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CHAMPION—April 16. 2012

           Again Champion is awash in gratitude for the much needed rain and more for the absence of the dangerous weather that has caused such destruction to communities to the North, South, East and West.   Champions agree that good fortune is a frequent circumstance in their charming berg and can muster no complaint while they express genuine compassion for those suffering elsewhere.

          ‘Rambunctious’ is a big word used by an outspoken young lady, four and a half years old, describing a cow that her family recently took to the sale barn.  This is a very descriptive word that communicates well the nature of the beast.    The little girl now sees that being too high spirited and boisterous can have disagreeable results.  She is beginning to see that ’cause and effect’ is a concept worth studying.  It is interesting that ‘study’ sounds like such a chore to some and to others it is a way to get out of work.  One prominent Champion says that he has to use his dictionary to read the Champion News sometimes.  A favorite daughter-in-law points out that one of the most important rules of journalism is that the reader should always be able to easily understand everything that is being written.  It was the cause of some relief to her when she understood that there is not even a flimsy pretense of journalism at play here.  

          As it happens Bob Berry had his birthday on the fourteenth of April!   He does not get over to Champion as often as people would like, but springtime will have him out cruising the countryside in a fine looking Studebaker and everyone will be glad to see his pleasant smile and that of Lovely Mary as well.   It will be like old times.  He bought the winning ticket for the quilt that Esther pieced for the Skyline VFD Chili Supper last month.  One can just imagine the smile that put on his face.  His birthday may seem to come around more often than Aaron Linder’s does.  His is on the twentieth.   It is hard to believe that just ten short years ago Aaron was only five!  Amazing!  He is an eighth grader at Skyline School and has done his part over the years to keep it a lively and exciting place to be.  Testing is going on there this week so everyone is arriving well rested and properly nutritioned for success.   Champion! 

          About this time of the year two years ago it was noted briefly that “Champion is a bustling place—full of commerce, community and fellowship.  As for commerce, Henson’s Store on the North Side of the Square is opening an Annex on the West Side of the Square to serve as temporary quarters while the Historic Emporium undergoes some rehabilitation.  It may be disruptive and as a consequence, a curiosity, but the end result will be that nothing of significance will have changed visibly while the substructure is vastly updated and stabilized.”  As things happened, the rehabilitation process was considerably more expansive than all but those in the know could have imagined.  Now even the infrequent visitor to Champion has become accustomed to the changes and most would agree that the ambient feel of the place has not been altered in any unpleasant way.  It is an ideal place for conservatives who seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while still not being opposed to the advantages of some modern improvements.  The Pepsi Cola folks were pleased to install a nice new cooler in the Recreation of the Historic Emporium recently.  Long years ago, back during World War II, before there was much pavement at all in the area, the Coca Cola delivery drivers would gripe about all the flats they would get on the road.  Rubber was an expensive commodity and tires were frequently of fairly low quality.  The Pepsi Cola drivers did not gripe about it so much, so Mr. Henson let the Coca Cola fellows know that they did not need to bother coming down to Champion anymore.  For a long time Pepsi was the favorite there, and Orange Crush and Grape Nehi.    It is a nice cooler and the addition of it has allowed for an expansion of inventory in the refrigeration section.   Conservatives can celebrate making fewer trips to town.  How Champion! 

          A pleasant visit with Esther Wrinkles on the phone reveals that one of her little tomato plants suffered a little frostbite the other night.  She agrees that it is a difficult year to figure out for the garden.  She is beginning to feel a little better over her foot injury, which was five weeks ago, but has grown weary of just sitting around.  She has friends and neighbors stopping in on her, though so she will not get too lonesome.  She said she has not been over to the Vanzant music in a few weeks.  Maybe this will be the week she gets out.  Sometimes just acting like you feel better makes it happen.   Champions hope it is true and send their best wishes to their good friend.  Meanwhile, Linda’s Almanac says that root crops can be planted up until the 19^th, and then starting the 22^nd it will be a good time for above the ground crops.  The rain has really improved the looks of things, though some are already griping about having to mow again. 

          “Who controls the past controls the future.  Who controls the present controls the past.”  That is one of the most interesting quotes out of the novel, “1984.” Certainly everyone is partial to his own history.  Veterans like to remember what caused the wars they fought and those soldiers with whom they fought and those at home for whom they fought.    Champions like to remember the Veterans.   Practically any subject that can be thought of comes up for discussion down at the Conservatory that also serves as the Meeting Room at The Recreation of the Historic Mercantile on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Enjoy some coffee or a pop with friends and neighbors there and dredge up the past liberally.  For a nice chunk of Champion past go to www.championnews.us.  Tell the old stories until all the young people are sick of them and then tell them again.  Sing, “Don’t forget me, Little Darling, when I’m growing old and gray, just a little talk before I’m going far away. “  No use going anywhere but Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—April 9, 2012

           In Champion the gardener waits for the harvest and has patience for it and like James said, he is patient while waiting for the early and later rain. Some particular Champion husbandmen would like that later rain to come on early.  It seems dry, so some are watering and mulching and all are paying attention.   James is the same guy who said, “Sing if you are happy.” 

          Champions cannot sing enough the praises of the U.S. Postal Service.  There are stories about a mail carrier from the old days who drove like he was flying low.  Homer Akins was his name and people on Route Two made decisions about being out on the road based on whether it was time for the mail.    Cletus Upshaw took on the route when he got out of the Marine Corps and he was the mailman for many long and interesting years.  There are lots of good stories about him, but mostly it was Cletus who told the stories and he was a good storyteller.  He knew the history of every nook and cranny in these parts and of everybody who lived in them.  A guy with that kind of information could have been quite a gossip, but that is not something that anyone who knew him ever says about Cletus.  Bob Chadwell drove the route for a while, but now he has people out on Route One looking both ways before they enter the road way.   Karen Ross is the smiling face that brings the magazines, the bills, the letters from grandchildren and other family and friends and she does an excellent job.  Her boss, who had a pleasant and successful fishing trip recently, has plenty of good things to say about her too.  She brings all the fan mail to Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717, one of which last week was a glowing piece from Darrell and Betty Haden over in Tennessee.  The kind Professor always offers such encouragement.  He is a Champion.   Ms. Ross also brings the newspapers about which Mark Twain said, “If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.”  Champions know what they are getting!   A note in the Champion at getgoin.net mailbox refers to last week’s reference to the novel, “1984.”  She says that “the mutability of the past” is the most frightening aspect of the whole thing.   Her concern seems to be that by systematically ignoring the truth of the past and glorifying the fiction of the past, the population can be manipulated in the present.  She cited the appalling Iran/Contra Scandal that was going on in 1984, as an example and encourages some careful study before jumping on the bandwagon for another war.  Champions pay attention. 

