CHAMPION-August 21, 2017
A traveling student of the Civil War visited the memorial at the Denlow Cemetery.
It is muggy in Champion. Minute dribs and dribbles of rain, alternating with intense sunshine, make it that way. The little breeze is nice though and everything has a lush, verdant look about it so there are no significant complaints to be had in these days that might be called the Dog Days of summer. There are differing ideas about what the Dog Days are and when they are. Some say they start somewhere between July 3 and August 15 and run for 30 to 60 days. Some say they follow the siting of the star Sirius, which is the brightest proper star in the night sky and called the Dog Star. It will be exciting to hear what people think of having seen the night sky in the daytime. A person born at the right time might have had the chance to experience Halley’s Comet two times. Young folks now might have the chance to witness a total solar eclipse for a second time, and maybe a third time or more if they are willing to travel. What comes to mind concerning these great celestial events is our relative insignificance in the big galactic picture. That is what we have in common with every other person on this planet-all 7.46 billion of us.
They say it would not really be necessary to celebrate birthdays, but because of the general human condition of despair and hopelessness, celebrations of birthdays and other occasions are good for human psychological well-being. If one celebrates every day, then celebration becomes a normal routine and loses its value. We do not have all that much despair and hopelessness here in Champion, but we have many lovely folks to celebrate. Daniel Cohen spent quite a bit of time here back in the mid-1970s and still comes back from time to time. He lives in Stroudsburg, PA these days and celebrates bigly his birthday on the 24th. His uncle Georg Zappler was also born that day and has just recently passed away. Lauren Collins is a prekindergarten student at Skyline with a birthday on the 25th. That is also the birthday of fifth grader Dana Harden. Prekindergarten student, Brantley Kilgore, and sixth grader, Rowdy Woods both celebrate the 29th. Wes (Bill) Smith and Mini Jo Henson share the 29th as their birthday. Perhaps they will both be at the Champion School Reunion on the Saturday before Labor Day.  Laine Sutherland might be there too–we hope. Her birthday is the 30th. Skyline first grader, Ray Hurt, and fourth grader Jenna Brixey both celebrate on the 31st. That is also the birthday of Champion granddaughter, Kalyssa Wiseman. Enjoy your day, all you Champions.
Connie Brown reported that thirty-eight family and friends gathered on Saturday for the Tetrick-Buchanan Reunion. She said, “Attendance was low, the temperature was high, but all in all it was a great day.” Connie and her Dad will likely be at the Champion School Reunion coming up in a couple of weeks. School and family reunions are some of the great breaks in the wonderful monotony of tranquil Champion life. To reunite with old school chums gives us the chance to harken back to our individual heydays when we were young and strong and vital. The future stretched out before us with promise. We make our own assessments about how that promise panned out for ourselves and, knowing what all had to take place in order for us to still be here, we are not quick to judge our old friends. Everyone’s road may be rough and rocky at some point in life. “I’m just happy I woke up,” is a catch phrase among the older set. As to family reunions, a very seldom seen relative writes, “My cousin gave me directions to the old general store [He really means The Champion Store-Henson’s Downtown G & G-the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square] so I could buy her a couple of cake mixes for the ‘cake walk’ at the [Skyline Volunteer] fire department fundraiser. ‘You’ll come up on two places where the road forks. Veer to the right both times.’ Knowing she is prone to a liberal thought now and then I couldn’t pass up the chance for a little jab. ‘Would a south Texas conservative ever veer to the left?’ Well I got the cake mixes and stood looking at the other end of this out-of-the-way gravel road and realized that if I wanted to get back to her house I would be forced to veer to the left two times, and I did. Sometimes eating my own words is good for my digestion.” Sometimes things get stuck in our craw and it takes a little hard swallowing to choke down the other feller’s point of view and some considerable gnawing on the tongue to keep peace in the family. Still it is worth the effort and if the whole country could give it a try we might all be able to digest a little better.
The Douglas County Museum had its open house and quilt show on Saturday and the reports are that it was a lovely day that included music by Bevy Moore. Sharon Sanders has been looking for a checker game, but she may have been too busy that day. The General has spoken of trying his luck against her. It is an exciting prospect. A sojourner in Champion made his exit out of Booger County through Ava on Saturday in order to plumb the Museum of its Civil War treasures and information. He had already visited the Civil War memorial at the Denlow Cemetery and gathered some reading material in Champion. He spoke [at length] with locals at the picnic Friday and Saturday, on the Mountain Grove square at Lynnette’s Acoustic Jam, on the wide veranda at Champion on Wednesday, and at the Vanzant jam on Thursday. Now he is back in the middle of 4,900 square miles of city concrete thinking of his time in Booger County as having been magical. A month on the road probably had him crooning with Dean Martin, “I’ve got a home and a big warm bed, and a feather pillow for my head. I’m going back to Houston, Houston, Houston.” And as a result of the exposure, country folks are all that much more grateful to be where we are.
School is back in session and youngsters are getting into the swing of things. Young Chase is now a prekindergarten student, attending two days a week. Reports are that he likes it just fine. Skyline will definitely be a more stimulating place with him in it. There is much to learn and our little country school is a great place to get started. Come down to the wide, wild, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek to share an old song from your school days or things you might know about the Dog Days of Summer or lepidopterology-the study of butterflies. Look at www.championnews.us to see past school reunions. “School days, school days, good old golden rule days.” in Champion-Looking on the Bright Side!
Champion butterflies decorate the banks of Auld Fox Creek.
