Champion News

CHAMPION—November 16, 2015

        The time changed. The seasons changed.  Weather is changing.  Much changes in Champion and much stays sweetly the same.  Melancholy comes with some of these changes, with the dripping and the chill.  The Bright Side sometime sighs in order to acknowledge sadness—loss.  It is a given that the older people get, the more people they will have known who have passed on out of this life.  Grief eventually changes to some form of celebration in the memory of the life shared–culminating in a soft smile.  Parisians in the City of Light will find their peace as will the families of the Russian citizens recently killed, and all those in Beirut and Baghdad taken by terrorists.  Earthquakes in Japan and Mexico have shaken those places and illness takes loved ones in every place.  Recent loss or loss from the near or distant past is still loss.  Rose Kennedy who lost three sons—one to war and two to assassination—said, “It has been said ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree.  The wounds remain.  In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens.  But it is never gone.”  Champions find their own ways to resolve their grief and move on eventually to those soft smiles.

        Angela Souder has moved on—just to another assignment with the Douglas County Health Department.  Her replacement in Champion on the last Tuesday of each month is a lovely lady named Rebecca Turcott.  She will be doing blood pressure screenings at Henson’s Grocery and Gas on the North Side of the Square from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the 24th.  It will be nice to get acquainted with her and to take advantage of this good service to the community.

        Linda is being honored as the Grand Marshall of the Norwood Christmas Parade.  That will occur on Saturday, the 21st.  Look for the details in the paper.  The town is recognizing her many years of operating a prosperous business in Norwood.  Her granddaughter will be visiting from college in Columbia and Linda hopes she will ride the float with her and toss Mardi Gras beads to the crowd.  It will be a fitting way to say goodbye, though Linda is not going anywhere any time soon—except maybe to a bridge game.  She was the big winner at the Fortnight Bridge game on the last odd day of the century.  It was Friday, 11/13/15.  She walked away with the grand prize money and a bonus for having made a ‘slam’ bid by her Champion partner.  Champion wound up in second place, but with two such bonuses which amounted to a cool three bucks.

        Do deer see orange?  It seems odd to wear all that camouflage and then put on an orange vest and hat.  Scientists studying the configuration of the deer’s eyes figure that they are essentially color blind…at least to red and orange.  Those hats and vest are really to protect hunters from each other.  The camaraderie of the deer camp with the feasting and storytelling sets the scene for a successful hunt.  “Sharing the harvest” is quite a wonderful concept that stirs up all kinds of appreciation and gratitude.  Champions will hope for a safe season for all the hunters.  The Notes from Hunter Creek article had some most interesting information last week about deer behavior and hunter behavior.  The parade of early morning sight seers creeping slowly along the country lanes lets residents know that they are living in a beautiful place.  Henson’s Grocery and Gas opens up at 8:30 and is a swell place to get a hot cup of coffee, a little pecan pie or some cheese and crackers.  Hunters get a Champion welcome.

        On Wednesdays various loafers and some hard-working people, who carve out a spot on their Wednesday calendars, congregate in the meeting room at the Historic Emporium for a gab fest and a show and tell.  Sometimes there are exotic fire arms, odd tools or strange steam contraptions that sit on your wood stove.  It is always most interesting.  E.B. came with two beautiful roosters in cages last week.  He intended to give them away to a certain fellow, but the fellow had not shown up.  Ethel and Deward’s granddaughter, Jeannie, stepped out to get a good look at the birds when along came another Champion joining them in their inquisitiveness.  Each of the birds was in a small cage in the back of the little Kabuto machine.  The recent arrival pulled out her camera and snapped a couple of pictures of the bright plumage.  She stepped back to get a picture of her friends with the birds, but each of her friends stepped back at the same instant, and then another step backwards and another.  It was a funny moment.  Some who attend these meetings from time to time hope that the ‘show and tell’ might include some unusual or interesting musical instruments.  Perhaps General Tin Knocker will show up with his cello made from a tin can.  (It takes a washtub to make a bass fiddle.)  There are pictures of him playing his homemade instrument with some musicians at the Skyline Picnic in August of 2009.  Go to www.championnews.us and look in the right hand column under Champion Neighbors to see ‘Generally Speaking’ and there will be the pictures to delight your curiosity.  He makes the coffee at Vanzant on Thursday evenings for the Bluegrass Jam which is probably how that banjo player can pick so fast.  This Thursday will be the 19th and that is Elva Ragland’s birthday.  She frequently comes to the jam, so she will be having an especially good time as her friends wish her a happy day and many more.

        A study has recently shown that emotions can harm your body.  It says anger weakens your liver; grief weakens your lungs; worry weakens your stomach; stress weakens your heart and brain; fear weakens your kidneys.  Love, however, brings in peace and harmony and strengthens your mind and body.  Laughter reduces stress.  Smiles spread happiness.  Spread some of your happiness around down on the wild, wide, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek.  Enjoy the vista of the single sentinel of a Bee Tree over on the South Side of the Square.  Dreary weather, distressing world events, and personal loss may have us all in the mood for the comfort of an old sad song.  One of the sweetest of these is The Mom and Dad Waltz.  “I’d walk for miles, cry or smile for my Mommy and Daddy.  I want them to know I love them so.  In my heart joy tears start because I’m happy” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!