          Harley and Barbara, Donald and Rita, all Kriders, all made it home safely after a too short but most pleasant visit to Champion.  They are a nice bunch to meet in the Club Room at the Historic Emporium where coffee and pleasant conversation flow freely.  Peanuts on the table aid yarn spinning and an enjoyable hour can pass quickly.  It cannot be too soon to reprise the holiday.  They had made a pilgrimage to a place over on McCraddock creek where Donald lived as a young boy.  The sound of the waterfall there was the same as in his youth and the memories came in a stream that left a contented smile on his face.   He told a joke about somebody dreaming they were a muffler and waking up exhausted.  That was the best of the lot of his jokes, though he seemed to think they were all funny.  Funny. 

          The Skyline School Board has two new members—Wes Woods and Brian Sherrill.  They will be interested to know that a seventh grader named Mark Blakely will be thirteen on the 12^th of the month and Morgan Whitacre will have her twelfth birthday on the 14th.  Toby Marceaux will also be twelve on the 17^th and Brice Atchison will be twelve on the 18^th.  This wonderful little school always has some excitement going on.  It is great to see parents interested and active in the education of their children.  These children will be the people who will be running things in just a few years.  Hopefully they will be prepared to do a better job of it than their antecedents. 

          On the KY3 News at noon the other day, a Champion happened to see a photograph of a magnificent morel mushroom laying in the palm of a man’s hand and it reached from wrist to the end of the fingers and was perhaps half the breadth of the hand in width.  The announcer said that the picture was sent in by someone named Jones from Stockton.  Hearsay is that this is the same George G. Jones whose birthday falls on the fated fifteenth of April, Income Tax Day, and for that reason is always remembered.  He may be remembered for other things too, as is Dusty Mike who shares that same memorable birthday with his charming wife’s dear Aunt Vivian.  They all like mushrooms so that is another thing they have in common.   C.J. (Cowboy Jack) asked the other day if anyone had a chain available to lend out since he had found a mushroom down in the holler so big that he could not get it out by himself.    Remember, he is the guy who would not mislead you, though he certainly will haul you a load.  C.J. is the gardener’s friend.  Linda’s Almanac says that the 13^th and 14^th as well as the 18^th and 19^th will all be good days for planting below the ground crops like beets, carrots, turnips, radishes and onions.  No use speculating about the weather.  Every gardener must decide for himself how early he will get things in the ground.  The Almanac does offer some good guidelines and it can be perused at Hensons Grocery and Gas on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion or on line at www.championnews.us in the links section.  Find a copy to take home up at The Plant Place in Norwood and ask any garden questions you may have while you are there. 

           “It was sad.  It was sad.  It was sad when that great ship went down (to the bottom of the ocean).  Husbands and wives, little children lost their lives.  It was sad when that great ship went down.”  That is an old song about the sinking of the Titanic one hundred years ago.  There are so many books and personal accounts of the disaster that it will likely not be forgotten and the finding of the wreckage, though it is miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, will keep the truth of the occurrence safe.  Champions have those serving in the U.S. Military to thank for keeping the Nation safe and extend their Love and Gratitude to those serving now and to those who have served. 

          Send your sad song by the U.S. Postal Service, by e-mail or sing it in person out on the porch of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium located in the exact spot where Cletus Upshaw and Ed Henson wove their yarns and pulled their jokes and kept history straight.  Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

          The flush of spring’s arrival has eyes open in Champion.   The slow arrival of spring in the past seemed to have made it last longer.  No amount of pontificating on the subject can slow it down, so Champions just stay alert to the current beauty. 

          Back during the big rains recently some Champions noticed that their mail was coming from the other direction.  Karen Ross, Champion Rt. 2 mail carrier, says that when the creeks are impassable,  it adds twenty to thirty miles to her daily route.  There is danger involved in the job as well as a long history of good public service.  A recent article written by a venerable Texas politician, Jim Hightower, reveals that the U.S. Postal System functions nicely on its own.  The brouhaha has to do with congressionally imposed requirements that this private agency be required to pay health benefits and retirement benefits now for employees through the next seventy five years.  To have to pay in advance retirement benefits for future employees, who have not yet been born, seems a little unusual.  Some Champions are confused about the motivations for these requirements at the same time they are so appreciative of the efforts of Ms. Ross and her cohorts at the Norwood Post Office and the Service in general. 

          Talk about service!  Rick Allen and his nice bunch from MoDOT were quick to get the new Champion city limits sign back up.  They are an efficient outfit and the new installation looks very good.  Vandalism to road signs is a real problem in the area.  Many of the number signs that mark the county roads are damaged or missing.  It is such a frequent occurrence that the county road folks have a hard time keeping up.  Local people pretty much know where they are, but when a new ambulance driver is searching for an address where someone is having a heart attack, it can be a life or death situation.   Fun and mischievousness aside, it is a serious issue.  It is like litter.  One Champion was thinking to put up a sign that says, “Trash Litters,” but was cautioned against it as it could cause more trouble as in, “Who are you calling ‘Trash’?”

          A pre- kindergartener by name of Miranda will celebrate her fifth birthday on the third of the month.  Five years old is a wonderful age and her family and friends will be sure she has a glorious day.  The next day will see a memorial balloon release at Skyline to commemorate the birthday of Dane Solomon who died tragically last fall.  His friends miss him.  Tristen Shearer, a seventh grader at Skyline will become thirteen on that day.   What an exciting time in a person’s life!  Who can remember being thirteen?  Probably Cowboy Jack was still in the New Dogwood School at that time in his life.  At this time in his life he is reported to be foundering on mushrooms and fish!  Champions all!

