The Cream Rises to the Top
A common saying in the days before homogenized milk was, “cream rises to the top.”
Farmers and others with milk cows in the backyard experienced this saying as a real phenomenon on a daily basis.
A common kitchen appliance in those homes was a cream separator. Some of my relatives, for example, had a Marvel Gravity Cream Separator in their kitchens or dining rooms.
The Marvel was the simplest of the cream separators. It was a blue, six gallon metal bucket with a funnel shaped bottom and a sight glass imbedded in the full length of the device. The container was on legs that raised the spigot at the end of the funnel about two feet off the floor.
Warm milk right out of the cow was poured into the separator and left to sit for several hours. A simple glance through the sight glass would show the cream forming as it rose to the top. When no more cream was forming, the milk was drained through the spigot.
The skimmed milk was then fed to the hogs, chickens, or other animals on the farm. The cream was saved for home made butter, cheese, and other goodies.
That process reminds me of the current Republican contest for the presidency. The political Marvel Gravity Cream Separator has been filled to the top with candidates for the appropriate time, and the cream is beginning to rise to the top.
The cream is taking the form of Dr. Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, the retired CEO of Hewlett-Packard, an international corporation.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have been supporting Carson with contributions and other actions from the beginning of the “Run, Ben, Run” campaign. This movement began shortly after he told President Obama how the cow eats the cabbage over the Affordable Care Act at a prayer breakfast in D.C. I proudly display a “Hillary for Queen, Ben Carson for President” sticker on the back window of my pick up.
Carson and Fiorina are refreshing in so many ways. One of their best features is answering questions directly, specifically, and completely. Ask them, for example, “Is that house black or white?” Each of them will simply say, “White” (if that’s the case). Or they might string it out with something like, “It looks white to me.”
Most other politicians would answer with something like, “Well, some people would say it is grey. Others might think it is some degree of bright white. Even more would go on about it being a new shade of white, etc., etc..” This would go on for about five minutes so there would not be time for any other questions.
So here’s the perspective.
Carson and Fiorina on a ballot for POTUS and Vice President (in any order) would be a dream ticket for Republicans. The dream for Democrats, however, would be a nightmare.
An exceptionally brilliant and well qualified black man and an equally qualified white woman leading the Republican ticket would pull the two main teeth of the Democrat campaign. What could they argue in lieu of Republicans are racists and anti women?
So pull your chair up to the political cream separator and watch the cream rise.
enough
