Many radical groups have tried to paint the picture that organic crops are sustainable, when in fact, there is no way that farmers can feed the growing population of the future with organic practices only. There is a growing segment of our population that has chosen to purchase only organic products and I appreciate that decision, but this choice is not practical for all consumers.
Monsanto and other agriculture companies work to protect their name and research to the highest degree. In order for farmers to protect the availability of new technologies in farming practices we must ensure that FACTUAL information is printed and distributed to our consumers. This is not an attack on the author of the article, but a caution that we must check out the sources we quote to make sure they are credible. While some may think that this is "just little ole Vega Texas," and our paper does not reach a national audience, I assure you that many sideline groups look for this kind of reporting to substantiate claims of abuse by major companies.
Over the past years I have had the opportunity to work with upper management of many of these companies and these individuals are just like you and me- they want what is best for their family and community. To allude to the claim that they are some "beast" that seeks corporate profits with no regard to the environment, consumer health, and sound science is simply not true. We, as their customers and producers of consumer products, must work to protect the sound science that will help feed a growing population. As always, producing safe, abundant, and stable supply of food for worldwide consumers is the primary concern of all agricultural producers. The use of advanced technology, such as GM crops, is another safe, productive tool we utilize to feed the world.
David Cleavinger
Past President
National Association of Wheat Growers
Wildorado, Texas
Monday, December 28, 2009
letter to editor
Sept. 20, 2003
Times Record News
1302 Lamar
Wichita Falls, TX 76307
Dear Editor,
We never know at what moment our lives will be touched. The chance meeting with a stranger or a life lost that might otherwise go unnoticed by a guy some 300 miles away.
Our daughter is a student at Midwestern State University. With the rigors of college life and basketball practice she has not had a chance to come home, so my wife and I thought we would go down this past weekend to visit her. The weekend was filled with typical “mom and dad are here” activities. A trip to the video store for movies and to Walmart to fill up the cabinets, purchase a rug, and get place mats for the table to make the apartment feel a “little more like home”. Saturday evening was the promised home cooked meal with all the favorite recipes for our daughter’s friends. At that meal one of her friends mentioned that she had signed them up to walk the “Light the Night Walk” sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My wife and I were asked if we wanted to tag along with the students. I thought what the heck, after a meal like that I need some walking.
We arrived at the registration and signed in. I stepped back to watch the crowd, something only 45-year-old dads understand. There were people of all walks of life. Some wore lime green shirts with the word “survivor” on the back, indicating they were winning the battle with cancer. As the walk began and we leisurely strolled through the campus of MSU, signs were placed along the route to inform the walkers about what successes had been made in cancer research. My daughter and her friends walked along with us enjoying the fall evening.
As we approached the finish of the walk I noticed a couple about the age of my wife and I, walking along holding hands and carrying a banner. The banner read “IN MEMORY OF HILLARY”. I quickly scanned the rest of the banner and noticed that Hillary had passed away in 2003. I moved over to the couple and ask, “was this your…….?” Quietly the wife said, “our daughter… she was a student at MSU…. in April she turned 20 in the hospital”. As I turned to look at my own daughter with her friends, suddenly all the worries of a dad with two kids in college and the financial difficulties of a failed agriculture economy seemed meaningless and trivial. I felt sadness at the loss these parents felt. All I could say to them was “I am sorry”. They acknowledged me and we moved along the route. We all finished the walk, with the organizers announcing how much money was raised for research. On the way to our car I noticed the couple putting the banner in the trunk and getting in their car to go on with life. I said to them “I hope you have a good evening”, knowing surely that under the circumstances that would be difficult at best.