          “April 4, 1984” was the first entry made in the forbidden journal by fictitious character Winston Smith in the novel “1984.”  Walter Cronkrite said that the novel is an anguished lament and a warning that we may not be strong enough or wise enough or moral enough to cope with the kind of power we have learned to amass.  This novel was published in 1949, and concerned itself with events thirty five years in the future.  1984 is now twenty eight years in the past and Orwell’s warning about human freedom in a world where political organizations and technology can manufacture power in dimensions that would have stunned the imaginations of earlier ages is still stunning today.  The new Samsung televisions on the market have built in GPS, cameras and microphones and can interface with home computers, satellite systems, national emergency systems and the like.  The disclaimer that goes with the product says that no ‘unauthorized’ party can have access to the private information of the television owners.  They do not say who is authorized.  Perhaps it will just be “Big Brother. “

          Champion is flush with Kriders!  Harley and Barbara are home for their spring visit which always brightens up the place.   Donald and Rita are also in town and it is agreed that they come far too infrequently.   They say that they have had a few warm days up in Illinois too, but not to the extent that Champion is experiencing such an early and vigorous Spring.   They have been to the Emporium for coffee and socializing and have made a good tour of the progress on Leslee and Briaunna’s new house.  Take a tour yourself at “The Dairymaid” link on the website at www.championnews.us.  It is going to be a lovely home for this young family and in the very spot where generations of Kriders have lived before.   Sister, Vivian Floyd, rendezvoused with her brothers and sisters- in-law at the old home place.  Like all welcome visitors, their visits are too short and there is always competition for their attention.  The up side is that they all care so much for each other that they share willingly and sweetly.  A Champion family for sure!

          Operation Enduring Freedom reports 1,835 fatalities have occurred in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan going back November 25, 2001.  The total also includes service members who died later from wounds sustained in these faraway places.  Many are coming home with invisible wounds.  It is easier to sympathize with a wound that can be bandaged or that produces a visible scar.  Few actually serve, but all benefit.  Love and Gratitude are the least they have coming to them. 

          The other day a Champion heard someone say that the term ‘garden’ came from the words ‘guard in.’  That just makes all kinds of sense.  A young man walking by a garden and looking at the fence said, “That’s a nice pen.”   It is always curious to hear what a stranger might observe about one’s familiar environs.  Being guarded inside fences are garlic, kale, broccoli, potatoes, peas, onions, spinach, lettuce, radishes, asparagus and leafing berry bushes.  Linda’s Almanac is available at The Plant Place in Norwood and at Henson’s Grocery and Gas on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Any good effort extended in the garden these days is a good investment.  Remember that song, “There’s just two things that money can’t buy, and that’s true love and home-grown tomatoes!”  Send your favorite garden song to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion at getgoin.net.   Come on down and lounge elegantly with the ladies on the broad inviting veranda that graces the front of the Recreation of the Historic Mercantile.   Ascend the flowing staircase and when you have reached the top, turn suddenly (and carefully) and behold– Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION-March 26, 2012

          Spring fits Champion like a glove.  There is nothing about it ‘not to love.’  Dogwoods and lilacs are opening even in the low spots and busy gardeners are planting with the hope that there will not be a nineteen degree night sometime in April.  Find Linda’s Almanac to find out what to do and when, and if that freeze comes, just get ready to do it again.  Elva says that if that if the freeze doesn’t happen, it ought to be a bumper crop year.  Champion!

          Bob Edwards from over in Mountain Grove works with MODOT.  He called at the end of the week to say that having learned of the vandalism of the Champion city limits sign from The Champion News, he had e-mailed to Rick Allen who heads up the department over in Ava to tell him all about it.  Mr. Allen used to work in the Drury Shed, but when it was closed he moved to the Ava office which handles quite a large territory now.  It turns out that he was already familiar with the situation, having incidentally been in the neighborhood early in the week.  Champions were ready to lay the prompt response at the tiny sandaled feet of Ms. Kalyssa Wiseman, saying that if you want to get something done, give it to the busiest person around and one has only to have passing acquaintance with Ms. Wiseman to see that she is one of the busiest—she and those nice MODOT folks.  There is not a lot of pavement in Champion for the Department of Transportation to maintain, but it appears that Mr. Allen and his crew are on top of it.  Before the week end arrived, the sign was picked up; the concrete was removed from the post; the pavement and the hole in the ground were marked with paint; and the sign was taken away.  It was rather reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss story:  “We’re taking it back to our workshop, my dear.  We’ll fix it up there and we’ll bring it back here!”  It is all fixed up already and the MODOT guys are just waiting to get clearance from the “Dial Before You Dig” guys.  Champions who use and enjoy the telephones and internet service that arrives via buried fiber optic cables are pleased that all precautions are being taken.    Generally speaking, Champions are pleased with the good attentions of MODOT as well as the County Road folks who have been lickety-split repairing the washed out areas of the county roads caused by the recent heavy rain. Keeping things in good repair is a sign of a thriving community.  Champion indeed!  Mr. Edwards keeps track of Champion through the papers and while he has not yet been to town to see the new store, he plans a trip soon and will have a delightful surprise when he arrives.      

          An Old Champion suffering from a cold or something like that spent much of the beautiful Sunday in a chair in from of her television.  The Ozarks Watch Video Magazine was on with a repeat of a program from sometime last year.  Dr. Brooks Blevins was on with Dr. Jim Baker to talk about country stores.  He said that in years gone by a person could expect to find a country store about every five or six miles in areas where it would take thirty or more minutes to drive to town.  They showed a lot of quaint pictures of little stores in Arkansas, and in Ozark and Howell County—some very inviting with tables and chairs, cracker barrels and an open invitation to sit a visit for a spell.  When they got to Booger County, there were some good pictures of Spurlocks’s over in Squires.  They called it a ‘super-store’ because it was so large with such an enormous inventory as well as a post office.  There were also some very nostalgic pictures of Henson’s Grocery and Gas.  Dr. Blevins talked about the Henson family running the store all these years and said that he knew they had taken the old one down and had replaced it in the same spot with a new one, which he understands adheres to the pure standards and qualities of a ‘country store.’  When he finally gets over here, he will be sorry to have missed the Grand Opening Celebration back last October.  In any event, Champions will extend to him an open invitation to come and look the place over any day of the week except for Sunday and for Monday afternoons.  He and Dr. Baker said that in the old days a community generally had a one room school house, a church at the crossroads and a country store.  Champion had all of that.  The Champion School Reunion happens the Saturday before Labor Day so perhaps that will be a good time for a visit from the studiers of Ozark Heritage.  Meanwhile, they can get a pretty good tour of the place at www.championnews.us. 

          It will be a busy week at Skyline R2 School.  There will be ball games and PTO meetings and The Science Fair which will start at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, the 29^th.   Fourth through eighth graders will dazzle parents and teachers with their great ideas, while pre-k through third grades enjoy a movie and the open book fair.  Kindergartener, Jazmine Baker will be six on the 27^th, and Gavin Sartor will be ten on the 29^th.  He is in the fourth grade.  Lindsey Fisher, first grader, will celebrate her seventh birthday on Friday the 30^th.  Their friends and families will all be singing that birthday song to them, so Champions will chime in with, ‘many happy returns of the day!’

