December 22, 2008
CHAMPION—December 22, 2008
Anyone who has been to Champion knows it to be a peaceful and pleasant place—“laid back” is the term in current vernacular. Yet, when crises arise, when there is work to be done, or a neighbor is in a bind, Champions are ready for action. This condition of being completely relaxed and completely alert simultaneously is knows as “equipoise.” It is a Champion notion—one that covers the mischievous child teetering along the brink of goodness and badness with Santa as both nudge and judge. It covers the volunteer firefighters who leap from their own warm beds to rush to a medical emergency, an auto accident or a fire. It covers neighbors helping neighbors in countless little and big ways and often enough anonymously—Champion.
Brava! Ole! Felicitacio¢nes! Champions are delighted to congratulate Breauna Krider on having just competed her degree at MSU. The perseverance and dedication that is required to accomplish this goal is significant. She has the support of a large and loving extended family, but when it comes right down to the work involved, Breauna did it! She is a remarkable young woman in many ways and is gifted with a remarkable singing voice. It is velvety smooth, wonderfully pitched and she knows how to use it. Her husband, Leslie Krider, also sings beautifully and their voices blend so sweetly that some friends imagine that they must be singing in their kitchen every evening and every time they go for a ride. Music—Champion!
Another wonderful voice is that of Tom Waits. It is not beautiful, but gravely and raspy with a hard overtone. So when he uses it to sing a tender ballad or “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” it is somehow more poignant. A line from one of his original songs is “It’s hard to say grace and to sit in the place of someone missing from the table..” It is a sad song of tragic loss. Music is so often the balm that suffering people use to soothe their aching hearts. Songs associated with those ‘missing from the table’ can pull them close again. The magic and joy of music is a gift.
Ruby Proctor has a high clear voice that sounds like a pure crystal bell ringing. She is a welcome addition to any choir. She said that her grandson, Bryan Proctor, who is serving in Afghanistan, called his Mom and Dad recently to let them know he is doing fine and that he will be coming home in March. He and thousands of others will be spending their holidays away from home. Champions are Grateful for their Service and hope they all get home safely and soon. Many will return with obvious wounds. Many are wounded in ways that are not apparent to the eye. They all will require compassion and understanding and Love in return from the Nation they have Loved and Served.
George Orwell was a Champion sort of fellow. He wrote the novel, 1984, back in 1949 and it seemed very far-fetched at the time. One of the things he had to say was that the people who control the past are the ones who control the future. In this part of the country reminiscing is a way of life. It is not that Champions live in the past, but holding on to the good memories of family and friends and retelling those stories of how things were back then is a way to hold on to the solid good qualities that make family and community and home where the Heart is. Quite a few years ago the National Geographic Society included Champion in its book America’s Hidden Corners, Places Off the Beaten Path. There were some great pictures of Henson’s Store, Ed Henson, and Clark Lambert. “Eighty-three years of Ozark living etch the face of Clark Lambert, who pauses at his blacksmith shop in Douglas County, Missouri. Lambert began teaching himself his trade at age 16. He also farms, and he has been a minister for 50 years. Both lifelong Ozarkers, Lambert and his wife raised ten children.” Being off the beaten path is the best place to be and a strong sense of the past may be what protects the Nation in rough days ahead. When the government of South Africa finally did away with apartheid there was a system established to heal the wounds. It was called Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Despite some flaws, it is generally thought to have been successful. Shedding some light on the truth of recent history may be the best way to heal it up the damage done to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and move on to better days.
Christmas cards have come from Bob Conrad and Ethel McCallie and other Champions! Merry Christmas back at you! Charlene Dupre has taken off for a Christmas visit with her granddaughter, Olivia, who lives over in Virginia. Wherever there are granddaughters there is fun! One old Champion grandmother is poring over her Vermont Bean Seed Company catalogue and deciding on some special seeds for next year. “King of the Garden, 88 Day Pole Lima: Rich, honey-like taste. Very vigorous and reliable grower, bearing uniform, dark green pods 5-8” long filled with 4-6 large lima beans of excellent quality. Beans shell very easily and cook exceptionally well. Produces continually to the end of the season and will bear a large amount in a very limited area. Excellent shelled or frozen.” On the shortest day of the year after the longest and coldest night of the year, her heart is warmed by thoughts of the garden. Linda’s Almanac will soon be advising on planting dates for the Spring and the years roll around and around.
“The music goes round and round…..ooooooo….and it comes out here!” in Champion! Describe favorite lima beans, favorite old Champions, favorite songs, favorite New Year’s Resolutions at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717. Send them to Champion News. Sing a Christmas Carol on the porch at Henson’s Store. Whatever you do in Champion, Look on the Bright Side!
