Champion News

CHAMPION—December 13, 2010

        This time of the year Champions are much given over to reminiscing.  Remembered events are often more clear after a passage of time and things that happened this morning or yesterday have to have been significant to compete with a favorite childhood memory or some global event.  Some of those things are happening in Champion.  The Bright Side is so full of festive good humor and the decorations are so charming that the brutality of the cold wind is inconsequential—days to remember!

        Now the Humbug is an impostor.  His whole point is to fraudulently deceive by pretentious sham.  Expectation is the sure path to Disappointment (indeed the only way to disappointment since without expectation it does not exist).  Champions lavish their inherent compassion on the unfortunate harbingers of Humbug.  “There, there,” they say, “the secret is to adjust those expectations.”  Easier said than done.

        “Big Bad Bill is Sweet William now.  Married life done changed him somehow.  He’s the man the town used to fear.  Now they all call him Sweet Papa Willy Dear.”  It seems that he got himself a wife and now he lives a different life according to Van Halen and Leon Redbone and others in various interpretations of the old song.   Bill and Krenna Long have been visiting in Champion lately from up in Norwood.  They shared a big box of sweet crisp turnips a while back, which have been much enjoyed by many Champions.  Visitors to Champion are always welcome and are not routinely required to pay a vicarage of turnips for the privilege of touring the town but no one objects to a spontaneous outpouring of turnips.  Come back any time–no turnips required (but none refused particularly if Lem and Ned are about).

        It is easy to become overextended during the holidays.  It is easy to spend too much, to eat too much and to try to do too much.  Cards need to be in the mail to family and friends and all the other things that clog the ‘to do’ lists of holiday celebrators need to be done right away. Urgency seems to be the culprit. Champions say, “Chill out!”

        Certain knowledgeable Champions posit that the construction on the North Side of the Square in downtown Champion is not a replica of the Historic Emporium but is rather a re-creation.  The difference would be that the replica would be an exact copy of the original made with old boards complete with a certain amount of decay where they met the ground and there would be the requirement for eighty plus years worth of dirt dauber nests in the attic and so on.  The re-creation, however, implies that it is being created anew.  This one is built on a foundation with new technology, new materials, new wiring and insulation and a shiny bright new Galvelume roof. Champions could not help but notice the big gaping hole in the new roof the other day.  The next passing revealed a nice flue sticking up through that hole and smoke coming out of it.  So December 10th will be remembered as the day fires were rekindled in the Re-Creation of Henson’s Store.  Now the difference between re-create and recreate is just the fun of the hyphen (high fun).  Many fine comments were made about the photograph of the edifice in the paper last week.  It is mighty pretty.  A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words.  Some Champions think more pictures and fewer words would be a good thing.  “Too many words!” was the comment.  Others suggest that trips to the archives are not necessary.  Go if you want to: www.championnews.us.

        Braxton Liebert was four years old on the 12th of December.  He has charming grandparents.  Their whole family was together down on Teeter Creek for Thanksgiving.  It is sure that many fine memories were made.  Braxton can say, “My Grandmother plays bass in a rock and roll band.”  Cool.

        A most appropriate e-mail comes from Pete Proctor.  It was forwarded to him by some friend and is a series of poignant photos of soldiers serving in the Middle East.  The text:  “Your cell phone is in your pocket.  He clutches the cross on the chain with his dog tags knowing that he may not see some of his buddies again.”  The text goes on to remind the reader of the difficult circumstances and conditions under which They serve.  The e-mail is a chain letter to keep the troops in the forefront of good thoughts.  They are doing what the Nation requires of them.  Love and Gratitude is their due.

        The Old Biddies will get together Thursday to play bridge at the wonderful Mansfield Community Center.  It is a great facility and includes a beautiful gym full of state of the art exercise equipment.  The Old Biddies will just exercise and stretch their brains with this extraordinary game. Hopefully Linda and Charlene will be there.  Linda learned to play bridge one summer when she was on vacation from college when her parents were living in Peru.  She played bridge in the morning and golf in the afternoon…or the other way around.  Anyway, she learned from some great bridge masters and she is still learning and teaching the game.  Now that the seed catalogs are starting to fill Champion mailboxes again, gardeners will be visiting Linda at The Plant Place in Norwood looking for her expertise to help their growing things to flourish.

        Tagen Krider has had the sniffles.  So have her cousins Foster and Kalyssa.  Hopefully they will all be feeling better soon and up to their rowdy business of being Champion grandchildren.  Tagen reminds a Champion of a song her Dad used to sing, “Mama rock a little.  Papa rock a little too.  Gonna try to do a little sleeping maybe.  If it’s just for a moment or an hour or two, it’s entirely depending on the baby.”  That is not exactly the way it was written.  The song is “Tippy Toeing” by Bobby Harden.

        Check out the dazzling decorations at the Temporary Annex on the West Side of the Square in Historic Downtown Champion.  Do some reminiscing at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion News.  That is what Hovie did when he sent the picture of his 8th grade graduating class.  What a nice looking bunch of Champions!  Make some brand new favorite memories in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!