          A letter that could be showing up any day now will say, “Dear Grannie, Thank you so much for making our Spring Break so wonderful.  We love you!”  Some grannies are not holding their breaths, as letter writing seems to be a fairly lost art.  The good memories are not, however, diminished and plans for summertime visits are well underway.  Friends and families in far distant places do try to stay in touch.  Those serving their country in the military and in other capacities out in the dangerous parts of the world have the Love and Gratitude of the Nation and Champions hope that it will play out in such a way that their homecomings will be peaceful and that they can rejoin their communities to resume happy lives.

          Dredge up all your uplifting, happy, springtime songs and poems for a performance on the broad inviting veranda at the Recreation of the Historic Mercantile on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  The creeks have all gone down enough to get there and your heart will be buoyed even as you enjoy the atmosphere of a tidy, well maintained place to call home.   “Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” 
Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION–March 19, 2012

           The rapid arrival of Spring is a subject getting a lot of attention in Champion.  Everything has seemed to bloom at once and lavishly.  There are already reports of mushroom finds and big rains on the way give rise to hope that mushroom hunters who have had little luck in the past will at last be rewarded for their doggedness.  There is relatively little hope that the most successful hunters in the area will share their finds with many other than their relatives.   However, since they are always so very generous with their manure, Champion neighbors do not feel the least bit slighted and will hunt their own mushrooms, thank you very much. 

          Tennessee grandsons are back in the area sharing their Spring Break with their Grandmother and it is delightful to see them growing up to be such handsome and pleasant young men.  Adolescence and respectfulness do not always go hand in hand, so this is one of those excellent sets of circumstances that smacks of a good upbringing.   Champion!  Other Grandmothers are wiping the ‘sticky’ off the stair banisters and finding precious little treasures left behind by bevies of grand-girls and great-nieces.  Some houses seem unnaturally quiet.  This will be the quiet before the storm, hopefully not the meteorological type, but the great wave of visitors from near and far who flood the area from the instant that the redbuds first show their purple welcome.  It is the official opening of Tourist Season in Champion. 

          The mystery of the damaged Champion City Limit sign is still sparking conversation.  There has always been kind of an outlaw element in the area and it is the hope of more sedate residents that this display of bad behavior will satisfy the perpetrators to the extent that they will feel no need for further mischief and property damage.  Long time readers of the Champion News will recall that several years ago this same sign had been stolen altogether, leaving only the hole in the ground.  One of Mrs. Powell’s grandsons sited the scripture that says something to the effect that should one steal your coat, you should give him also your cloak.  This concept was applied to the situation and Champions extended the invitation and kept an eye out for the thief to come back for the hole.   Before that could happen, the lovely MODOT people came and installed a sign on either end of town.   The Westernmost of these two is the sign that sustained the damage.  Though some have thought that a stout group could wrestle the post back in the hole and maybe straighten the bent sign, others think that a better job of it could be done by the professionals at the highway department.  Speculation was rife back during the earlier episode of trouble with this sign that marauders from up at Spotted Hog had been to blame.  Jealousy over not having a sign themselves was perceived to have been the impetus for the insult.  Investigate the history of the rivalry between these communities at www.championnews.us  to see that Champion is clearly Champion!

          Research into the archives revealed that the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Champion came to an abrupt end about the time the Admiral made his lateral and diminished transfer to the retired ground forces and unilaterally assumed Grand Marshallship of the procession.  In lieu of the parade, Champions have for the past few years spent part of each St. Patrick’s Day being grateful not to have to endure another one.  To his credit, General McUpshaw has since reassigned his good intentions to the Vanzant Community Center and can be found there most Thursday nights ready to fill in should a musician wish to demonstrate his superiority by comparison.  What a guy.

          Champions remember those in bonds and those suffering adversity.  While perhaps not technically ‘in bonds’ those serving in the U.S. Military in all capacities have sworn allegiance and have obligated themselves by their word to protect and defend the Nation and the wonderful Constitution.  Adversity is frequently the nature of the service and certainly when they return many Veterans find themselves in circumstances they could not have anticipated.  It will be Love and Gratitude that makes the difference for them. 

          Champions do not forget to entertain.  They love company and have hospitality to spare.   It will be party time for someone named Elva (not Elva Ragland) on the 23^rd.  Perhaps she is the Generals daughter, the dear girl.  That is also the birthday of one of Mrs. Powell’s sons, and of Judie Pennington over on Tar Button Road.  Elva Ragland (who has her birthday in November) has her onions and potatoes in and is concerned that the peach trees blooming now will get frozen back.  There is certainly every reason to believe that it could happen just that way.  It is, after all, March.   On the outside chance that it does not freeze them, it could prove to be a very fruitful year.  Champions will just wait to see what happens and do the best they can.  The 21^st is a good day to plant root crops and the 22^nd will be good for crops that bear their yield above the ground.  The next two days are considered to be barren days when it is not advisable to plant, but good days to prune to discourage growth.  The 24^th through the 27^th are all good days to plant above the ground crops.  Linda’s broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and the like are up and ready to be planted out.  A copy of her monthly almanac is available on line on the Champion website or at Henson’s Store on the North side of the Square in Downtown Champion or at the Plant Place there in Norwood. 

          Scouring the Champion Archives for history brought one Champion to the posting of September 6, 2010, where Norwood neighbor, David Richardson, had shared a little youtube movie of Lonnie Krider and Wayne Anderson the last time they played together at the Skyline VFD Picnic.  The song is “Once More” and it is a touching and beautiful piece to hear.  Another old Champion said, “If you’re looking for a song try, “Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile.”  It is an interesting choice.  It was published in London in 1915, and became wildly popular boosting the moral of the British troops as they sustained heavy losses in World War I.  “Smile, boys, that’s the style.  What’s the use of worrying?  It never was worthwhile.  So pack up your troubles…”  Send your uplifting, morale boosting tune to Champion at getgoin.net or to Champion Items, Rt.2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Join the throngs of tourists and sing it on the spacious front porch of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium in its original location on the wide and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek.  It is just at the spot where several country roads meet, where hearts stay lite and Champions are Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION–March 12, 2012

           A favorite Champion song is “May the good Lord bless and keep you, whether near or far away.  May you find that long awaited golden day today.”  When that golden day comes along Champions know it and are not want to waste a second of it.  The past’s nostalgic hold and future’s promise have little to do with what is happening now in Champion. 

