Champion News

CHAMPION—October 26, 2015

        The Hunter’s Moon will be full on October 27th.  In the middle of the night, when the skies clear for a moment, it is there in all its wakefulness shining in the window like a flashlight on sleeping eyes.  At 3:14 in the morning with moonlight in their eyes, what do Champions do?  Daydream, remember, plan…  These days have been perfect except for the lack of rain.  One minimal shower washed off enough of the dust to make the colors pop and Champion is officially in autumnal garb with purple sumac and various maples and dogwoods.  When rain arrives it will be welcome, meanwhile some are scuffling to get a few things done while it is dry.  Unseasonable heat has caused problems.  Last week:  “The orange lady bugs have taken over.”  Mary Schiff said, “They love the white house wrap…and the wasps love them.  We are afraid to open a door right now!”  Laine Sutherland said, “They swarmed my parent’s house yesterday…  It was horrible.  I took the vacuum to them and captured/killed a whole bag full.  It did take me most of the afternoon to suck them up with the hose, but I got the majority of them.  They are Asian Lady Beetles.”  These cooler days have those critters a little less aggressive.  Change is in the air.

        Some thought growing old would take longer.  October 26th is the birthday of Harley Krider who has just made a decade leap—now in his early somethings.  He shares his birthday with Brad Ogelsby, a much younger nephew by marriage.  Prekindergarten student Nicholas Georges will have his birthday on the 28th just like kindergarten student Miley Ludwig.  Another kindergartener, Addison Burns, shares her birthday with a former student of the Champion School, Royce Henson.  Connie Lansdown has that day as her own as well.  Halloween is a fancy day to have a birthday.  Two sixth graders Kimberly Carder and Cheyenne Hall celebrate that day.  So does Ms. Curtis, Skyline School superintendent and Felipe Heston, of the Texas firm Quick Draw.  Enjoy all your days and especially your special day.

        The last Tuesday of each month, The Douglas County Health Department nurse comes to Champion to do free blood pressure screenings and, from time to time, other tests such as lung age tests, blood sugar, and body mass index.  The first Tuesday of each month this service is available at the Skyline School from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.  The Douglas County Health Department has been a real friend to the community with these health screenings and the recent gift of the paved quarter mile walking path that was completed this summer.  It is getting lots of good use already.  Dean Brixey used to talk about such a path years ago.  He thought it would help older folks in the area to be able to safely walk, maybe in the company of others.  It sounded like a good idea that was more in the realm of a daydream at the time, considering the resources in the area.  He has moved away now, but on a visit one of these days he will probably take a stroll around the path.  He stays fairly well informed with two grandchildren in Skyline, a son on the school board and a daughter-in-law on the teaching staff.  Dean actually moved away a couple of times.  First, he moved from the farm to Mountain Grove, and then from there to some farther off town, but still not too far away.  He continues to be a community minded fellow and has been delivering Meals on Wheels to old folks in his new home area.  He moved away twice and has had his truck stolen twice.  The first time it was taken from his driveway in Mountain Grove and was found some while later crashed, trashed and burned out.  This time it was taken from the parking lot of his apartment complex—a new four door Ford truck.  He has been given a little Honda car to use until such time as his truck is found and returned to him or until the insurance company figures it to be a loss and he gets another truck.  The Meals on Wheels will still be delivered by a Champion.

        Halloween has its origins in a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals, superstition and early Catholic traditions.  The pagan rituals involve the slaughter of summer by winter.  It is a most theatrical and lavishly gruesome pageant under torch light with blue painted Pics pounding primitive drums.  Witchy, ghostly, goblins and vampires compose the superstition part and the early Catholic traditions are of All Saints Day.  However or whether it gets celebrated, there are children out on the streets and roads and everyone is cautioned to be vigilant.  The seasons are flying by.  Busy as a bee–Linda’s going-out-of-business sale will be going on all week, ending on the 30th.  There are tremendous bargains to be had and the chance to say good-bye to a wonderful home-grown business that served the community well for a long time.  Change is in the air.  The bees up in the Behemoth bee tree are doing what has to be done by bees to survive the winter.  They are fascinating and free to watch any day over on the South Side of the Square.

        Attendance at the Wednesday Social Club at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium has been brisk in recent weeks.  Not everyone attends every time, but it is always an interesting mix.  Lighthearted banter and political jesting go along with nostalgic reminiscences which brain scientists say are probably only the memories of the last time a person remembered the event.  They say that consciousness is a performance that the brain puts on for you every day and that memory is not always reliable.  When those yarns are being spun, most likely (but not necessarily in all cases) the spinner believes what he is saying wholeheartedly and a good performance never goes unappreciated.  Champions are good at enjoying the moment.  They know that no amount of guilt can solve the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future.  Anxious worry might be the single most unhealthy activity available to people.  Those brain scientists seem to think that we are an evolving story, that we can reshape the neural networks that ‘’are’’ us.  Some old people with experience say that we should remember enough of the unpleasant past that we do not let it happen again while we let the rest of it go in favor of positive thought and action.  Deitrich Bonheffer (1906-1945) said, “Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”  He was talking about silence in the face of evil.  Come engage in some deep philosophical thought (if you believe in it) or just share a pleasant song or memory.  “Grab your coat and get your hat (it’s getting chilly). Leave your worries on the doorstep.  Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!