From music to marriage, life is full of choices

By Rennie Phillips

I don't listen to a lot of music, but when I do, it's country western.

I'm not real fond of the real old, and I'm not fond at all of a lot of the new. I do like singers like George Strait or Toby Keith.

One of my all-time favorites is Don Williams. Another is Merle Haggard. Oh, and Marty Robbins. But at the same time, I like Eric Church and Little Big Town.

When I'm in my pickup, I have several stations on those push buttons. One is 93, another is 94 at Poplar Bluff, others are 97, 102 and 106. I also have 104 or the Christian station dialed in as well. If I don't care for a singer, I punch another button. And if I get tired of listening to too much of the modern stuff, I just shut it off. I don't mind quiet at all.

But Marge and I do the same with the TV. We don't do the "Modern Family" stuff or reality TV. We don't watch "60 Minutes" or the other special news programs. We watch our local KFVS12 news, but when it goes off at 7 a.m., we then watch Channel 6 till Matt Lauer or his sidekick goes off on some tangent, and then we switch over to RFD-TV.

I enjoy RFD-TV. At 8 a.m., they say the Pledge of Allegiance. Reminds me of growing up in Nebraska and watching the old North Platte Channel 2 TV station.

What I'm getting around to saying is, we have choices. Just because everyone is doing it, that doesn't mean I or my wife have to. We can choose to get off the bandwagon and go it alone.

The trend today is to eat boxed meals or quick food or food from some fast-food chain. My wife and I will eat at Burger King or McDonald's now and then. My favorite fast food is Subway. But our main foods are meat we have either raised or had the butcher cut up and package, a vegetable we have raised and a potato we either raised or Marge bought. (Marge is making mashed potatoes from some we raised last summer.)

We do buy some veggies. Marge and I love Brussels sprouts, so Marge or I buy packages of Brussels sprouts and cook them ourselves. Man, I love Brussels sprouts. I probably have tried to grow them for 20 years and am an absolute failure at it.

We also buy carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. We may have pizza once a month.

I'm diabetic, so I try to watch the sweets I eat. I may splurge and stop at Coffee 'N' More and have a donut or two a month. Now and then, I will drop into Cup ',' Cork and have a piece of pie, scoop of ice cream and a cup of coffee.

If I do have a sweet, it's in the morning so I can work it off later in the day.

One of my favorite foods is a good salad. But again, the choice is mine. I can choose to eat healthy, or I can choose to splurge, which will cause me problems healthwise. My choice.

When I went to buy a new pickup, I kind of had in mind what I wanted. I wanted a pickup without all the extras. I guess in a way, an old-school pickup like we used to drive back in the '60s in Nebraska. But I did want air conditioning.

What I didn't want was the extras like electric windows and auto door locks. I wanted a regular cab and not an extended cab. I didn't want a pickup full of all the fancy stuff. I wanted a plain pickup. So I chose a four-wheel-drive, plain-Jane pickup with air conditioning. My choice.

Over 20 years ago, we moved out where we now live. I wanted a dog, so we did some checking around and found out the Leibles raised Australian shepherds. So we bought an Australian from the Leibles at Kelso. Queeny was an awesome dog. Tender-hearted and loyal.

Marge got her dog from Lewis Hamilton. Fancy was little, and who knows what her bloodlines were. But she was a neat little dog. Hard-headed. From the time both of the dogs came to live with us until they both died, they never slept outside.

Then we got Dutchess from Johnny. Same with her. She has never slept outside. When we got our dogs, it was a lifetime commitment. We chose to get them knowing they were long-term.

Every day we make choices that affect our lives. Some are simple choices, like what to drink or eat or even say. Some are life-changing choices, like who to marry and spend our lives with.

Forty some years ago, Marge and I chose to get married. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Later, we chose to have a baby. And lo and behold, along came our first son, Victor, followed two years later by Tait.

Marge and I are proud of our two boys. Both of them are different in many ways but the same as well.

Probably the best decision I ever made was one I made while coyote hunting back in Nebraska 40 some years ago.

At that time, we lived in a part of Arthur County where virtually no one lived, so I'd hunt coyotes at all times of the day and night.

One night, I was looking for coyotes using a poor man's night vision when I decided my life wasn't going anywhere. I needed help, but not from some human source. So I made the choice to become a Christian. It was a simple decision that required a lifetime commitment. And I haven't regretted it one minute down through the years.

We all make choices, even when we decide not to do anything. It may sound corny, but not making a choice is a choice. One thing is for sure: When we make a choice for the good, we need to follow it up with commitment.