Interesting Character

I've been fortunate so far to know a number of unique individuals: even more fortunate to become friends with a few of them. In my view, it doesn't require a resume' that might impress the likes of Bill Gates or Colin Powell to be worthy of the title "Interesting Character". That said, the guy in this picture is not only worthy of that moniker, but numerous others, including; down to earth, outstanding leader, and patriot to name just a few.

I first met John Murphy in 1997 when he and I were contemporaries with our former company. At that time we each had operational responsibilities for groups of company stores and we spent a fair amount of our time flying around adjacent geographical areas fulfilling our then corporate duties. Interesting how two guys with completely different backgrounds would wind up as contemporaries in the same organization with the same responsibilities. It actually seems highly unlikely when you consider that while one of these guys was in grade school and junior high dreaming of some day getting his driver's license so he could legally drive his parents car around town, the other guy was risking his life flying B52's and F4 Fighter jets all over North Vietnam. About the time the former was learning how to drive his parents 1973 Plymouth, the latter was learning how to fly the Air Force's SR71 Spy Plane: something that only 86 other individuals in the history of the USAF can lay claim to. Like granddad would have said, "Now that's something to think about!"

From Air Force bomber/fighter/spy pilot, John would go on to perform in other significant roles during his military tenure. In fact, in my opinion his life so far is worthy of at least a 275 page hard back biography, written by world class author Stephen Ambrose. But since Mr. Ambrose is no longer with us, you'll have to stay tuned to "Old and Ridiculous" if you're interested in finding out more about John. For now, I'll just share that he's hung up his wings, both military and corporate, and is more than content tending the livestock on his secluded Madison County, Arkansas farm. Although John runs mostly free range chickens and geese, he also has several ducks, 2 formerly wild turkeys and a bunch of cows. I wasn't able to confirm with 100% certainty, but I think somebody may have slipped an orangoutang or two in that mix, which brings me to my point: if you're still eating store-bought and so-called USDA chicken eggs, do yourself a favor and stop doing that! Take a tip from John and myself and upgrade to free range eggs; trust us...you'll be glad you did.

Anyway, I'll share more about my friend John and his Madison County exploits in the near future. In the meantime, I'll be researching wheat and shopping for a mule. I'll of course keep you posted...