We need rain

Well we finally got some rain a week or two ago. Not much but we can say it rained. It did clean some of the dust off the trees and plants and such, but it didn't really rain enough to do much good.

Growing up it got dry in the Sandhills now and then, but back then it was Dad's and Mom's headache. It wasn't mine. I lived there and worked beside them, but with all honesty I didn't have any skin in the game. Mom and Dad did. If there wasn't enough hay either the cows did without or Dad had to buy hay. And if the summer grazing was short and the cows did without, then most likely the calves they were nursing wouldn't put weight on. Or if it was dry in the summer and there wasn't enough hay, the cows were malnourished then the newborn calves would be born weak or still born or a bunch of other not-so-pleasant outcomes. I mean I had to be concerned, but it was their worry.

No rain meant the lakes were low, so that affected my fishing. No rain meant fencing would be harder. If sand is damp you can dig a hole for a fencepost pretty easy. If sand is dry it is a bear to dig holes. If it's real dry, the water table underground might drop, creating problems. Dry weather means more work and impacts my fishing and even hunting.

So who does this dry weather today really impact? It impacts those in agriculture for sure. Impacts the dry-land farmer for sure. Impacts those who raise cattle. Impacts the vegetable grower. Affects those who grow fruits and nuts and grapes and such. Impacts those who have lawns but not like the farmer or rancher. I'm sure there are others impacted by the drought.

But what I'm driving at is that if one doesn't have skin or investments or such in something like farming or ranching or even gardening one isn't affected all that much by the drought. Kind of like the hurricane that just blew through Florida. We have friends who live in Florida, and their homes had damage, some of which was severe. But back here in Missouri we see the pictures and realize the damage, but at the same time the damage isn't personal. We have friends who own property in Florida and if we could we'd probably go help, but at our age we might be more of a hindrance then a benefit.

Many years ago I had a friend/acquaintance who would loan money to individuals with less than stellar loan history. So my friend would require collateral. Might be a tool box full of tools or a jack or collectables. He tried to make sure the loan was covered. But in the end both the borrower and the loaner had skin in the game.

I walk into an office seeking financial advice. My money or lack of money or whatever I'm wanting help with is my skin in the game. But what does the financial adviser bring to the table? One is his reputation. Another is his past history. Another is recommendations from those we know. So in other words, we are banking on the financial adviser's past history. I walk into a bank and want to borrow money. They have the money so they will have a stake or skin in this game. If I have collateral that will be my skin. If I don't have collateral, then my good name and financial history is also my skin. I'm really cautious when someone wants to use or control what I have or whatever I'm in charge of without having a stake in the game or some skin, if you will.

As we go through this life and bump into different people or situations ask yourself what skin do they have in this or what will they gain or what will this cost me? This might be a good time to protect our skin so to speak.