The Rock Wall

After the Farm Bureau annual meeting Friday night, I asked Kalena Kenney for help summarizing the speech she gave. What I got in an email Monday morning was a big surprise. It was Kalena’s entire speech.

From my front row table sitting with Pete and Murnie Fast, I never saw Kalena look at any notes. She gave the entire speech verbatim from memory and made it sound like she was just talking off the cuff.

To top it off, her speech was interesting. I thought it was humorous when she told about a Canadian college professor telling about USA farms all being financed by the government and what damage their pollution is doing. Kalena was the next speaker so she scrapped her speech and spent her hour telling the group how farming really is in the U.S. That started an interesting discussion.

Anyway, I was going to edit her speech down for you. Couldn’t do it. I wound up giving the entire speech to Gwen to set for you. Don’t know if Kimball will get it in the paper this week but when she does, it will be worth your time to read it.

I noticed that Kalena left one word out when she thanked the person who introduced her Friday night. She said, “Thank you for that kind introduction.” The missing word was “Mom,” but I doubt there was anyone in the room who didn’t know the connection.

I found out something after the Cedar County Youth Fair in Stockton one year. Kalena and her twin sister, Chelsea, were both filling out checks for exhibitors or something. I noticed that the one doing the writing was left-handed, I think. I asked if the other twin was right-handed, thinking mirror image. Nope, they are not identical, but you couldn’t tell it by looking at them. They are fraternal twins.

I just Googled “fraternal twins” to be sure I was correct. I was and did I ever get an education. Google it for yourself.

It is more likely in older mothers and in tall women. Fraternal twins can even have separate fathers. The article didn’t mention the family squabble that would ensue.

A diet high in yams or sweet potatoes makes fraternal twins more likely.

Older mothers are more likely to have fraternal twins. Fraternal twins are more like to produce fraternal twins.

OK, got to curb my intellectual curiosity and proceed to the usual KL