Nappanee Advance-News, Volume 135, Number 36, Nappanee, Elkhart County, 8 September 2016 — Page 4

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Advance News • Thursday, September 8, 2016

Back and forth in time Recently I traveled forty years back in time. I've got to tell you, it was a lot of fun.

Now we inhabit a very strange universe. There are four dimensions to this Space Time continuum thingy we live in, even though there's this speed

limit called the Speed of Light. You can't go faster than light speed, no matter what you see in the movies, but that doesn't affect us most of the time. Like we say in these parts, "Embrace the Pace.". We have a lot of freedom moving back and forth, up and down, and side to side in three of those dimensions. However in that fourth dimension you can only go one direction. Forward to the future. You can't go backwards to the past But what if you could go backwards in time? Time travel is the subject of a lot of science fiction. We'd like to think it would be fun to look back into the past and see what really happened. But what if you changed the past and eliminated yourself? What if you learned the truth about the great religious figures of the past - would that be a good thing or a bad thing. What if -? Which brings me to my own time traveling. 1 found a notebook with a handwritten manuscript of mine from the summer of 1976. I'd just graduated from college and was preparing to go to seminary in the fall. My wife Jennie and I moved to San Diego with job offers that fell through. I felt pretty worthless with no job, so I wrote this short story about a man traveling back to Shakespeare's time, hoping to sell it and make a little money. It was rejected by every science fiction magazine in existence. I felt even worse. I went to seminary and forgot all about that story for two years. Then a new science fiction magazine sprang up: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. I sent them the story. Incredibly the editor asked me for a rewrite. And another. And another. After the fourth rewrite (all of them typed on a manual typewriter) he sent me a contract. Then he sent me a check good for cash money. It was published in July 1979, the same month I became pastor of my first church, located in Los Angeles. That story was reprinted in two different anthologies and each time I got another check. It was read aloud on a radio station. And even today it gets discussed on various science fiction websites because this little story, "The Merchant of Stratford," centers on a paradox of time travel no one thought of before. A couple years ago I had two requests that came two weeks apart, one from New Zealand and another from Denver, asking me why I didn't publish it electronically through Amazon. I couldn't think of a good reason not to, so I did. Recently I took a little trip in timeof my-own. 4 looked over the original manuscript, me rejection slips, the correspondence and the contracts that led to it finally being published. I looked both ways, and since no one was watching, I cheered silently and whispered, "Yeah, me!" The present's a pretty nice place, but the past isn't so bad either. Next time I go time traveling I'll send you a postcard. Frank Ramirez is the Senior Pastor of the Union Center Church of the Brethren.

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County Road Seven I By Frank Ramirez

Community

What’s in a name?

It's certainly one of the most perfunctory salutations one could ever offer. "It's so nice to see you," as a hand extends for a friendly grasp and shake. "My name i 5..." And for the first time in a mighty long while, I have had to stop and consider that declaration.

In a new realm of existence among the single parent brigade, this question of what name to bear suddenly becomes rather complicated. An aside..! must confess to being a genealogy junkie. I'm fascinated by the intertwining of people, sometimes random, sometimes designated by fate or other higher powers. All of which comes down to one person at the end of the line, ultimately the people we have become today. It's been said that many generations ago, folks were bestowed with particular names which were inspired by the vocations and professions they practiced. That would seem perfectly sensible, and some of those surnames can still be evidenced in the present. The Millers, the Bakers, the Carpenters, and with a letter tweak, the Taylors. Although I can't help but wonder...what line of work did the Barkers pursue? Or the Czajkowskis? This notion simultaneously makes me laugh and makes me curious. And then there is my own maiden name, which is Lant. After years of research, I discovered that Lant is a very unusual name, and in these parts, is often mistaken for Lantz. The word is actually of German derivation, and was originally spelled Landt. Once my ancestors arrived in New York in the late 1600 s, they dropped the "d," assumedly for easier pronunciation. Only recently did it dawn on me that for the first half of my life, I was a Lant. In the second chapter of my being, I became a Wenger. As I reflect upon those two widely vascillating times,

Ag outlook meeting set for Sept. 15

Thursday night, Sept. 15,1 will be hosting an Ag Outlook meeting in Ag Hall on the Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds in Goshen. The program will start at 7 p.m. and will be free to the public. Chris Hurt, an Extension Ag Economist from Purdue, will be our speaker that evening. He will be providing information to help farmers, agribusiness suppliers, landowners and managers make better decisions in the coming year. Indiana is expected to have near record com and soybean yields this year. Most of the country has good looking crops as well and the large production will, tend to drive crop. prices lower compared To last feST' This is likely to affect land values and cash rents. How much did they change in 2016 and what might be

