I got up at 6 a.m. this morning to go to exercise at my gym. Curiously, something I avoided for decades – regular exercise – is now something I want very much to do.

Some of my friends think I’m reckless to go to a gym as the pandemic rages, but doing this work is a part of who I am now, and I don’t want to get out of the habit.

Staying healthy requires discipline and commitment. On the way out I ran into Ed Gulley’s Tin Man, a fixture that has become one of the enduring symbols of Bedlam Farm.

I always say “Good Morning,” Ed,” when I pass by the Tin Man in the morning on my way to the barn. (Ed, for those of you who are new, was a passionate farmer, artist, and friend who died of brain cancer a couple of years ago. We loved one another very much, and I miss him very much.)

I miss Ed and think of him often. He was somebody I could argue politics with in a way that was both interesting and fun. I asked him once why he voted for Trump, and he said, “I hope he sets fire to Washington and Congress.”

Ed got his wish and then some, I would have loved to hear his thoughts about the capitol assault. I really can’t guess what he would have made of it, although I’d love to know.

Ed was a law and order man, a fierce defender of the police. I doubt he would have liked to see those images of police officers being beaten and dragged downstairs.

I often talk to the Tin Man that Ed made, I think his spirit lives in that metal sculpture. Ed never threw any tractor part or farm detritus away, he used all of it for his art.  It was stored in several barns.

I am so sorry not to see where he would have gone with his art, we had so much talk scheming about it. And he is the only person I know that I’d love to talk politics with.