          Bill Long has been working in his garden.  Every so once in a while he just goes out and plows it up to kill the weeds.  He has put in onions already and has his potatoes planted and noticed that his thornless blackberry bushes are starting to leaf out.  He is going Spoonbilling at Cape Fare with his grandson this week.   There was a great article in the recent Conservation Magazine about the process,   Anthony Ford a paddlefish angler from up at Warsaw says that all you have to have is a sixteen ounce sinker, two treble hooks and a stout pole and you can catch  a 50 to 100-pound fish. The most interesting thing he had to say about the whole thing is, “It’s always better to be lucky than good.”  As that statement relates to Bill, Crenna will have to be the judge.  She had her birthday on the fifth of the month.  Bill said she does not celebrate them anymore.  It might just be that since he forgot it, he thinks that she forgets it too.  Birthdays are funny.  Geoff, a long time Champion from over Champion East, will have his celebration on the twelfth and will be happy if the sun shines in on him on his sixty tooth birthday.  Kindergartener Patricia Maggard will have her sixth birthday on March 16^th , so it will be ten years before she is sixteen on the sixteenth.   Myla Sarginson who is in the first grade will have to wait eleven years to be 18 on the 18^thw.  Katelyn Souder will be 13 on the 19^th.  She is a sixth grader at Skyline. In just six years she will be nineteen on the nineteenth!  Time is fleet.  Champion Sam over in Edinburgh will have his birthday on the 15^th of the month.  “Beware the ides of March,” said the soothsayer to Julius Caesar.  It turns out that there are ‘Ides’ in every month…It just means the 15^th of the month.   Sam shares his day with his second cousin, Jacob Masters, of Austin, Texas, who is thirty years younger than Sam and will be nine this year.  Amazing.

          Spring Break!  What a wonderful concept!  Champions are just mad about the whole idea (in a good way), particularly when it brings long missed children from distant places.  There will be long quiet days ahead, days in a row when the phone does not ring and the mailbox yawns empty, but this week is full of giggling, laughter, lots of drums and music, much exploring, gardening, storytelling, friendship bracelets, violin solos, cookie baking and bread making, popcorn, games and games of UNO and scavenger hunts together with great art works.  Champion is in a whirlwind of girls!  There are pick-up truck loads of them descending on the place. Champion indeed!

          A good rain is just what this part of the world needed to squelch the fire danger.  The end of last week found Champion North ablaze.  It is possible that the very high winds broke limbs that broke electric lines that sparked dry brush and started the whole thing.  Whatever the cause, the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department (yea!) and the Missouri Conservation Department (yea!) were able to control it.  Most all of the property formerly known as the Orville Hicks place on the East side of Cold Springs Road was scorched and blackened.  That may be about fifty acres.  Fortunately, there were no homes damaged, though some were in the path, and homeowners are grateful that trained, knowledgeable, and brave volunteers and professionals will put themselves in danger to protect the lives and property of people in the community.  They are doubtlessly pleased for the rain to soak things thoroughly enough to give them some respite from firefighting without so much rain that water rescues are the order of the day.  The weather has been unusual all over the world recently, and while some may still be of the mind that this is not ‘global warming’ or ‘climate change’ it is certain that hardly anything is like it used to be.  Champions keep a weather eye out and stay Grateful.

          When the sun hit the garden Monday morning, the peas began to emerge from the ground.  Look for Linda’s Almanac online at www.championnews.us or at The Plant Place in Norwood, or at Henson’s Grocery and Gas over on the North Side of the Square in Historic Downtown Champion.  The Almanac gives a good day by day guide for when it is best to plant root crops, above the ground crops, flowers, and seed beds; when it is best to transplant or fertilize or harvest or wean.  It is like having an old person around who knows everything without having to put up with the annoying habits that some old people can develop.  Champions are careful to not to become annoying old know-it-alls.  Even the Saturday Philosophy Club, which meets most days in the Club Room in the back of the Recreated Mercantile, has certain standards of behavior.  Compliance is optional, obviously.

          Soldiers do not have many options.  They go where they are told to go and do what they are told to do.  That they are willing to serve to protect and defend the population and the wonderful Constitution is a gift that Champions appreciate.  To those who have served and are home again, Champions say, “Welcome and thanks.”

          When Spring Break is over things will settle down again and life will resume its pleasant pace.  Harley and Barbara will come home for a little while.  The Young Farmer will have the roof on his new house.  Things will change and things will be very much the delightful same.  Wander down to the Square on the wild and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek to describe your golden days.  If you find that you cannot make the trip for reasons of practicality or facility, send those descriptions and pleasant recollections to Champion at getgoin.net or to Champion Items, RT 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  It will still be standing when the hoard of Spring Breakers depart.  The young people will return to their interesting lives in the outside world, with all their hi-tech toys and the big city noise, but they will remember their time in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—March 5, 2012

             Champions are Grateful for having been spared the worst of the bad weather and extend their sympathies and best wishes for a speedy recovery to those hard hit to the south and west, to the north and to the east.    A quote recently heard was, “Be kind to every one for you never know what great burden one might carry.”  Champions know this to be true.  Just looking at people even carefully does not always reveal what is going on with them.  One old Champion was nailing some used tin on a shed one day and busted her finger open with the hammer.  She began to laugh hilariously and said, “Finally, something really hurts that you can see!”  Apparently she had been in some emotional pain that she could not express.  Hardships and difficulties seen and unseen touch compassionate Champions.

          Someone asked Butch Linder why he was not up on the stage helping out with the music at the chili supper the other night.  He showed the index finger on his fretting hand to be fairly unbendable any more due to an accident with a wood splitter.   He just grinned at the suggestion that he turn the guitar around and play it the other way.  He could probably be ambidextrous if he wanted to, but he is too busy riding around with the Fox Trotters to practice.  There was plenty of good music at the chili supper anyway.  Big Creek started the evening off as the crowd settled in after a good meal.  They travel some considerable distance to support the Skyline VFD and are always a popular attraction.  The Back Yard Bluegrass took the middle slot of the evening entertainment.  Dennis tried to get the General to demonstrate the waltz, but he would not cooperate.  It would have been a good time to sing Happy Birthday to Mr. Shumate, though he worked to keep D.J. from revealing his age.  It was all over when father and son got into a speed picking contest.  If you were there you know who won.  Both Big Creek and Back Yard Bluegrass can be found on the internet on the Facebook sight.  It is easy to “like” them.  New to the chili supper scene but well received, were the Bluegrass Gospel Volunteers.  They sang some old favorites and as the evening wound down people left smiling from the experience. 

          Bob Berry, formerly of Gentryville and currently of the Twin Bridges area, purchased the winning ticket for the 2012 Skyline Chili Supper Quilt.  This was the first chili supper that he missed attending, but it is to be sure that he will have his beautiful quilt in short order.  He was also bidding in absentia on that coconut cream pie.  Sharon Woods beat him out on it this time and it went for a whopping $125.00!

