Up here if a farmer isn't complaining about something his friends start planning the wake. We hunted Old Tony's farm, an uncle married one of his daughters. One year Tony was bitching about how grain prices were depressed and how he and his kids worked hard all year and made no money. Dad was a tolerant fellow but Tony went too far and Dad mentioned the new pickups in the yard, one for Tony and each of his kids. Tony hemmed and hawed and mumbled that they needed the new trucks for farm work. Dad let it drop. Tony finally stopped whining. Being a respectful little kid I just took it all in as a lesson in the ways of South Dakota farmers.
