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CHAMPION—April 13, 2008

        Champions are pleased that Monday and Tuesday mornings’ frost was not as severe as it was thought they might be.  It is always a treat to have pessimism thwarted.  Lilacs in low lying places may yet bloom and the late dogwoods will still be a delight to the eye.

        Other delights to the eye include Ms. Kalyssa Wiseman in her new Spring frock!  It is obvious that she will be an excellent singer and her big brother Foster has begun to appreciate her on many levels.  He will be a kind and loving big brother just the way his Great Uncle Russell was to his Grammy when she was a little girl.  It was a nice surprise to Kalyssa’s Mom during the week when Jack Herman came walking into the milk barn in his boots and coveralls ready to help out.  Neighbors helping neighbors is a common thing in Champion.

        Kay Talley from San Diego, CA sounds like a regular Champion.  Her letter to the editor last week was most complimentary to the Herald and really addressed the solidarity of small towns and rural communities.  It is to be hoped that this quality of life is represented well across the whole country, but naturally there is only one Champion.  When the hustle and bustle of the big towns get too much for Ms. Talley, she will always be welcome to come ‘luxuriate in this beautiful place!’

        Champion neighbors over at Fieldstone reported having had a good church meeting that wound up on Sunday with an excellent dinner.  Mrs. Ester Wrinkles was pleased to have her son Lonnie Mears and his wife Verla as overnight guests.  Larry and Theresa Wrinkles were over after church on Sunday as well and they were joined by Barbara Mather, Pauline Riley and Lois Thompson.  Barbara came up from Texas, picking up Pauline in Arkansas, so the two of them could visit with Lois.  It was a nice get-together, Esther said, with some good old reminiscing.  Esther reported that she had a nice conversation with niece Helen Ice from over around Licking, MO.  Helen subscribes to the Herald to keep up on things from this part of the world.  Hopefully she finds out what she wants to know.

        Linda’s almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that the 15^th to the 19^th will be a good time to grub out weeds, briars and other plant pests.  Then the signs change and it will be time to plant root crops again from the 20^th through the 23^rd.  The 22^nd and 23^rd will also be good for cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, kale, celery and other leafy vegetables and good for starting seed beds.  A Texas Champion has sent a book to the Champion mail-box called People with Dirty Hands.  It is subtitled The Passion for Gardening and was written by Robin Chotzinoff.  Cowboy poet, Baxter Black really likes it.  It will be something to read while resting from the weeding!

        A certain Champion wanted to make a cautionary statement that the big rains in the area wash a lot of agricultural chemicals off the fields and into the streams.  There is also a lot of trash and big debris such as tree trunks and limbs that go rushing down fast moving streams with great speed and force.  It is very exciting to watch and very dangerous.  More than one teen-age boy has been lost in the Ozarks in recent flooding.  Dirty, fast moving water is no place for little children to be playing even with a Mother’s supervision.  “A tragedy is altogether unnecessary!” chirps the old lady who claims to have become so very old by being cheerful and careful.

        The Skyline VFD Ladies’ Auxiliary held a meeting in Henson’s Store on Tuesday evening.  It was well attended and a number of issues were discussed including the success of the Chili Supper back on the first of March and the preliminary plans for the Picnic which will be held the second week-end in August.  Betty Dye was elected as the new president of the organization by a unanimous vote and the group is optimistic for another good year ahead.

        An old Champion who enjoys history said that General George Armstrong Custer, believing that he could win at Little Big Horn, led his troupes himself.  He said that he was glad to read in the Herald that Missouri honors disabled vets and former POWs, regardless of where they live.  He was talking about the article that reported the Missouri Conservation Commission extending permit exemptions to all disabled vets and POWs as “a gesture to let them know how deeply grateful we are for their service and sacrifice.”  The complete number of nonfatal casualties in Iraq according to the Department of Defense is 60,645.  This includes people who were injured in non-combat situations and 23,052 people who became ill and required medical air transport from the war zone.  Nearly 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have already sought care from the Veterans Administration.  Many Veterans and their families struggle with paperwork and months of delay to get the help they need.  It is reported that 154,000 Veterans are homeless.  Love and Gratitude?  Yes.

        A favorite Champion, home from great adventures for a too short visit, has added a pleasant new word to his lexicon:  ‘eudaimonia.’ Webster also shows it as spelled ‘eudaemonia’ and says that it is happiness or welfare.  In Aristotle’s philosophy it is  ‘happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason.’  This is a decidedly Champion word in that it describes a noble concept and could easily be used to name a granddaughter—Eudemonia Hickenlooper.  It is reminiscent of that Latent family with the boy, Squander T.  No one has said just what the T. stands for.  It must be Tennessee.

        It is a delight to be mailing out copies of the first song in The New Champion Songbook.  Tennessee Neighbor, Darrell Haden, has furnished a copy of this song with the words and music.  It is Keep on the Sunnyside.  Any kind of up-beat, up-lifting, sunny side kind of song that is in the ‘public domain’ will be considered for page two!  Since this is a build-it-yourself, loose leaf, three ring binder kind of songbook, music lovers can personalize their selections to their hearts’ content.  Send a self addressed, stamped envelope to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 for a free copy of the first song in The New Champion Songbook.  E-mail those requests or interesting names for granddaughters or any other pertinences to Champion News.  Pick up a copy of the song at Henson’s Store on the North Side of the Square in downtown Champion where the sun shines every day and where noble, contented hearts luxuriate, ever looking on the bright side!