The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greetings to everyone in western Illinois. As I write this column it is Sunday and threatens to give us a bit of rain.
The weather that is head'n our way destroyed a town out in Iowa as it worked it's way east toward us.
I'm a hope'n it has spent much of its destructive energy before it reaches this part of our world. Anyways, we'll take what we gets and be satisfied.
There was planters run'n this Sunday even though the soil temperature is less than ideal and, by past standards, it is plenty early in the season to be plant'n.
Know'n the parents of those run'n on Sunday, they'd be plenty disappointed see'n their offspring disregard'n what they taught their young'ns and practiced themselves about not work'n on Sunday.
With their fathers gone, I'm a quess'n the young'ns feel they can now make their own rules.
A lot could be written on moral rules and convictions of a community and what motivates a feller give up the values of his "Paw,' but I'll not try to discover it here and now.
One has to decide for themselves what they wants to maintain and what they wants to throw away. Being careful about what is important and what is not is the hard part.
With this warmer weather come'n our way, as it did this past weekend, I'm reminded of a trip Cornelius Farkwad took this winter in search of some relax'n time in the sun.
He went to New Orleans but was vexed by the women and the uniforms they wore.
They walked as though they had but one joint in their body, and no knees.
It seems their upper clothing was cut so low in front that Cornelius expected every moment they could easily step one of their legs through them with little effort and probably not trip up one bit.
In his opinion they was right proud of show'n off their God given wares.
Later, he went down to Bourbon Street with Mrs. Farkwad and observed, as he and the misses walked along the street, numerous high heeled style shows.
He had it figured it must be mighty important shoes to show them of that aways in their birthday suits.
No one would be distracted by other clothe'n they could have been wear'n, hence sell more shoes.
Cornelius was not sure how prevalent the style shows was fer after the second window high heeled style show Mrs. Farkwad energetically hailed down a cab for a quick trip out'a there.
Apparently, Mrs. Farkwad was not into "style shows" and when Cornelius got back to western Illinois he had the appearance of have'n his "ears boxed".
Can't figure that one out, fer I don't reckon it was his ears is what got him in trouble. However, his eyes did seem a bit bloodshot!
Election day is now over and most of the suspense associated with it . Chicago has always had the enterest'n ability of its folks be'n able to vote from the grave.
Also ghosts, (people who don't normally exist and are impossible to find), had great abilities in Chicago to make it to the ballot box.
Now, Wisconsin has come up with a good one of find'n 14,000 unreported ballots after the vote was called.
The liberal gal that gave her acceptance speech for have'n beat out her conservative opponent for state supreme court justice by 200 votes now found herself embarrassingly at a loss by roughly 7,500 votes.
I suppose one could compare that loss to the farmer who had a bin-bust'n good yield'n crops only to find the market would use that as an excuse to steal it from him by lower'n its price below the cost of production. It seems everyone eventually gets their turn at dissapointment and surprises in one form or another. Or, how about $7/bu. market price for corn when you've got no corn to sell.
I am reminded how important elections were to folk in years gone by. Western politicians wanted everybody to vote, include'n on certain occasions the franchise-less Indians, "The politicians would bring a string of Kuma Indians up to vote", recalled an Arizona settler of the 1870's.
"They wore nothing but a breech-cloth and perhaps a stove-pipe hat, and held their already marked tickets in their hand. When a clerk would ask an Indian his name he would say "Sullivan' or "Malony' or any other good Irish name he had been drilled in saying".
It kinda reminds me a little bit of the fallacy of Wisconsin laws allow'n a voter to register and then immediately vote at the polls.
Anyways, that don't happen in western Illinois. Congratulations to all the victors in the recent elections. And to those who lost-thanks for the try and help'n to keep our Democracy fair and equitable.
It seems our Gen. David Petraeus after the murderous Afghan riots delivered an impassion speech represent'n the United States talk'n about "understandable passions" of Afghan mobs kill'n over 22 people because some one in Florida burned their holy book, the Quran. That feller, the Gen. misspoke, if'n he thought he was represent'n U.S. citizens as a whole.
It is not "understandable" for passions to find voice in mass murder. Butcher'n imagined enemies such as those unfortunate folk that were hunted down in the U.N. office in that country cannot be said as "understandable" as "Petraeus" said in his speech.
It is difficult to feel the U.S. will prevail over terrorism and all related blood lust of those fundamentalist fanatics as long as our leading representatives, the military included, are enabled to pronounce such terrible motivations as "understandable".
He should be ordered home just as the General before him was for misspeak'n about President Obama!
What would we think now if'n Gen. Dwight Eisenhower had spoke of Hitler's atrocities as "understandable" due to Germany's preconceived injustices of the Armistice of WW I.
Where have all of the great leaders of this country gone?
Keep on Smilen
Catch ya later
Barnyard Bruke