Champion News

CHAMPION—April 26, 2010

        Champions remarking on the need for rain may have caused it to happen.  It was welcome, certainly, from whatever source.  Champion friends spent a few moments on the phone describing their roof leaks to each other and coming to the marvelous conclusion they do only leak when it rains!  Others are grumbling about having to mow the whole place again, while having the dust out of the air and so many shades of green to enjoy, another walks smiling as if a veil were suddenly lifted from her eyes.  Enlightenment?  No, enlightenment is when some lovely Champion stands of a Saturday noontime pouring water from the kettle to make a nice cup of tea, and while not touching the electric stove, experiences something quite like the experience of touching an electric fence…things get very bright for a second.  That is a cup of tea with an enlightening buzz as Ms. Powell will surely agree.  Lightening struck her telephone pedestal out in the middle of nowhere and blew it to smithereens leaving a substantial crater behind and sending explosive and damaging shock waves further down line.  Sunday in Champion often has people feeling Gratitude.

        “Well, I ought to just have let that old truck run right over me.  If it ran right over my stomach I would die and then you would be sorry.”  This is the response of a brother who was called to task for having intentionally hurt his little sister.  He slumps dejected down on the ground, somehow requiring comfort himself, making the injuries to his younger sibling less egregious by his own suffering.  The end result will be an amazingly strong little girl.  With any luck at all she will not buy into the guilt of having caused her poor brother all that terrible punishment on account of her.  She is sorry he is in trouble because he is really wonderful and she really loves him and thinks he is the best big brother ever.  The beat goes on and may well be the training ground that causes a young lady to take stock of her situation.  She may decide to maintain a purse of her own.  That is to say, the more responsibility a person takes for him/herself, the fewer other people’s rules and conditions apply.  And later in life, a lady might find that financial acuity serves her well in terms of the choices she has the opportunity to make.

        A note came from Ed Peterka concerning the Barren Fork Spring Pre 1840 Black powder Rendezvous, which occurred on April 17^th and 18^th out north of Gainesville.  Those folks can be seen again at the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering.  Dale Garrison sent e-mail from Dale and Betty Thomas with the flyer for that exciting event which will occur on October 2^nd and 3^rd this year.  Watch for the familiar flyer in all the local posting spots and on the www.championnews.us site.  The Denlow School Reunion will be coming up on Memorial Day and the Fairview Reunion will be the First Saturday in June.  Champion and its neighbors are in the full swing of the social season.  Already the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary Picnic Society is making it known that the Skyline Picnic will be held August 13^th and 14^th and it will be another sterling event.  Friday, the 30^th of April, will end the Silent Auction for the April Mascot Monkey of the Month.  This is a Picnic Society feature set up to help the Skyline Fire Department make its big old fire truck payment.  The May Monkey will be appearing in Henson’s Store for inspection very soon.  Someone said, “Take the ‘k’ out of monkey and you have money!”  Money for the VFD!  Excellent!  Those Picnic Society Ladies are a lot of fun and they willing open their purse to help an excellent cause.

        Infrequent visitors to Champion will be surprised to find new buildings on the square!  The most recent addition can only be described as a ‘loafing shed.’  Adjacent to the temporary store building, this structure will serve to accommodate the various social functions that have always been a part of the store ambiance and it will also serve as a haven for the otiose.  These interim concessions have to be made not so much for the sake of progress as for the sake of maintenance of a good thing.  Everything will be back to normal in no time so, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”  That song was written in 1988 by Bobby McFerrin who performed it a cappella, though Bob Marley and a number of others recorded it over the years.  “In every life we have some trouble, when you worry you make it double.”  That is certainly a fine sentiment that even Bob Chadwell can appreciate, though it is unclear how he is connected to this affair since he is no longer the official Champion mail carrier.  That is an office being performed quite nicely by Karen Goss.  Champion!

        April’s full moon will occur on the 28^th.  The last few days of the month will be good for planting root crops, flowers and starting seedbeds.  It is also a good time to prune to encourage growth.  This is from Linda’s Almanac from the Plant Place over in Norwood.  Her hard work really pays off for the gardeners of the area.  Incidentally, Linda was the winner of the Fortnight bridge game hosted by Champion on Saturday.  A player from Champion East substituted for the Vera Cruz player and also furnished a delicious blueberry cake for the refreshments.  She and the Brushy Knob player came in second a third and Champion kept the nickels as the low scorer.

        Every opera lover has heard of the Pirates of Penzance.  It is a comic opera in two acts.  The Champion version is called the General of Vanzant and it can be seen most Thursdays at Plumbers—a singular act.  “The greatest gift in life is knowing folks like you.”  Champions surely do.  Champions are a tenderhearted lot especially when it comes to Veterans.

        Send good Champion news to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  Visit Champion in transition and know that you are experiencing history while you are looking on the Bright Side!