As the weekend continued on and we got up to go with our daughter to church the next morning, I could not get the picture of the parents out of my mind. We packed up Sunday afternoon and started the drive back to Amarillo. All along the way the thought of Hillary kept popping in my mind. Who was she, what was she like, knowing her dad loved her just as much as I love my daughter. How selfish I felt, me being able to have my daughter and him not. When we got to Memphis we pulled in the Sonic to get a burger. I told my wife my thoughts and recanted my feelings. We both sat there and cried. Why? Was it for Hillary? Her parents? For all parents that have lost children? Or not knowing that one day we might be in that place. I realized that even though there are pressures of two kids in college, life in agriculture, the uncertainties of getting older. I thank God that I have those burdens. That with all the fears that life brings, we know that others have survived and are continuing on.
So whoever and wherever Hillary’s parents are, I thank them for sharing her life with me. Their courage to hold up that banner though the “Light the Night Walk” was an inspiration to me. An awakening to the gift God has given us. May you both continue through life knowing that she did not go unnoticed.
Sincerely,
David Cleavinger
Times Record News
1302 Lamar
Wichita Falls, TX 76307
Dear Editor,
We never know at what moment our lives will be touched. The chance meeting with a stranger or a life lost that might otherwise go unnoticed by a guy some 300 miles away.
Our daughter is a student at Midwestern State University. With the rigors of college life and basketball practice she has not had a chance to come home, so my wife and I thought we would go down this past weekend to visit her. The weekend was filled with typical “mom and dad are here” activities. A trip to the video store for movies and to Walmart to fill up the cabinets, purchase a rug, and get place mats for the table to make the apartment feel a “little more like home”. Saturday evening was the promised home cooked meal with all the favorite recipes for our daughter’s friends. At that meal one of her friends mentioned that she had signed them up to walk the “Light the Night Walk” sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My wife and I were asked if we wanted to tag along with the students. I thought what the heck, after a meal like that I need some walking.
We arrived at the registration and signed in. I stepped back to watch the crowd, something only 45-year-old dads understand. There were people of all walks of life. Some wore lime green shirts with the word “survivor” on the back, indicating they were winning the battle with cancer. As the walk began and we leisurely strolled through the campus of MSU, signs were placed along the route to inform the walkers about what successes had been made in cancer research. My daughter and her friends walked along with us enjoying the fall evening.
As we approached the finish of the walk I noticed a couple about the age of my wife and I, walking along holding hands and carrying a banner. The banner read “IN MEMORY OF HILLARY”. I quickly scanned the rest of the banner and noticed that Hillary had passed away in 2003. I moved over to the couple and ask, “was this your…….?” Quietly the wife said, “our daughter… she was a student at MSU…. in April she turned 20 in the hospital”. As I turned to look at my own daughter with her friends, suddenly all the worries of a dad with two kids in college and the financial difficulties of a failed agriculture economy seemed meaningless and trivial. I felt sadness at the loss these parents felt. All I could say to them was “I am sorry”. They acknowledged me and we moved along the route. We all finished the walk, with the organizers announcing how much money was raised for research. On the way to our car I noticed the couple putting the banner in the trunk and getting in their car to go on with life. I said to them “I hope you have a good evening”, knowing surely that under the circumstances that would be difficult at best.
As the weekend continued on and we got up to go with our daughter to church the next morning, I could not get the picture of the parents out of my mind. We packed up Sunday afternoon and started the drive back to Amarillo. All along the way the thought of Hillary kept popping in my mind. Who was she, what was she like, knowing her dad loved her just as much as I love my daughter. How selfish I felt, me being able to have my daughter and him not. When we got to Memphis we pulled in the Sonic to get a burger. I told my wife my thoughts and recanted my feelings. We both sat there and cried. Why? Was it for Hillary? Her parents? For all parents that have lost children? Or not knowing that one day we might be in that place. I realized that even though there are pressures of two kids in college, life in agriculture, the uncertainties of getting older. I thank God that I have those burdens. That with all the fears that life brings, we know that others have survived and are continuing on.
So whoever and wherever Hillary’s parents are, I thank them for sharing her life with me. Their courage to hold up that banner though the “Light the Night Walk” was an inspiration to me. An awakening to the gift God has given us. May you both continue through life knowing that she did not go unnoticed.
Sincerely,
David Cleavinger
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