A thank you note will go out to Professor Darrell Haden for allowing a copy of his famous controversial song, “All the Late News from the Courthouse,” to go into the auction.   He will be pleased to know that the winning bid on this item was made by a high ranking elected official of Douglas County —funny.    Well, there was a great deal of fun as well as plenty of good food and generosity shown by the community for its wonderful little Volunteer Fire Department.  Steve Moody makes a great master of ceremonies and keeps his sense of humor in order while he keeps everything organized.  It takes a lot of work to make this event happen and the community as a whole benefits from the chance to participate with their friends and neighbors to sustain the fire department.  It was said recently that everyone in the Skyline Fire District who has home-owner’s insurance can thank the fire department for making it possible.  All the volunteer fire fighters are trained first responders, so every car accident and home medical emergency situation has trained people nearby to help. 

          Someone called the 948-2339 number the other day to report a fire and they did not get an answer.  It has been noted that even though no one seems to be there the messages are heard in real time.  The 683-1020 number to the Sherriff’s Office is an ideal one to use to report a fire or an emergency.  The local fire departments are all hooked in to the system there.  It is a good idea for land owners to inform the fire department when they plan a controlled burn so that fire fighters are not called away from their jobs or their beds unnecessarily.   A few days of rain might allow for some burning but Champions are always careful.

          “Thunder in February means frost in May,” they say.  Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood shows the Full Moon will occur in the middle of the night Wednesday at 3:40 a.m. Thursday morning.  It is called the Worm Moon and Champions noting the number of robins in the neighborhood these days are sure that they are feeding well.  The moon change is the signal that root crops can go in from the 9^th through the 13^th of the month and then on the 17, 18^th and 21^st.  Flowers will do well to be planted between the 9^th to the 11^th, and transplanting will be good on the 12^th, 13^th, and 21^st.  The Almanac is available there in Norwood, at Henson’s Gas and Grocery in Downtown Champion and on line at www.championnews.us.  Linda is entering her busy time of the year and celebrating her birthday on the 5^th!  She was the high scorer at the regular Fortnight Bridge game on Saturday night.  Her sister, Charlene Dupree, hosted as substitute for the Champion player and Linda and the player from Veracruz bid two slams to win the eighth and final rubber.   They were both in hearts and Linda played them, making a grand slam on the second one.  Champion!

          Trucker Joe, hanging out around the stove in the Cultural Development Center (the CDC)  said that the biggest word that he knows is ‘flatulent’ or ‘flatuation.’  That word or any word that ends in the suffix ‘tion’ can be substituted for the word ‘fascination’ in the song by the same name.  It was a very popular song a few decades ago.  “It was fascination, I know, and it might have ended right then, at the start.  Just a passing glance, just a brief romance, and I might have gone on my way empty hearted.”  Try it with ‘ambition,’ ’ammunition,’ ’decomposition,’’ contrition,’ ’nutrition,’ ‘maceration’ or any such word.  Fun is free in Champion. 

          “Precarity” is another interesting word.  It is a condition of existence without predictability or security.   Champions are familiar with being in precarious situations and are reminded of the dangers of the hunting seasons, the deep low-water crossing, the Fox Creek Rodeo and the unlikeliness of falling out of the same boat twice on a float trip while trying to impress young nephews.    It is also applied appropriately to those serving in the US Military in the dangerous parts of the world, and, unfortunately, to many Veterans home already.  They are part of the “Precariat” and could use some Love and Gratitude. 

          Mention your favorite big word or new word  in a note to Champion at getgoin.net or over in the Champion CDC located in the Visitor Center in the Recreation of Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  A prominent local complains of “too many words” but seems to like being located at the bottom of several hills, on the wide and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek in Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 27, 2012 

           Champions find themselves in the delightful circumstance of seeing one of the world’s lovely places become even more lovely.  Not that there was anything unpleasant about the Temporary Annex to the Historic Emporium at its location over on the West side of the Square just where Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive takes steeply up the hill, and “Temporary” implies from the onset that it was designated to serve for a time only.  Time’s up!  During the past week the little building that served so well during the dissolution and recreation of the Historic Emporium was purchased and straight way moved to its new location over in Goat Flats.  The charming little structure will doubtlessly serve its new purpose well, and its absence on the Champion Square is sublime.   Ere long, with just a little weather and traffic, the Square will be restored to pre-construction condition and all will be right again.  The unimposing Loafing Shed has proven to be an attractive and agreeable solution to the issue of overflow loafers and so will remain.  Change can be good.  Champion!

          The Skyline VFD Chili Supper is a good chance to get together with old friends, family and neighbors who do not get together as often as some might like.  The musical line up looks great for the evening and the food is always good.  Lots of VFD Member pies will come in the door.   If all goes as planned, Esther will be bringing three coconut cream pies (one of her specialties), two for the kitchen and one for the Silent Auction!  It seems like the Sherriff and somebody got in a bidding war last summer over her coconut pies and big handfuls of money were donated to a good cause.  Bob Berry and Mary Goolsby have always been big supporters of the Skyline VFD and Bob has let go of several dollars over Esther’s pies in the past.  Friends look forward to some good visiting with them as they are not in the neighborhood nearly often enough.  They read the paper over there in Twin Bridges, so they know that they are loved and missed.  Someone read the Champion News, discovered that Esther had broken her favorite crock pot and set about to replace it.  That is a kind and generous expression of appreciation and if Esther only cooked for herself, a little bitty crock pot would be sufficient.  Still, she was much pleased at the thoughtfulness.

          Skyline third grader, Shaelyn Sarginson, will have her ninth birthday on Saturday, March 3^rd.   Hopefully she will be at the Chili Supper to have that song sung to her.  Nine is a very nice age!  Look for Tim Scrivner at the Chili Supper too.  He may have one of those nice bird feeders for the Silent Auction and he will have surely have some good information about the Skyline R-2 School Foundation and the wonderful connection with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  Probably he could be lured into a conversation about the big Foundation Bass Fishing Tournament coming up in May.  Linda, over at the Plant Place in Norwood, will be celebrating her birthday on the 5^th of March.  There will be some nice bridge games in her future and she is quite busy getting vegetable plants ready for gardeners.  Her Almanac will be available March 1^st there at The Gift Corner and at Henson’s Gro. and Gas in Downtown Champion and on line at www.championnews.us.  Some have their peas in the ground already and are just waiting for a little rain and more sunshine.  Champions are glad to hear that Harley and Barbara are both feeling better and they will be home in Champion in a few weeks.  Let the fun continue!

