When I think about total contentment, I close my eyes and go back to years ago and fishing trips with my grandaddy, Raif Wilson. I can picture sitting in the front of 1 of his Jon boats while we fished the mighty Pea River and the channels leading into West Bay, Florida. And I remember looking back at him in the rear of the boat and seeing the look of total contentment on his face.
That contentment held even when I would hang my Rapala broken-back lure on a submerged log, usually because I was fishing from the side of the boat. Fishing Etiquette 101 says the person at the front of the boat should fish ahead of it, leaving the side for the person in the rear. But that wasn’t a problem for Grandaddy. His contentment remained as he dropped his paddle to unhang my lure. All he would say was, “Keep your line tight.”
Around the West Bay channels, there are flies called Ceratopogonidae, commonly called “no-see-ums.” These creatures attack with their mouths wide open as they land on you, and you cannot see them biting the rip out of you. I’m questioning my shorts and muscle shirt. My grandaddy is wearing a lightweight, sleeved shirt and lighting up a cigar—the no-see-ums avoiding him—that look of total contentment still on his face.
As I watched the uproar in our country this past spring, I thought about how we could use more of that contentment in our society. There’s nothing wrong with living a simple life of being happy and satisfied. As I watched the protesters at some of our country’s campuses for higher learning, I couldn’t help but wonder if they felt the contentment my grandaddy had.
It brings Ephesians 4:14 to mind: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
The electric industry has its share of crafty people and deceitful scheming. As a cooperative, South Alabama Electric was very satisfied with the completion of the Vogtle nuclear plant outside of Augusta, Georgia. It came online this May after more than 16 years and billions of dollars over budget due to government regulations.
There have been times when government action has worked for the people. The Rural Electrification Act passed in 1936 allowed the government to make loans to rural people to create non-profit cooperatives to bring electricity to rural America. The key word was “loan.” People were willing to step up and pay for that service and took pride in their cooperative because nothing was given to them. The REA program became 1 of President Roosevelt’s greatest successes.
But things are changing. In May, instead of loans, the secretary of energy announced green energy grants for rural areas. It reminds me of President Reagan’s inaugural address in 1981, when he said, “We are a nation that has a government, not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people.”
We should not forget this statement when the EPA steps outside of its domain with unrealistic and unachievable rules. They are not working for the people but their own agenda to remove fossil fuel-generated electricity, even as China and India are expanding their coal-red electric generation portfolios.
So, what is the answer? Slow down the retirement of coal-red generation until it’s not cost-effective, not because of EPA rules and regulations. Build a diverse base load of electric generation that is affordable and reliable. You might wonder where green power is in this plan. It’s simply 1 part of a diversified energy portfolio, not base load energy.
My Grandaddy Raif has been gone from this world for over 30 years, but I’m still thinking, talking, and writing about him. I’ll be sure to tell my grandkids all about him, and my youngest even carries his name. I hope the campus protesters will have someone talking about their contentment and character 30 years from now. Until next month, be safe.