corn and cows

I just ate half a little bag of Fritos corn chips. The change I got from the vending machine included a 2004 Wisconsin quarter. An ear of corn is part of its design. There is also a cow, a big wheel of cheese, with a wedge missing, and a banner reading 'FORWARD'. I studied the quarter a bit, still bright and shiny. To make the cheese, milk was needed, and in Wisconsin, the milk probably came from the cow. The cow probably ate corn as part of her food intake, especially during freezing winters with prairie grasses covered with snow. Maybe they eat alfalfa, too.

In the early 1960s, a neighbor (who happened to be a traiteur) had a corn field next to our pasture in south Louisiana, and one fall, he told us to help ourselves. Within an hour of picking, half a dozen ears were cooking on the stove, and then served with butter (thank you, cow) and salt. The fresh corn was very very good.

The Fritos weren't bad either.