Yazoo Clay

There are two hidden taxes in Mississippi: Cracked windshields and Yazoo Clay. Cracked windshields is a discussion for another day. But Yazoo Clay? It’s like building your house on chicken manure.

If you’re not familiar with Yazoo Clay, it is a VERY expansive soil. If it rains, the clay expands. If it’s dry, contracts. The Yazoo River’s name is said to mean, “River of Death.” That means Yazoo Clay means “Clay of Death.” Death to your life’s savings. Death to your foundation.

To fix your foundation, you have to dig a hole and pour money in it. Then you cover it up. And that’s no guarantee the damage is truly fixed. You could have to dig another hole and pour another truckload of money.

You can tell which homeowners have had the work done. They cry a lot. And they walk with a limp.

I bring it up because it is a pretty good metaphor for life. Life can be Yazoo Clay. And it can wreck your personal house if you don’t take care of your personal foundation. Your personal foundation is what you stand for — your beliefs. Many times you live with the cracks, the shifting, the dropping and rise of the floor. Doors won’t close and windows break. But you ignore it. Because the price of fixing it is too great. But then something happens to make you take action — the damage causes major problems. A pipe breaks. Or you have to sell the house. Life’s like that, too. A major life event happen and you decide it’s time to fix your personal foundation.

Like your home’s foundation, fixing your personal foundation is painful. But you do it anyway. You do your research, you choose the method to fix it and you get busy. Because you can’t rebuild until you suck it up and do the work.

Success requires a good foundation. I know. I’ve lived with a lot of cracks for a long time. But now, I’m working on fixing it. I hope someday my life is as level as my house.

P.S. I can’t say anything good about windshield cracks. But if I had three wishes, I’d make dump trucks cover their loads.