PART I:
Once upon a time, there was a farmer (note, I am using farmer as a generic term rather than rancher simply because it sounds better than Mr. Rancher). His name was Mr. Farmer. Now, Mr. Farmer was known far and wide for raising some of the best beef cattle around. One day, Mr. Farmer stopped in one of his favorite haunts "The Local Restaurant Where Local Farmers and Workers Hang OUT" (henceforth to be know as TLRWLFWHO). While he was there, he overheard some people talking about the new railroad coming through town and how it would affect how they work their farms. One of them asked Mr. Farmer how he was going to change to accommodate the new railroad. Mr. Farmer's response: "I'll do things the way I've always done things. It has always worked out just fine."
The railroad tracks came right through Mr. Farmer's land. Mr. Farmer noticed that his herd size was falling off quite a bit. He couldn't figure out why, after all, he hadn't changed a thing. He was still running his cattle operation the same way he always had.
Some time later, Mr. Farmer was back in the TLRWLFWHO. He noticed that the special of the day was steak, at half price!! My goodness, he thought to himself, the price of beef must really be dropping if they are selling steak at half-price. Mr. Farmer was placing his order for one of those steaks when he decided to ask Ms. Waitress about the steak special.
Ms. Waitress told him the following: "Well, since the railroad came through all that farmland, some idiot didn't pay attention and put up new fencing to protect his cattle. Whenever the train hits one of those cows, they stop and let the workers pick up the carcass. Those railroad workers are eating mighty high on the cow these days! Since, those workers come in here all the time, we can hardly give beef away! Now, they buy pork and chicken, but no beef. I sure wish somebody would put up a fence to protect those cows because it is hurting our business to where I might lose my job! But, enough about my problems, how is your farm doing these days, Mr. Farmer?"
"We're doing things just like we always have and getting by. Not producing as much as we use to, but since I haven't changed anything, it'll get better" replied Mr. Farmer as he stirred some sugar in his coffee.
PART II:
In the Town of Christiansburg, Town Council members are heard saying we'll do things the way we always have........
Reader, the rest of the story is yours to finish .......