          The other day a Champion noted that he had to keep the dictionary handy to read the Champion News.  If he has a copy of the New Urban Dictionary,  he will learn that in the ‘youth-speak’ parlance of London currently, the word ‘ridiculous’ has further nuances in the extrapolations: ‘rhinobuluous’, recaulkulous, and ‘redonkulous.’  An example of the latter:  “Cowboy Jack was rather redonkulous when he said, ‘I would not mislead (sic.) you, but I would haul you a load.’”

          Leap day is here again and many of the weddings of four years ago seem to have taken.  There is no indication that the Sadie Hawkins Tradition played any part in the engagements of people married after Leap day, 2008, and certainly success is to be celebrated no matter how it came to be.  Once in four years is often enough to have the tables turned on eligible young fellows.  Many famous athletes, artists and musicians were born on Leap Day as well as world leaders, scientists and entrepreneurs.   Champions wish them all well on their special day.  Peggy Hancock had her birthday on February 1^st.  She has not been well and her Champion friends send her their very best thoughts.  Peggy’s Father was Lloyd Hancock and he grew up in Champion and went to the Champion School.  She has a nice brother named Wes Hancock who is a well-known musician and plays with that Vanzant bunch when he gets to town.  Someone remarked the other day about the comparison between Elvis and the General.  It is not a contest; however, certain of the Staff-Sargent-General’s fan base are organizing a collection to acquire some rhinestones for his outfit.  Look for him at the Chili Supper to see if his side-burns are growing out.

          Not many songs come to mind when it comes to Leap Year.  Perhaps if it came around more often, it would be more popular.   There was a movie called “Leap Year” and one of the songs in it was “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” by the Mamas and the Papas.   Send any leap year songs that you can think of to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion at getgoin.net.  Now that the Champion Tourist Bureau and Information Center has its new location in the Community Action Meeting Room, feel free to drop in to share your knowledge or just to muse.  On your way to Champion, while you are still in your truck, think of a sweet, sad song to send to a soldier far away.  Sing it out loud—a song to let him know he has Love and Gratitude coming when he gets home.  Then compose yourself.  You will be in Champion! Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 20, 2012

           Champions routinely acknowledge wishes that come true.  When the exterior world reels with disannullery for any cause, the gratitude that Champions feel to see something good happen that they had hoped for is genuine and cause for celebration!

          Reasons for good cheer abound.  Harley and Barbara are feeling better.  If they were home in Champion these days, they would have had the chance to visit with their lovely niece, Linda Watts, who was in town with sons Dillon and Dakota for a few days.  They were visiting their Grandmother, uncles, aunts, and cousins down on the Fox Creek Farms.  These Tennessee Champions bring fun with them and much good energy to boot.  www.the-dairy-maid.com is a good place to check in on what is happening down on the farm.  Peanut’s mother has been posting her blog for a year now and it is lovely see how beautifully the high tech world blends with deep agrarian roots.  Check it out in Champion Connections at www.championnews.us. 

          Another reason to celebrate is that Skyline seventh grader Darin Olson will have his thirteenth birthday on the 23^rd of February.  Sources say he is a good student, a good athlete and a nice guy.  This is his first year at Skyline and he played football for Ava this year.  His sister, Amelia, is in the third grade at Skyline.  Her teacher, Mrs. Cline, is celebrating her birthday that day too.  Mrs. Cline is still in her twenties!  Her friends, co-workers, students, family and neighbors all join in to sing that song that rejoices in her youth, her beauty, and her gentility.  Her in-laws prefer her to their own son, who makes random remarks about his parents’ standards and other oddities.  She has only good things to say about him.  She is, after all, genteel.

           It is nice to see Mrs. McCallie celebrating her 94^th birthday still, or getting an early start on her 95^th.  Esther Wrinkles is from June 28^th until August 11^th older than Ethel.  At that age it is hardly a difference.  Esther said that she really enjoyed Ethel’s letter and has been meaning to give her a call.  Between them they have almost two hundred years of life experience that even youthful sexagenarians and septuagenarians can call on for examples of graceful ageing.  Day by day, every dawning day is one to celebrate. 

          A pleasant chat with the General’s wife (bless her heart!) reveals that there were 85 in attendance at the Thursday Night Jam over at the Vanzant Community Center.  She says that there were twelve musicians who got up to play and a number of others who just enjoyed the show.  The Thursday Night Jam is a wonderful reaction by the community to the loss of the two local places that people had to enjoy music (not to mention get some gas or milk or bread or have a nice bite to eat).   People here can go to other sources for most of their necessities, but they need the music and will find a way to have it.  Champion!  The General is a big cog (some say ‘clog’) in that wheel of music that goes round and round.  He drags that guitar case around for show, but rarely plays the thing.  “Humble” may not be the worst thing anybody has ever called him, but it is a compliment to the level of musicianship when one recognizes that there are other players around who are better.  Even Elvis asked for Jerry Reed to play the introduction to “Guitar Man” when he covered Reed’s song.  Jerry had a unique fingerpicking style and tuned his guitar, according to him, “up all weird kind of ways.”  Now it would seem that the General is being compared to Elvis!  It is astonishing.

          The military says that a soldier from Russellville, Arkansas has been killed in Afghanistan.  The Department of Defense announced Saturday that 30-year-old Sargent Jerry D. Reed II died February 16^th in Paktika Province there.  It is not known if the Sargent was related to the musician, but it is sure that his family is suffering the terrible loss.  The U.S. Military will be present in the dangerous parts of the world for the foreseeable future.   Champions appreciate their Veterans and extend Love and Gratitude to them and to those currently out there on behalf of the whole Nation. 

          The 23^rd will also be the first of several good days to be planting crops that bare their yield above the ground.  Peas!  Snowpeas, shelling peas, English peas–whatever kind a person likes, it is a good time to get them in the ground.  Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood will have all the information that gardeners need when she opens up for business on March 1^st.  Her Cole crops are doing well, she says.  Meanwhile, mailboxes are fairly choked with seed catalogues and warm days beckon Champions out to get their hands dirty.  Stop in at Henson’s Store over on the North Side of the Square in downtown Champion to pick up some of those nice little jersey gloves to keep your gardening hands clean.  The other day an old Champion stopped in to get some gas so he could make it to town to buy a flush valve.  There hanging on the pegboard behind the counter were two different types of flush valves, and the old guy made his choice, went on home and had time to do a little therapeutic wood stacking after his plumbing chores were over.  Champions continue to be amazed at the inventory of the Historic Emporium and some housewives are pleased that there is such a convivial place for their spouses to dawdle without making the long trip to the big towns.  Champion is town enough for country people. 

