Like my father before me, I like country music.
My interest in C&W is something of an acquired taste. When a Kansas preteen, it was most uncool to listen to anything other than the top 40 music played on KLEO 1480 AM radio. One summer, to show my commitment to pop music, I joined in the competition to suntan the radio station’s call letters on my body.
With the advent of FM radio, I got hooked on “southern rock.” My favorite bands being Pure Prairie League and, some years earlier, the Lovin’ Spoonful. At one time, I pretty much owned everything these bands ever recorded. Other favorite bands included: Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Crosby Stills & Nash, and Marshall Tucker.
The evolution is complete. Nowadays I listen to two kinds of music: country and western.
I like the sound and the stories. Although not technically a “country and western” song, Dan Hick’s & His Hot Lick’s 1970s tune “How can I miss you when you won’t go away?” pretty much epitomizes what country music is all about. It remains my all time favorite song title.
Which brings me to another, somewhat relevant, expression – “you can’t get up if you don’t fall down.” Montague (Massachusetts) plant superintendent Bob Trombley recently used this expression to describe his process control strategy. Let me put it in context.
Bob and Chief Plant Operator John Little – a serious misnomer; John is something like 6’4” and 230 pounds – have been experimenting. Not satisfied with single digit effluent TSS and BOD, they and the rest of the Montague staff are constantly experimenting. They’ve been able to remove 50-75% of the incoming nitrogen and a goodly percentage of the phosphorus. Call it their gift to the environment.
For their ratepayers, they’ve slashed sludge disposal and electrical expenses.
Their improvements have not come without some setbacks. In fact, that’s how I became involved. They got to a point where they wanted some outside help. Their philosophy? You guessed it, “you can’t get up if you don’t fall down.”
A good lesson for us all. Even almost 60-year old cynics such as myself.
Thanks for reading.
Grant