by Pa Rock
Traveling Fool
This past week was unusual in that I managed to make two semi-significant trips beyond the confines of my comfortable little farm.
(The lady who prepares my taxes insists that I quit referring to my place as a "farm" because I don't produce anything. From the government's point of view I live in a small frame house with an excessive amount of yard. And there are no tax breaks for big yards - just lots and lots of mowing!)
The first out-of-town trip was from my home with the 10-acre yard just north of West Plains, Missouri, to one of my doctor's offices on the south edge of Mountain Home, Arkansas - a one-way distance of fifty-five miles. Almost all of that trip is on two-lane roads, and it is not uncommon to get stuck behind Joe Bob and Bobbie Jo as they putter down the road to Walmart, but the traffic was moving fairly briskly on Thursday. (Actually I got lucky in that regard and fell in behind a large Orscheln Farm and Home truck in West Plains that went all the way to Mountain Home, and that big rig driver literally intimidated all of the locals out of our path!)
There wasn't much to see politically along the way - just a few Trump signs and a smattering of Confederate flags - which are de facto Trump signs. In addition to letting drivers know that these homes probably do not contain any reading matter beyond what the tenants and homeowners find in their mailboxes on the days the ads come out, homes with Trump signs and Confederate flags let passers-by know that the owners have guns to protect their property and stop the government from giving them free health care - so watch out! Those same signs also let criminals know that the homes have guns - one of the few items in rural areas worth stealing.
Friday at midday I headed out for Carthage, Missouri, a distance of about 170 miles that was entirely on fast-moving, four-lane highways. I didn't notice any political advertising on that high-speed race across the Missouri Ozarks, but as I passed through the Springfield radio market I heard Mike Bloomberg commercials on two different radio stations - an indication that Mr. Moneybags is literally slinging his cash everywhere. (Springfield, the home of famed Missouri lobbyist and occasional senator, Ol' Roy Blunt, is very Republican!). And later, while channel-surfing in my Carthage hotel room, I came across a Spanish-language Bloomberg commercial on Univision.
All of that Bloomberg money has to be good for the economy. I hope Trump appreciates his spending!
Belle Starr's father ran a hotel on the Carthage square when the outlaw queen was in her formative years. I didn't stay there, nor do I know if the building still exists - though I doubt that it does. I did stay at a nice hotel out near the highway where my oldest grandson has part-time employment as a desk clerk - a situation which gave me a nice "family" discount! Thank you very much, Boone!
Boone is a junior at the "university" in Joplin - which was just a modest "college" when his grandmother and I got our teaching degrees there back in the 1970's. Boone also wants to be a teacher. I am sure that he is learning a lot in his classes, but I also suspect that he is getting an interesting education working the night desk at one of the largest hotels between Joplin and Kansas City!
It was good getting to see my grandson. That is becoming an increasingly rare occurrence.
The funeral service yesterday morning for my good friend, Kolleen, was in the small town of Jasper, just up the highway from Carthage, where her husband, Bob, is the minister of the United Methodist Church. It was a large crowd, no surprise there, but I was surprised and pleased to see that so many of those who came were from my hometown of Noel where Bob had been the Methodist preacher for many years. Bob and Kolleen still had a home in Noel.
It was good seeing so many friends from Noel, even under the sad circumstances.
Jasper, Missouri, a town "south of Kansas City" was the setting for Patrick Swayze's movie, "Roadhouse." The real town of Jasper was not featured in the movie.
Japser, Missouri, is located in Jasper County, Missouri. Carthage is the county seat and much of Joplin in in Jasper County. Newton County, Missouri, is to the immediate south of Jasper County. Newton County has a community called Newtonia which earned a bit of fame for a Civil War battle that occurred there.
Did you know that the names Jasper and Newton are linked together in many states? Serious family researchers know that.
The trip back to West Plains yesterday afternoon was fairly uneventful, with no political sightings at all. At one point I was passed by a very large truck that was hauling for Amazon Prime. That was the first time I have ever encountered an actual Amazon Prime truck. Walmart had better be looking over its shoulder, because it looks like Amazon is planning to do to Walmart what Walmart did to America's small towns!
It took Rosie a while to forgive me for leaving her at home, but we are back on good terms now.