          Skyline School Board member, Tim Scrivner, was pictured the other day donating blood at one of the FFA’s six annual blood drives.  That Tim is a real Veracruzer and his hand is in several nice pies.  He has been instrumental with the Skyline R-2 School Foundation in getting the Foundation hooked up with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  This is an excellent reading program available to all preschool children in the school district.  It is a 60 volume set of books beginning with the children’s classic The Little Engine That Could™.  Each month a new, carefully selected book is mailed to the child’s home.  It is free and the best gift for beginning a happy lifetime of reading.  (Find a Registration form at Henson’s Store in Champion or at the School.)  He has also connected with a Skyline parent to arrange a Bass Fishing Tournament on May 26^th at the Spring Creek Boat Ramp, Isabella, MO.  There will be much said about this in the future.  Right now the Auxiliary of the Skyline VFD is hoping that Fire District Member Scrivner will come up with another of his wonderful bird feeders for the Silent Auction at the chili supper on March 3^rd. 

          One Social Season blends happily into the next and as Mr. Reed sang, “When you’re hot, you’re hot!” Get the hot scoop around the stove in the Champion Social Network Salon and Planning Center in the anteroom (if you use the Executive Entry) of The Historic Mercantile located on the broad pleasant banks of Fox Creek, at the bottom of several hills, the juncture of a number of roads, one of which is paved.  Add your events to the calendar at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion at getgoin.net.  It is always best to come in person, to Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 13, 2012

          Champions notice that they like people who look like themselves.  They really like people who speak the way that do–or “talk like them,” to illustrate.  They often marry people who look like they look.  Just study the newspaper to see how often the betrothed or just married pair seems to share the same smile.   That is the way it is with Harley and Barbara.  They both have radiant smiles with twinkly eyes and a quick and sharp sense of humor.  It may be that it is true that people who live together for a long time begin to look alike.  That is not the case with them, however, as stature and fashion sense affirms the differences as indeed being from Venus and Mars.  While they do not look very much alike (stature and fashion), one does not look at either of them without being reminded in some pleasant way of the other.  When cupid loosed his bow on them all those many years ago, it took.  Currently both are somewhat under the weather.  Their Champion friends, family, and neighbors all yearn to know that they are feeling better and actively extend good wishes to effect that happy end.   Sweethearts are Champions!    

          Weeks now after it was over, the Superbowl football game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots still figures frequently in conversations around the stove.  They say that for the next fifty years they will be talking about that Manning to Manningham play.  Meanwhile, in Auckland, they are talking about a fan who ran out on the field in his underwear during a rugby game between New Zealand and Samoa and gave a flying tackle to the Samoan player with the ball.  After the fracas was over, New Zealand won that game, but on February 12^th, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Samoa won the final game for the World Rugby Championship.  There will probably be parades in Samoa this week.   American football and rugby share their origins and have some basic similarities.  The games are played on similar fields, with the similar goal of advancing the similarly shaped ball to the designated end zone to score points.   There are generally eleven players on the field for each team in American football, and thirteen per team in rugby.  One of the major differences in the two sports is that in rugby, only the player who has the ball can be interfered with by the opposing team , tackled or blocked or held, and any member of the team can advance the ball.  While this would seem to make the game less brutal, with no offensive blocking, etc., it turns out that the game is still quite fierce.  There are no real time-outs in rugby and the players do not wear padding or any kind of protective gear to speak of.  They just play in t-shirts and gym shorts and shoes.  One Champion notes that the rugby players wear fewer clothes but are much more modest than the American football players in all that specialized spandex that makes her kind of blush in spite of the fact that the game is sanctioned as wholesome activity everywhere in the nation.  Rugby players do not wear helmets so their faces are more visible and it somehow makes the game more personal.  The games are a little different, but in Champion and Samoa sports fans live vicariously through their favorite players or teams and cheer them on.  Samoa is located in the South Pacific Ocean.  Pretty much, if a person were in downtown Champion and wanted to point to Samoa, they would just point at Oklahoma City and curve that pointing finger just a little to accommodate the roundness of the Earth and keep pointing for about seven thousand miles in a straight line.   So congratulations Samoa!  Enjoy your parade.  You are Champions!

          An e-mail to the Champion at getgoin.net mailbox the other day commented on the old Champion’s remarks that things are somehow ‘off’ when victorious gladiators (New York Giants football team) are lavished with a parade and hailed as heroes when the heroic warriors (Veterans of the Nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) are ignored and marginalized otherwise with inattention.  “Warriors are not what you think of as warriors.  The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another life.  The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others.  His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who cannot provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity.” Sitting Bull said that.  Love and Gratitude is due those who sacrifice for all.  Veterans are Champions.

          Champion gardeners are as happy as school children to see the snow in its nitrogen fixing blanket out over the garden beds.  An ample larder of squash, sweet potatoes, and all kinds of home canned garden produce, plus the venison in the freezer and the peas, peaches and peppers makes lucky pensioners happy to be able to stay at home.  “Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow!“  Valentine’s Day is always a romantic time in Champion.  It will also be a good time to do a little indoor transplanting or sewing of seedbeds.  Linda’s Almanac will be available soon to help gardeners figure out what to do and when.   Sweethearts already know.

          The Champion Community Action Meeting Room at Henson’s Grocery and Gas on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion got some good use on Wednesday.  The Skyline VFD Auxiliary met to continue with the good planning that makes the annual Chili Supper a great fund raiser every time.   There will be good food, good music, fellowship, pie, a silent auction, a quilt drawing and the chance to get out of that old wintertime rut and into some big time fun.  All the proceeds go to help the wonderful Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department with its expenses.  Any homeowner in the fire district who has home owner’s insurance knows that that protection is available only because this wonderful little fire department is on the job.  March the third will be a marvelous time to get out and hob nob with the neighbors.  Champion!

          “Eating tomatoes and sauerkraut is a good way to lose weight.”  “Vinegar is good for ticks.”  “Skunk grease is good for the croop.”  These are things that can be heard in Champion.  Must the tomatoes and sauerkraut be eaten together?  Does the vinegar make the ticks healthy, or make them less interested in people?  How does one acquire skunk grease?  Answer any of these questions or ask any others at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion at getgoin.net.  See what other items of interest might spark a Champion intellect.   Look at www.championnews.us for inspiration.  For true inspiration, stride swiftly up the broad elegant stairway of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium and at the summit, turn quickly to take in the view—it is breathtaking in its pastoral tranquility.  Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!