The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greeting to ever one in western Illinois and all readers of The Quill. Cold weather is here again, just in time to make gift delivery enterest'n. Thank goodness Santa is used ta this kind of weather.
Santa
After make'n his list and check'n it twice, Santa had found out who's been naughty and nice. I'm a hope'n you haven't ended up on the naughty list and your stocking remains coal free.
Corrected Corn Farmer Slander
On his nice list it was found corn farmers were solidly on the page. Santa uses ethanol to heat his sleigh, and DDG to feed his reindeers. He firmly speaks of the air be'n much cleaner as he travels around in his sleigh make'n deliveries.
Santa's naughty list includes the EPA, API, chicken council, chain restaurants, AAA, AFPM, grocers manufacturers, big oil, foreign oil, National Pork Producers, National Beef Producers, and the turkey growers. They all have utilized deception to further their own greed. Also included are the Gatehouse news organization (Review Atlas) and the Burlington Hawkeye. Santa did not appreciate their printed viral AP attacks of misinformation against the American farmer.
It's questionable if'n he's got enough coal to go around fer all of them folks. I'm a hope'n deliver'n all that coal to them hombres don't make him late on his deliveries to those on the nice list.
McDonald's Fesses Up
A while back the Chicken Council was aggressively blame'n the corn farmers use of ethanol for dependable market enhancement fer raise'n the price of chicken and its shortage. The liberal press loved to print their misinformation.
The real culprit over the past year was the demand and aggressive purchase and hoard'n of wings by McDonald's, who obviously miss calculated the popularity of their Mighty Wings addition to their menu.
Now McDonald's needs to dispose of 10 million pounds of Mighty Wings. The wings, which represent 20% of the chicken wings produce fer promotion, are in frozen storage.
McDonald's was, "unable to sell enough".
CEO Don Thompson said that the wings aren't the smash success it had hoped for.
McDonald's Fesses-up
Here are some of the reasons they flopped.
Appearance: The Mighty Wings looked too much like "McNuggets with Bones".
The fast food giant is currently implement'n a plan to get rid of the wings. No apologies to the corn farmer have been found yet fer the slander heaped on them fer earlier chicken wing shortages which chastised corn farmers fer the shortage of feed credited to ethanol usage. No mention, either, of droughts affects, etc. The aggressive attack is on against farmers and their success story, enhance by misinformed and callous press.
The "W" Christmas
I received the follow'n letter from a friend. I'd like to share it with you folks. Here it is:
Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.
I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending...
Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a six year-old.
For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's Winter Pageant.
I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the production, unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher, she assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation.
All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room I saw several other parents quietly scampering to their seats.
As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song.
Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial entertainment songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer.
So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold title.
Nicolas was aglow, as were all of his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon their heads.
Those in the front row-center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of the song.
As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."
The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".
The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, as she stood tall, proudly holding her "W".
Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.
A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.
In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our festivities.
"C H R I S T M A S L O V E"
And, I believe, He still is.
Amazed in his presence...humbled by His love.
Thar ya has it then just as I received it.
Have a blessed holiday season. Merry Christmas ever one.
Where ever ya is, what ever ya be a do'n BE A GOOD ONE!
Hope'n to see ya in church this week.
Keep on Smile'n
Catch ya later
BARNYARD BRUKE