To Go Into the Unknown Part II
To Go Into the Unknown Part II
-Crossing Into Virginia
Appears in this episode
What I’m listening to…
I have traveled such a distance
Just to see the smile that's on your face
And I have traveled far and wide,
And I have died and lived and flown through time and space
And the most familiar happiness I've ever known is here with me again
Tucked away inside my home
This rolling stone has found a rock to call his friend
And if you wonder where my heart is when I'm out on the road
It's right at home, I left it honey just for you to hold
And if you wonder how I'm doing, know that I am doing fine
But I wish I was in Virginia on the Russell County line
Thank you for listening to my message.
To Go Into the Unknown Part II
As I look down at the odometer I see 3021 miles driven. As I look up at the road I see history, heritage, and legacy. I see Shenandoah, I see Ginger Hill Angus.
I go into the unknown once again.
Over the last 45 months, I have traveled across the world and the United States. I have pointed my compass in every direction and used every form of transportation that has been available. From planes, trains, automobiles, motorcycles, and buses, and down to my own two feet I have stepped into the unknown.
I have been asked 1000’s of times, “What is the Beef Initiative?”
From the beginning, it has been a journey into the unknown. It has been a leap of faith that has taken me across the planet and it has been an exploration of where we came from, where we currently stand, and where we are going in the ranching cattle-producing industry in the US and across the world.
I have performed and put together 1000’s of hours of beef intelligence and traveled 100,000’s of miles on my quest to provide an answer to the simple and honest question of “What is the Beef Initiative?”
I have drained my bank account. Worn out my pick-up truck, and been separated from my family and I have defined who I am as a man, father, son, brother, friend, confidant, and as the founder of TBI. I have placed my life into the unknown.
To drive through the gates of Ginger Hill Angus outside of Washington, VA is to journey into a priceless piece of art that only history can paint over the years of hard work, vision, and a family unit that has forged a path that leads to a timeless legacy.
Ginger Hill Angus is America. It is a place that once you enter you will never forget. It is what our ancestors saw, it is what our nation is fast becoming blind to.
It is the balanced voice and vision of the Great American Rancher.
Over this past weekend over 150 people attended, volunteered, and led a movement that was possible because one ranching family chose to open their gates so that a nation could have a glimpse into their past, present, and future. They allowed complete strangers a glimpse into who they are and what and why they do what they do.
They opted into the unknown.
I am still in the mind space of just experiencing something that is not completely clear. Not because of confusion or lack of clarity but because of the warmth and generosity that I and so many other people experienced.
Dr. Brooke Miller & Wife Ann are true stewards of vision and compassion. They are a team, they are parents. They are the great American Ranching family that has stewarded their family unit, land, and their cattle over many decades. Just as their family did before them.
The American rancher each day goes into the unknown in so many ways that are not understood by the general public. To be an American rancher in our modern times takes a special kind of engineering that very few people can stomach. It requires a form of resiliency and faith that is fast becoming extinct within this nation and our Western culture.
Over my lifetime I have seen the decline of strength, spirit, and the form of resiliency required to be a rancher in the US. I have seen empowerment and sovereignty slowly drained from the lands that at once gave this nation a form of strength and fluidity that no other country in the world could match.
We are in a battle to save this spirit and the Miller family has taken on the responsibility and call to action to save something that once was and in a way that only the modern-day cattleman and cattlewoman can.
I say this now - We require and humbly request that 1000 more ranching families come forward so that we can open up 10,000 more gates across this nation. We also call on each of you to help us reach out to all the ranchers in the United States so that we may build a bridge to what once was and what will be.
As Brooke and I kicked off the Ginger Hills Beef Initiative Summit my first words to the crowd were simple.
“This day is and will be a true CALL TO ACTION!”
The Miller family did not nor ever have they ever had to hear these words that I spoke. Each day of their life is a call to action. To live the life they eloquently orchestrate demands a focus, intentional decision-making, and a form of proof of work very few people are willing to put forth.
I met Brooke last year. I was introduced to him by Marty Bent of the podcast series Tales from the Crypt. Here is a podcast they recorded together.
Brooke was the current acting president of the US Cattlemen's Association and he had heard of the Beef Initiative but we had not been introduced yet.
Our friendship and now partnership was a journey into the unknown for each of us. Many of you recall our Tennessee Beef Initiative Summit that was held in Nashville last December. On that same weekend myself, Cole Bolton, Jason Wrich, Marty Bent, Matt Odell & Matt Kita were on a panel at the annual US Cattlemen’s Association convention that was also being held in Nashville.
For each of us, it was a journey into the unknown. Brooke stepped up and asked me if I could put together a panel of ranchers and bitcoiners so that we may introduce a new understanding of how ranching and bitcoin could work together to help empower the modern-day cattleman/woman.
I have found out through experience that most of the last three years of my life and lifestyle are filled with never-ending journeys into the unknown that I keep and will continue to refer to.
Do you see a pattern?
Do you understand that this movement that we are all creating together does not have a playbook or a script.
Our relationships, our efforts, our collective intelligence, and proof of work have no guarantees but require one major aspect that you the reader can provide. It requires you to honor and take up the call to action to hear and see what is unfolding in front of you.
To know the Miller family is to know a symbol of strength, love, and compassion for their fellow citizens around them and for this nation.
You see, what they truly understand and have carved in their DNA is a form of community. To visit Ginger Hill at the base of the Shenandoah National Park is to visually see something that is engraved into the history of this nation. It is a sound of the past, present, and future. Each member of the family is a steward in their own right.
……to be continued next week as this weekend's highlights unfold.
I am now on my way to Washington DC. We are about to have some ears and eyes on us in a way that only going into the unknown will reveal.
Will you join me?
A special thanks to the Miller family and to the Ginger Hill Angus Ranch.
-Brooke & Anne Miller
-Matt & Amanda Kita (daughter Louisa)
-Henry & Libby Miller (son Oliver)
-Hodge & Kay Miller
-Conner Miller & Emily Berg
Ginger Hill Angus Beef Initiative Summit 2023 was a historical journey - highlights and review next week.
Don’t miss this week’s podcast, I Am Texas Slim - Episode 20: HomeTown Meats with Clyde Sommerlatte and Cole Bolton
In this episode:
Producers and Processing centers
Day in the life of C. Sommerlatte
Ground Zero w/ C. Bolton of KandC Cattle
Featuring Texas Low & Slow
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-Clara & Fritz
Remember, we are grass-fed and grassroots!
Coming together as a community is the only way to take our future back from corporate giants who believe they can kill off the American rancher. We’re stronger than they think, especially when we work together. Join the revolution by donating whatever you can give. Every single donation goes towards rebuilding a better way of life for ourselves and, most importantly, our children.
Looking for #volunteers to become a part of the movement
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In need of the following:
Content writers
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Please reach out to texasslimtour2023@gmail.com for details.
Thank you and God Bless you all. 🤝
-Slim
Get to work folks. This is a call to action.
No More Excuses🤝