November 7, 2016
CHAMPION—November 7, 2016
Days are getting shorter in Champion.
Autumn arrived over the week end. We all knew that it was coming; still the sudden little chill was a surprise. Champions will bundle up as whiffs of wood smoke perfume the air and the change of seasons reminds aging sages of the swift passage of time. Subtle shades soften green going to brown.
Pete Proctor writes to The Champion News to say that the Southside Baptist Church there in Mountain Grove is hosting a Veterans Breakfast on November 10th at 8:00 a. m. All Veterans are welcome. Pete keeps up with those things and his Champion friends and neighbors appreciate it and appreciate his service as well as the service of all our Veterans. November 11th is Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Canada and the United Kingdom. The observance began in 1918, and is still called Armistice Day in France and Belgium. For many people, ‘Remembrance’ is associated with the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, but guys like Pete help raise awareness of his own generation’s service and a new generation of Veterans and Service personnel that need support–Champions all.
Chuck Barns had his birthday on November 11–Veteran’s Day. He passed away back in 2002, at the age of 85. He learned heavy construction in the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s. During World War II, he worked on the Alcan Highway in Alaska. It was always interesting to visit with him up at The Plant Place, to hear him talk about having raised artichokes in Tasmania and tell stories about the various exotic places where he had lived and worked. He made an exciting bridge partner.
Birthdays are fun. Miley’s mama had a milestone birthday on Wednesday the 2nd, but Miley said, “Shhh! It’s a secret!” Skyline fifth grade student, Hailey Hall, had a birthday November 4th. Mason Solomon, third grader, enjoyed his on the 7th. Lizzie’s granddad was born November 8, 1946. (Wow!) Fourth grader, Justin Borders, had his day on November 9th. Jill Sterling is a sterling gal. She lives in Tulsa and will be celebrating on the 13th, as will Skyline’s first grade teacher, Madelynn Vivod. For a while Lizzie’s granddad was as old as his brother, but then Waldo’s Champion Rich leapt ahead again to become a year older on the 15th. Raven Hull is in the fifth grade at Skyline with a birthday on the 16th and Caleb Barker, first grader, has his birthday on the 17th. He also has a granddad–such a fortunate lad. Upon marking the anniversary of one’s birth, a little acknowledgement of the miraculous nature of it combines sweetly with gratitude.
Just imagine how different things might have been if, in 1864, the folks at Sand Creek had had the advantage of the internet and wide spread social media focused on the superior forces of the Colorado U.S. Volunteer Cavalry so that the whole world could witness their actions, or focused on the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment at Wounded Knee in 1890, backed up by a battery of Hotchkiss mountain guns. Perhaps things would have turned out differently. Certainly that is the hope in the current situation at Standing Rock in North Dakota. While not nearly all of the information that comes to us over the internet is verifiable, much of it is. On the ground now are many hundreds of people native to that land joined by their American neighbors and global neighbors from Japan, Russia, Germany, Australia, Israel and Serbia, as well as Aztecs from Mexico and Amazonian indigents. Maori of New Zealand recorded a fearsome Haka and Palestinians, Mongolians and Tibetans have voiced support. The support is for the Sioux people and for the Water of the World. It may be chaotic in the neighborhood there with road blocks, the great influx of sympathizers and the overwhelming presence of the riot police with their tactical vehicles. Most likely people in the little towns around the area are being inconvenienced and their lives disrupted by the pipeline protesters/water protectors. It may also be heart breaking to think that the many U.S. Veterans among the Native Americans are now being intimidated by the military force of the very Nation they served. In this instance, the militarized constabulary, enabled by compromised politicians, is allied with industry for profit. The hope is that intense public scrutiny will prevent repetition of 19th century tragedies and some positive resolution can be reached. A great solar flare or a sudden reversal of Earth’s magnetic polarity might wipe out the internet, but until then the Nation’s eyes are slowly opening to appreciate clean water in a clean glass as a human right as well as the rights of people to preserve their family gravesites. In a sea of information we thirst for wisdom.
Some Champions have been awash in convivial good feelings, riding the victorious wave of the Chicago Cubs. “Ah! When pigs fly!” they all had said. In a country weary of vitriol, some good news for underdogs was well received. Of course, Cleveland wanted to win too and both teams put out genuine effort. The game was replayed over coffee cups and dinner tables for days with criticism and vindication. The Wednesday gathering will have things to talk about this week. Last week the get-together was augmented by Sarah Sikes, up visiting from Richland Hills, Texas, over by Ft. Worth. A regular guest over the years, she was once here when the Skyline VFD Auxiliary Ladies had a big shoot out. They gathered up their old toasters, coffee pots, and other things that did not work, and blasted the daylights out of them out in a pasture. The spent brass added up to pounds and the exercise gave some release from pent up political passions at the time. Area ladies are well armed. The horseshoe pitchers played without an audience and wandered back inside without much to say about the experience. Marshfield native, Kaitlyn McConnell, stopped by for a visit. She had been to the barbershop in Ava for the Wednesday morning jam, which she said was great. She was going back through town to visit at the high school music department to find out about the area String Project that carries on the tradition of Bob Holt. She is finding good stories in these parts for her Ozarks Alive page. Young Chase, another music man, was otherwise occupied and so the trio was diminished and a little lack-luster but struggled through a few tunes. Thus far, efforts to wrest a delightful little banjolin from the ownership of a gentleman who only likes it for its looks, has been to no avail. He likes to “drink his java from an old tin can while the moon goes riding high. He likes to hear the call of the whippoorwill and to hear the coyote whine.” One imagines that when he is out on his tractor, all by himself, that he can yodel like Gene Autry.
Enjoy the sights of Champion at www.championnews.us Express your surprise by email at champion@championnews.us or your delight via your esteemed postal carrier at The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717. Make inquires at both places. Come on down to the wide, wild, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek for a breath of fresh air and a sip of pure spring water. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!
