Champion News

CHAMPION—October 12, 2008

        Champions are generally pretty fond of Italian food and are pleased to celebrate Columbus Day even though there is still controversy among some about whether or not the Western Hemisphere might have been better served if Cortez, Columbus, DeSoto and that whole crowd of explorers simply had not returned to Europe with their tales of discovery.  Eventually, it is thought that they would have stopped coming here if none of them ever returned there.  Well, it didn’t turn out that way and all these years later Champions together with all their neighbors in the Americas have become accustomed to being part of a great mixture of people from all over.  Many ancestors of current Champions came from Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Carolinas.  Their ancestors had come from Scotland, Ireland, England and other places.  The world is very full of people now and they move around.  The indigenous peoples are rarely the majority of the population of any given area, but it still happens sometimes in remote places.  All this is just to say that it takes Champions to appreciate the diversity and the mutability of a community.

        A couple of real Champions celebrated their 40^th wedding anniversary on October 12.  One of them might have sung to the other, “Let me call you sweetheart…etc.”  They keep the love light glowing and represent enduring love to their children and family.  Sweet!  The Shannon family had a reunion on October 11^th over at the Vanzant Community Building.  Miss Kalyssa Wiseman,1, was the youngest family member in attendance.  Kalyssa’s Grandmother is Faye Krider and Faye’s Aunt Ruby Anderson was the most senior in attendance.  She celebrated her 96^th birthday in August.  She was one of Faye’s Mother’s sisters.  Lucille Ketchum, 86, is another of those sisters.  There were somewhere between 32 and 40 Shannons in attendance from all over the country including Idaho, Florida, St. Louis and Champion.  General Upshaw and a sensible young relation, who hopes not to be linked with the General in print, officiated at an auction and oversaw various entertainments and formalities.  Notably absent from that gathering was Dave Shannon who is currently in St. John’s Hospital in Springfield recovering from a recent and very serious truck wreck.  Everyone wishes him well and a speedy recovery.

        If oil of vitriol were available at the pump to run the farm truck or if it could be used in the kitchen to fry chicken and okra it might be in demand in Champion if it didn’t cost too much.  Still, if it just cost a dollar a gallon and a person could drive fifty miles on it, it would still be much too expensive.  The vitriol that is in such great supply these days doesn’t have octane ratings or regular and unleaded versions.  This vitriol is found in the abusive and venomous language used to express blame and censure and bitter deep-seated ill will.  Uncertain times frighten people and frightened people are dangerous.  They are unpredictable and subject to extreme influences.  So as the impassioned opinions swirl around in the outside world, blown by gusts of nefarious incompetence and greed, Champions just go on about their calm and orderly lives.  This part of the world has never been burdened with excessive prosperity and so a sudden lack of it has not much effect.  Champions continue to set the standard for reticence and general good behavior.

        “Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell.  Full of that yankee doodle dum.  Half a million boots went slogging through hell and I was the kid with the drum!  Say don’t you remember?  They called me Al.  It was ‘Al’ all the time.  Say don’t you remember?  I’m your pal.  Buddy, can you spare a dime?”  At least one Champion says that this is not a Champion song because it is evocative of a troubled time.  The soldiers in the current conflicts are doing what their Nation asks them to do and they are doing it with a will.  With 4181 mortal wounds in Iraq and another one thousand in Afghanistan, U.S. Military Personnel know the risk they take.  As the living wounded return it is to be hoped that they will be met with the Love and Gratitude of their Country and with some assistance to rebuild the lives forever altered by their Service.

        Day breaks in Champion to reveal spectacular fall foliage more pronounced every day.  Wild turkeys are being brought to the table by some lucky hunters and thoughts of the coming winter have other folks optimistic for some idle days to spend catching up on deferred maintenance, correspondence, good deeds or rest.  Pantries are bulging and harvest festivals are the social opportunities to renew acquaintances and firm up long time friendships.  There will be much of that going on as friends gather to celebrate with Sally Miller her new status as a Tax Paying U.S. Citizen and Registered Voter!  Congratulations Sally!  Welcome!  The Nation is much improved by you.

        Yes, the harvest is drawing to a close, but gardening is a year round thing.  Even after the frost, which some say is running late this year, there is plenty to do.  Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that the 23^rd through the 27^th will be excellent days to grub out briars, weeds and other plant pests.  The 30^th and 31^st will be good days to apply organic fertilizer.  Huckleberry George’s Champion friend will be getting that garlic planted between the 20^th and the 22^nd.  It is always a good time to mend fences and make plans for the next big garden.  Getting those saved seeds stored safely and a few notes made about what worked well this year and what to try for next year won’t take much time and will prove to be valuable for a future harvest.  One of the real tricks to a successful harvest is to concentrate on the successes when discussing it with friends and neighbors and just to make quiet mental notes about the failures.  There is no real need to do more about the failures than to remember them.

        Virtues of the Mediterranean diet can be sent to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367,  Norwood, MO. 65717.  E-mail easy, healthy, non-fattening Italian receipts to Champion News.  “Hey!  Good looking!  Whatcha got cookin’?  How’s about cooking something up with me?”  That is a good song to sing on the porch at Henson’s Store in downtown Champion.  Spend some time inside shopping, visiting and soaking up the tranquil Champion ambiance.  When you come out, you’ll be Looking on the Bright Side!