Articles About Online Chatting And Family

An American Family: The Values Of The Prairie

I never met Clifford Erickson. In fact, I never knew his name until I went to Carpio, ND to pay respects to his family. Clifford B. Erickson died at his home in Carpio on June 26, 2006. My wife works for his daughter, Cindy, and they are close friends as well. They have even been mistaken for sisters.

While I never met Clifford, I did get to know him quite well while I was in Carpio. In fact, I?d say Clifford and I became good friends. A man leaves a trail of breadcrumbs across the prairie of life; visible clues about how he lived and how he died. We call that trail ?Family,? and in getting to know his family better over the two days prior to his funeral, Clifford I and developed quite a relationship.

I never set foot in North Dakota until 1997, when I started to travel the ?Roughrider State? for my work. I had not been to North Dakota for almost two years, however, and I had missed the places and the people. I have ties to North Dakota, as my mother grew up out west in Marmarth. So when I go out to the prairies, a piece of me feels like I am going home. When my wife and I went to Carpio, we certainly felt like we were home. We felt like we were with family.

Clifford was 96 when he died, leaving his beloved Irma behind. They were married for 68 years. The two of them raised six wonderful children. The family grew with many sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When we arrived in Carpio, we found this family in mourning and grief as you would expect, but also with a profound joy for a life well lived. The stories and reminisces flowed, too numerous to be mentioned here. These stories told of a good life off the land, not easy, but filled with hard work and endless challenges, but also a life of unspeakable joy and love for one another. The result of the lives of Clifford and Irma is a family that has accomplished much? lives that have meaning. This family isn?t perfect. No family is, but the stories of Clifford and Irma Erickson and their family is a story about what is right about North Dakota?about America.

Two of these stories tell a lot about why this family flourished. One involves the beginning of the day, and the other involves the end of the day.

The Erickson Farm is located at Donnybrook, just north of the highway. The farmhouse overlooks the Des Lacs Valley, and the view is majestic. Every morning, Irma would look out the window and say, ?This is a day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.? And having done so, she would begin her day of cheerful hard work as a farmer?s wife and mother to her children.

Clifford built a beautiful operation. He was respectful of the land, and worked hard and long to support his family, and he loved his Black Angus cattle! The farming life is hard, but Clifford and Irma managed to raise those six children regardless of challenges that came their way. A comment that came up repeatedly from his family about Clifford was that he always made them feel special; he made each of them feel like they were his favorite. Clifford was a man of few words, but when he spoke, people listened. At the end of every day, he always ended it by speaking words that were dear to him. If the day was happy and productive, or one filled with hardship and problems, Clifford would always close it in thankfulness by reciting the Lord?s Prayer.

This foundation of faith and hard work was what brought the family and friends back to Carpio to lay Clifford Erickson to rest. We learn from those that came before us. My hope for Clifford?s family, and especially his grandchildren, is that they never forget that Clifford and Irma built their family on a foundation of love and faith, and they demonstrated that love and faith in all of their family traditions. Family traditions are the handiworks that knit the individual members and the succeeding generations into family, and result from the dedication of a father and mother to certain principles and ideals. By holding on to those traditions, and consciously creating traditions of their own, the grandchildren will insure the legacy of Clifford Erickson lives on.

Clifford, you did your work well; you were a good and faithful servant. Thank you for showing us how to be a husband and father. I have been blessed to get to know you.

Michael Roby is a business strategist for sales organizations, as well as a noted professional motivational speaker. Mike was named ?2005 Member of the Year? by National Speakers Association ? MN. His website is http://www.michaelroby.com., and he can be reached at mike@michaelroby.

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Yahoo Closes Chat Rooms
As a concerned adult who has been involved in online chat for almost six years, I was pleased to see the article regarding the closure of privately owned rooms on Yahoo. My concerns for children and teenagers online have grown over the past years as I have come into contact with people online that I, as a parent, would never have wanted my children to be around, even just on the Internet.

Free Web Advertising: Chat Room Marketing Secrets Of Internet Marketing Gurus Exposed
Have you ever been to a chat room?Have you ever posted a message?If yes, now you may learn some free web advertising secrets on how to market your products and services in chat rooms.Chat Room Marketing is the use of online chat rooms to promote your product or service.

Find Support At One Of Many Parenting Chat Rooms
A few decades ago, if you told an expectant mother there will soon be a way for her to get in contact with other expectant mothers all over the world -- and that it would not be necessary for her to use the telephone to communicate with them -- do you imagine she would have taken you seriously? Seriously, the correct answer is a definite no. During the last ten years, the popularity of parenting chat facilities has ballooned all over the planet.

Blogs, Forums & Chat Rooms
It would seem that nothing can get done these days without computers, there all over the place, in planes, cars and now even children toys its all around us yet some of us seem to have been left behind. Weather we admit it or not computers is the way of the future and we need to get cracking. Although we may never be able to understand how computers work in all these gadgets we need to at least know how it works with the Internet.

Pregnancy Chat Rooms ? Where Experience Meets Apprentice
If you are pregnant for the first time, bless you! You are probably tired, sore for no reason, and questioning the usefulness of your husband. You quite possibly are starving all the time, sick when you eat, and betting that God is indeed male and laughing at your pain. If you are with child and looking for answers to life?s little questions about childbearing and life after baby, pregnancy chat rooms are the perfect place to meet other women that are in your shoes and those that hold the answers.

Chating In Popular Chat Room
Millions of individuals connect on the Internet each and every day. Sometimes these are positive connections and sometimes

Discussion Boards Or Chat Rooms To Profits For Your Web Site
1. You'll be able to communicate with your visitors. They'll begin to trust you and get to know you on a more personal level. People will purchase products quicker from somebody they already know and trust.

Using Chat Rooms To Gain Massive Website Traffic
Spamming chat rooms or instant messaging systems with undifferentiated marketing messages is certainly not a very good idea.

Parenting Chat Rooms Have Developed Over Time
It seems impossible to be able to connect to millions all over the world to talk about parenting advice but it is very possible with a wonderful thing called the internet. It is fun to be an expectant mother because you can find tons of free advice in parenting chat rooms. You get a chance to talk to other mothers who are also expecting and experiencing the same issues you are, either in a parenting chat room or via email, they have become very reliable and is all the rage.

Local Chat Line Numbers: Make New Friends
Local chat line numbers have benefited the people immensely and they have now gained the opportunity that they can talk with anybody they like at any time even if he or she is located at a very desparate place Although higher tariff rates per minute are charged for such chats they are very beneficial for the users because they give them a chance to interact with strangers and make new friends for the wonderful price of free

Free Chat Rooms For Strong Bonding And Relationships Online
Ever thought how good it feels when you talk to a friend or family member and share your secrets The truth is that this vent is necessary for each one of us but there are many amongst us who are shy or who simply due to some reason or the other do not feel it easy to share their feelings and thoughts with people around them

The Secrets of How to stay safe in Adult Chat Rooms
The best way to stay safe when meeting new people in a free adult chatrooms is to ensure your secrecy. There many services out there that allows Internet savvy individuals to find you via your email, phone, or address. Here are our top 10 online social networking tips to keep you safe so that you have a successful online social networking experience.

Online Chat Room: Talk to The Fullest Sense of Conversation
The introduction of the internet has also included another option for the human being other than the coffee shop or the town square. This option is the chatroom which is a web application designed primarily for the purpose of enabling human beings to talk with each other in real time.

Safe Free Chat Rooms Found at ChristiaNet
Free chat rooms such as free penpals, Christian singles, online dating services and social networking are some of the free chat room related articles at http://www.christianet.com/christianpenpals/.