The title of this post is taken from a Ms Dynamite lyric (I am so down with the kids, its well bad, innit?). Taking the huge leap from her application of the line as representative of social and racial suppression and the communal struggle against this; Mr Blanche is using it for the progress of first generation farmers.
I have heard of many stories of struggle on the path of progress to a successful farm business. One man came from a difficult background, he had witnessed his mother trying to drown his father in the bath amongst other horrendous alcohol induced violence. He left school at 15 without being able to read or write. But he now sees these as the basis of his determination, and as such - an absolute positive. At one point he lasted 8 months on bread and cheese alone because he didn’t have enough money for anything else. He remembers at the end of this period he sat down for lunch with his work mate and started crying - his lunch didn’t consist of bread and cheese, he finally could afford something better.
Another guy would sleep for 10 months in a year in his swag as he mustered to save up enough cash to build his business. He too was challenged on the diet front due to lack of money on more than one occassion - eating nothing but fruit cake for a fortnight once. He started his first mustering business at the age of 17 and within 2 weeks he was bust due to non-payment for his first two jobs.
In the height of drought another would get up at 4 am, cut bush (so her stock could eat it) till 8.30, school her kids till 3pm then go out again to cut more bush to keep her animals alive.
A man now with equity of over 15 million had, on the way, had his equity halved twice. The key is he kept going. He didn’t give up. As the Brumbie runner says - giving up is easy, anyone can give up. Not giving up is the defining characteristic of the men and women I have met and who have made it.
To quote a less fashionable musician, Billy Ocean - “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. All street credibility safely destroyed ... phew!
3 comments:
Fool-----Ms Dynamite be damned ---its Frederick Douglass who coined this phrase over 100 yrs before. And i know you hold Ms D in high esteme but this guy was an astute speaker/social reformer/escapee slave and is well worth a read up. I can recomend his auto bio----Life and times of Frederick D (i think thats what its called but you know what my memory is like these days)
Ok, history lesson over---you can get back to your sheep now.
Quit icing my grill man, you is makin me salty. Ms Dynamite is well fly and gravy, innit.
Translation please?
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