Traveling Fool
This past week was unusual in that I managed to make two semi-significant trips beyond the confines of my comfortable little farm.
(The lady who prepares my taxes insists that I quit referring to my place as a "farm" because I don't produce anything. From the government's point of view I live in a small frame house with an excessive amount of yard. And there are no tax breaks for big yards - just lots and lots of mowing!)
The first out-of-town trip was from my home with the 10-acre yard just north of West Plains, Missouri, to one of my doctor's offices on the south edge of Mountain Home, Arkansas - a one-way distance of fifty-five miles. Almost all of that trip is on two-lane roads, and it is not uncommon to get stuck behind Joe Bob and Bobbie Jo as they putter down the road to Walmart, but the traffic was moving fairly briskly on Thursday. (Actually I got lucky in that regard and fell in behind a large Orscheln Farm and Home truck in West Plains that went all the way to Mountain Home, and that big rig driver literally intimidated all of the locals out of our path!)
There wasn't much to see politically along the way - just a few Trump signs and a smattering of Confederate flags - which are de facto Trump signs. In addition to letting drivers know that these homes probably do not contain any reading matter beyond what the tenants and homeowners find in their mailboxes on the days the ads come out, homes with Trump signs and Confederate flags let passers-by know that the owners have guns to protect their property and stop the government from giving them free health care - so watch out! Those same signs also let criminals know that the homes have guns - one of the few items in rural areas worth stealing.
Friday at midday I headed out for Carthage, Missouri, a distance of about 170 miles that was entirely on fast-moving, four-lane highways. I didn't notice any political advertising on that high-speed race across the Missouri Ozarks, but as I passed through the Springfield radio market I heard Mike Bloomberg commercials on two different radio stations - an indication that Mr. Moneybags is literally slinging his cash everywhere. (Springfield, the home of famed Missouri lobbyist and occasional senator, Ol' Roy Blunt, is very Republican!). And later, while channel-surfing in my Carthage hotel room, I came across a Spanish-language Bloomberg commercial on Univision.
All of that Bloomberg money has to be good for the economy. I hope Trump appreciates his spending!
Belle Starr's father ran a hotel on the Carthage square when the outlaw queen was in her formative years. I didn't stay there, nor do I know if the building still exists - though I doubt that it does. I did stay at a nice hotel out near the highway where my oldest grandson has part-time employment as a desk clerk - a situation which gave me a nice "family" discount! Thank you very much, Boone!
Boone is a junior at the "university" in Joplin - which was just a modest "college" when his grandmother and I got our teaching degrees there back in the 1970's. Boone also wants to be a teacher. I am sure that he is learning a lot in his classes, but I also suspect that he is getting an interesting education working the night desk at one of the largest hotels between Joplin and Kansas City!
It was good getting to see my grandson. That is becoming an increasingly rare occurrence.
The funeral service yesterday morning for my good friend, Kolleen, was in the small town of Jasper, just up the highway from Carthage, where her husband, Bob, is the minister of the United Methodist Church. It was a large crowd, no surprise there, but I was surprised and pleased to see that so many of those who came were from my hometown of Noel where Bob had been the Methodist preacher for many years. Bob and Kolleen still had a home in Noel.
It was good seeing so many friends from Noel, even under the sad circumstances.
Jasper, Missouri, a town "south of Kansas City" was the setting for Patrick Swayze's movie, "Roadhouse." The real town of Jasper was not featured in the movie.
Japser, Missouri, is located in Jasper County, Missouri. Carthage is the county seat and much of Joplin in in Jasper County. Newton County, Missouri, is to the immediate south of Jasper County. Newton County has a community called Newtonia which earned a bit of fame for a Civil War battle that occurred there.
Did you know that the names Jasper and Newton are linked together in many states? Serious family researchers know that.
The trip back to West Plains yesterday afternoon was fairly uneventful, with no political sightings at all. At one point I was passed by a very large truck that was hauling for Amazon Prime. That was the first time I have ever encountered an actual Amazon Prime truck. Walmart had better be looking over its shoulder, because it looks like Amazon is planning to do to Walmart what Walmart did to America's small towns!
It took Rosie a while to forgive me for leaving her at home, but we are back on good terms now.
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