‘No ciystal’ sugar synip

I greatly appreciate all of you that have read my column over me years and continue to read it. It is a real bonus when I receive a phone call or email prompted from reading my column, witn your questions or suggestions. I am very open to your suggestions for column topics but I won't promise to always write on the suggested subject. This week's column is a result of one of those conversations. I started talking to a caller about canning and then the conversation went to simple syrup solutions and that took me to the chemistry of cooking and sugar.Most of you know about sweet tea as we have been influenced by all of our southern friends and trips to the south. Sometimes I think some of the sweet tea I have been served is more like tea syrup, very sweet and has a thickness about it. When many cooks are preparing beverages of any kind they often make a simple syrup solution. This solution is a 2 to 1 ratio of sugar to water, it sweetens drinks without diluting them, but sugar crystals

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Wisdom and Whimsy By Amy Lant-Wenger

Extension Tips By Jeff Burbrink

the direction for 2017 and beyond? Are land values and rents going to adjust a little bit more, or a lot more? The longer-term outlook for 2017 to 2019 crops will also be discussed. Agriculture is in the process of adjusting to lower crop prices. Will input prices drop enough to help reduce costs? How can crop farmers adjust to tighter, or even negative margins? TV uni (ttt tile iiUUfcdUV*T j&Eii the best crops to plant in 201// Wf|aP farm and agribusiness management strategies will work best in the current economic environment?

Food and Nutrition By Mary Ann Uenhart Cross

can form if the water is only just brought to a boil. When you prepare a syrup with such a high ratio of sugar to water, often referred to as a rich syrup, the chances of sugar molecules clustering and crystallizing is high. Simple syrup crystallizes when enough of the sugar molecules stick to one another that they become insoluble in the water. As I thought through this process I thought about the neating of the water, the length of time the solution is heated and possibly what could be added. The process of cooking is really science. There are some ingredients that are supposed to prevent crystals from forming suen as lemon juice, which is an acid, and also cream of tartar. They both work but only short term and if you increase the quantity of either

I arrive at the realization that there is more to a name than simply birthright. It is about being part of a family, a tribe, a gathering of myriad hearts and shared memories. Now I'm faced with the question posed to me...what name shall I use? What name will be emblazoned on my softball team

jersey? What name do I attribute my byline to? What name

will be my signature flourish in all tiungs from this moment forward? It's a greater conundrum than I ever thought possible, a seemingly flippant choice to weigh which of the two names merits the most importance in my life. So my solution to this dilemma is to say...they both do. I am infintely proud to be a Lant, one of two daughters to my uninhibited, free-spirited, ceaselessly loving parents. One of whom I am blessed to have nearer to me following our recent move to Nappanee, while the other waits to meet me again in the heavenly hereafter. As one of "Bob's girls," I became a writer, a dreamer, a lover of the '6os and '7os culture I was raised within, and a passionate reader and adorer of music. And then I joined the Wenger family. It was there that I became a mother, a wife, an author, and a volunteer to causes I would have never envisioned myself devoted to as a youth. To this day, whenever I see one of my former teachers, they still cannot believe I have composed history publications, as that was one of my very worst subjects in school. And so it has been realized, the resolution far more effortless when driven by the spirit and not the confines of bloodlines. I am both a Lant and a Wenger. And I will love them all forever. They are family. We are family. With that said, allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Amy Lant-Wenger. And it's a pleasure to greet you and meet you.

The Farm Bill has some safety net features for farmers in the form of crop insurance and commodity payments. Those payments have helped, but have not been sufficient to return most crop farms to profitability. This program will evaluate how those safety nets are working for farm families. The animal industries have respond to lower feed prices by expanding their herds and flocks. Larger production, including the supply of milk, means lower animal product prices. The program will also evaluate whether feed prices will drop enough to compensate for lower animal product prices. is an - Agriculture & Natural Resources, with Purdue Extension-Elkhart County

to be effective you taste them. So the answer is the length of time spent heating the sugar and water solution which makes the syrup. To prevent the crystals from forming you need to prolong the heating or cooking time. Instead of just bringing the sugar and water to a boil you need to simmer it covered for 10 minutes. In this process you inverted enough of the sugar and water without changing the flavor. So here is a method to try: bring 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan, I prefer the pan to be stainless steel. Cover it and let it simmer for 10 minutes, then let it cool completely. The syrup you made can be refrigerated for at least two weeks without crystallization. So now you know the science behind making a syrup that doesn't crystallize. Enjoy whatever beverage you make! Mary Ann Lienhart Cross is an Extension Educator - Health & Human Sciences with Purdue ExtensionElkhart County

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