As we all know, we get older with every minute of every day. But what has that aging process accomplished?

Perhaps a walk through some history will help answer that question.

During a recent visit to our local county history center, I decided to meander through the agricultural exhibit room. The items on display are amazing, and although old, they have aged well. Then, there it was!

Our family grew up on a hard working farm in southwest Minnesota. We raised pigs, fed out steers, took care of a bunch of chickens and hand milked dairy cows twice a day. In the history center’s ag room, my eyes fell upon an old friend — a DeLaval cream separator. The milking process went like this…

Our dairy cows were placed in their stanchions, given some grain and hay to eat while we placed our stools on one side in front of the cow’s back leg. We placed our bucket under the cow’s udder, sat on the stool with our head leaning on the cow and we hand milked the animal.

When finished — meaning the cow had no more milk to give — we carried the milk bucket into the milk room. Awaiting us stood our good old DeLaval cream separator. We poured the milk into the top container of the separator, started hand cranking the machine, and then released the fresh milk into the separator.

The spinning machine separated the cream from the milk, and we poured the cream into one five-gallon container and the milk into another five-gallon milk can. Both liquids then went to our local creamery.

While looking at the history center’s cream separator, all those old memories jumped to the surface. My visit released a good old memory that just might remind me how much I’ve aged. Hmmm…

Changing the subject to wine, what’s better old wine or aged wine? Is it necessary to have aged the wine in barrels for months or years to ensure a better liquid? Many times, the answer is yes. Barrel aging a wine softens the bitter tannins through a complex chemical process that involves the wine’s sugars, acids and phenolic compounds. The result is a more complex and softer tasting wine. However, a wine sitting a bottle for a long time can be very enjoyable, too. Let’s just say an old wine is good, an aged wine is good and a new wine is good. Get the picture — all wines are good!

Therefore, let’s agree that age gets better with wine so enjoy a glass!

We are fortunate to have so many well preserved buildings in our river city. Everywhere you go, there is a site with a long history. When you have the opportunity to learn more about these aged historical buildings, grab it.

Where is all this taking us? Maybe, we should never forget that we age with every passing second. What we do through acts of kindness helps determine if we have learned anything as we get older. Aging and getting older is good. You’ve earned every doggone moment.

Now, get out there and hand milk a cow! Guess what you’ll learn!

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!