October 2019 - 34

AG LABOR REVIEW
We deserve better performance from our politicians
MICHAEL MARSH
President & CEO
National Council of
Agricultural Employers
Michael@ncaeonline.org
The racket reminded me of the
cacophony we hear from politicians
every time an election nears.
It's probably a good thing I'm an
early riser because if I weren't, I would
have been upset that I'd been roused
so suddenly from my slumber. As it
was, it was 5:15 a.m. in the morning
and the alarm was just about to go off.
I didn't really mind beating the clock
but was curious as to what on earth
was happening outside my window.
I pulled back the curtain and peered
out, but it was still too dark to make
out what was going on.
The noise didn't abate as I made my
way into the kitchen to get my coffee
started. So, before I got there, I had to
peer outside.
I put on my glasses and opened the
door and the noise was amazing! It
seemed to kind of whoosh in through
the door with the heavy, warm
morning air laden with moisture.
It was so loud, I wondered how the
sound would register at some of those
sports arenas where they measure the
decibels of the crowd cheering on the
home team.
There, in the trees, and swooping
in and out of them, was the biggest
murder (flock) of crows I am sure I
have ever seen. It looked as if every
branch held several of the birds, kind
of jostling back and forth. It also
seemed that they were trying to outdo
one another with their crowing.
As I looked from tree to tree to tree,
I could now see through the slight
mist of daybreak there were literally
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the
noisy critters cawing at one another.
I don't know if it was a breeding
spectacle or what, but their chorus was
anything but melodious. My coffee
could wait.
I grabbed my cell phone to record
it and just as I did, and almost as one,
the sound grew more boisterous and
the sky filled with the birds. They flew
off like a dark cloud together, likely
to interrupt someone else's sleep, as I
watched and wondered about what I
had just witnessed.
Back to the coffee.
As it was brewing, I thought
about the birds and all the noise
they made. One trying to be louder
than the next. Or the other trying
to dominate and get to the highest
branch, flapping their wings madly to
assert themselves over the others in
their party. And none of them really
getting much done.
And that's what made me liken the
crows to politicians at election time.
This time around, it's started early.
We hear them on the radio or on
the TV trying to outdo one another.
We see the politicians running hard to
their corners, to the right and to the
left, seeing if they can wedge between
themselves. They always seem ready
to swoop in on the weaker ones,
knocking them off their perch.
They push at each other trying to
dredge up old scandals and other
fodder to salve someone's passion.
They poise, should someone slip up,
to make as much hay as they can for
themselves, seeming to ignore the fact
that the hay in that field was already
cut and long ago baled.
But they keep after it.
I guess they hope if they are the
loudest, they might win. Or maybe, if
they can be more outrageous or more
obnoxious than their peers, they'll
get top billing on the evening news.
Perhaps it proves the old saying that
birds of a feather flock together. And
none of them really getting much done.
So, as I poured my second cup and
stirred in a little cream, I thought out
loud to myself, " We deserve better. "
I'm sure you think we do too. VGN
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ftil
18 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
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October 2019

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