Champion News

“Those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, so loved, so missed, so very dear.” This unknown author summed it up for us as we made the rounds of the local cemeteries where we have laid to rest our friends and family members over the years. We used to celebrate Decoration Day for them and now it is Memorial Day for them and for all those in our armed forces who have served and sacrificed and for those still serving. Thank you.

Friends

The Denlow/Fairview School Reunion, occurring every year on the Saturday of the Memorial Day holiday, encompasses the solemnity of the patriotic observance as well as the pure joy of rejoining with old friends and family members. Lots of good food, a little music, and a hilarious auction all played out in perfect weather this year. Mickey Reilly, one of the famous twin chefs of Kentucky, was the auctioneer, skillfully causing The General to bid against himself several times. Barbara Anderson, a gifted artist herself, could not resist a painting by Cathie Alsup Reilly. Cathie shared several prints of her original works. After a pause of several decades, she has taken up her brushes again, depicting butterflies and flowers, eagles and flags. Her deep ties to Denlow go all the way back and beyond Cletis Upshaw. His clan was well represented, together with the Proctors, Andersons, and the likes of Johny (IOU) Cox and many others. Elizabeth Johnston Lawrence enjoyed spending time with cousins and had tickets for the Ozarks Older Iron Club’s drawing for a John Deere Model 40 tractor. The drawing will be October 14th, and you need not be present to win. There is plenty time to get your tickets. Out by the pavilion, Mothers were pitted against sons and fathers against daughters in the ‘corn hole’ competition. Catching up and sharing memories of the good old golden rule days made for a beautiful afternoon.

The unofficial first day of summer found fishers and swimmers at the Bryant Creek crossing down by the Assumption Abby. If those waters could talk and sing, generations of intriguing tales could be told, and songs sung “to soothe the savage breast, to soften rocks and bend the knotted oak.” The Google folks say the human body is about 60% water. A cardiologist explains the best moments to drink water to maximize its effectiveness in the body. He says drink two glasses of water shortly after waking up to activate internal organs. A glass of water 30 minutes before a meal improves digestion. A glass or two before taking a bath or a shower lowers blood pressure. He says a glass before bedtime prevents a stroke or heart attack. Drinking water before bed prevents leg cramps overnight because when there are cramps, leg muscles are going for water and moisture. We might sing “Cool, Clear Water.”

Teeter Creek has some charming music about it. Old and new friends gathered there on Sunday for fellowship, a delicious feed, some deep reminiscing, and philosophical discourse. Down on the wide, wild, woolly banks of Old Fox Creek the Sometimes Porch Band sometimes strums out a tune while philosophers discuss the high principles of dignity, civility, patience, respect, tolerance, goodness, sympathy, and empathy. They also talk about each other, their grandchildren, their gardens, and hay making. They are Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!