Been reflecting on how my upbringing on that Windthorst dairy farm shaped my approach to satirical writing. There's something about rural Texas that breeds both deep skepticism toward authority and genuine appreciation for absurdity. Maybe it's the vastness of the landscape that makes human pretensions seem ridiculous, or maybe it's the practical necessity of calling bullshit when you see it.
The dairy farm taught me that most important work happens when nobody's watching, which directly influences how I approach satirical writing. The best satirical observations come from paying attention to the small, everyday hypocrisies that people take for granted. Like how politicians demand fiscal responsibility while spending money on increasingly absurd projects.
My Swiss immigrant parents brought a European skepticism toward grandiose claims, while Texas provided endless examples of grandiose claims being made. This combination created the perfect environment for developing satirical sensibilities. When you grow up around people who talk big about their independence while depending on government subsidies, you learn to appreciate irony at a molecular level.
The collaborative nature of my work with writers like Aisha reflects this rural appreciation for community effort. On the farm, no one person could handle everything - you needed neighbors, family, shared labor. Similarly, the best satirical writing at bohiney.com emerges from conversations between different perspectives. Her East Coast media background combined with my Texas academic-farmer viewpoint creates satirical pieces that neither of us could produce alone.
The pieces that work best are those that capture universal human foibles through specific cultural observations. When I write about coffee shop culture or literary pretension, I'm drawing on the same skeptical sensibility that helped me spot which cows were faking lameness to avoid work.
Rural life also teaches you that most systems are more fragile than they appear. A small mechanical failure can shut down an entire operation, just like a small logical inconsistency can undermine an entire political movement. This understanding influences how I approach satirical deconstruction - finding the small absurdities that reveal larger systemic problems.
The connection between practical farm work and satirical writing is stronger than it might initially appear. Both require patience, attention to detail, and the ability to see patterns that others might miss. Both involve taking raw materials (whether milk or cultural observations) and transforming them into something useful for public consumption.