I stand corrected

Farmers and ranchers always know how far it is to someplace, and how big something is.
How many feet, inches,
miles, acres, quarters...sections...
They know, because they work on the land, and they own the land. And they fix things, and build things. So they are accustomed to quantifying in rather specific numbers without even going to measure.

I got home from a Bob Dylan concert one year, on like July 2 or 3, and then on the 4th I was at friends' house -- or, yard -- outside in the dark, the fireworks long over, people were conversing, drinking beer, stretching out the social time, when I arrived. Mentioning the concert (I was still in a mind-set of Total Happiness and -- Can't Believe How Great It Was), I told some long-time acquaintances, "I saw Bob Dylan and Paul Simon! In concert! It was so great! Unbelievable! Unforgettable! Amazing!
--------- And I was right up front, close to the stage, back only a few rows of people, because it was open seating, first-come-first-serve, and I went down to the site nine hours early so I could wait, and be close! I didn't even need binoculars! It was incredible -- I was right there!"
-------------------------
(Not talking about the specific songs -- "Highway 61," "Tangled Up In Blue," etc. because don't think these folks know those songs -- I only shared what I thought this particular group would relate to. I was so thrilled. I could not come down off the cloud.)

And one guy who was there, about 4 years older than me -- I've known him forever, and yet don't know him -- a lot of relationships are like that -- he's a prosperous farmer who criticizes and complains a lot...he challenged me: "How close were you to that stage? How far was it, between you and Bob Dylan?"
---------------------------------I knew he was putting me "on the spot." I didn't mind. (I was happy to talk about any aspect of the Bob Dylan / Paul Simon concert...! My enthusiasm could not be contained.)
"Ummh--I was -- 50 yard, or maybe -- 40 yards -- 40 or fifty yards away from the stage!"
"Really?" he queried.
I said, "Yeah, like from here, where I'm standing, to -- over there, the barn, right there. From here to there."
He scoffed, "That ain't fifty yards...that's barely fifty feet!"
He gets to be right, right? In front of an audience of his peers. ...
He wanted me to feel corrected. Humbly corrected.
But I was only more jubilant --
"You mean I was only fifty FEET from Bob Dylan ??!!????!!!!!!!?!"
........................
--That was the only piece of information that could have made me any More Happy, that evening.
Thanks, buddy!

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