Worst Seat in the House

I went to a funeral a couple of weeks ago for a man for whom I had a great deal of respect. It wasn’t a surprise for after 88 years he simply wore out. He was a farmer for 60 years. Think about that for a moment, because when most people turn 60 they want to retire but Ken waited until he was 80 before he decided to retire.

I saw Ken as a very successful farmer who grew crops in an area that rain usually forgets. People in the Palouse country think they know how to farm because they have such rich soil and rain is plentiful but on the western edge of Adams County that just isn’t the case.

As I...