Groundhogs do not seem to be mean, but it is said that red hogs are. How mean is a red hog? That is the kind of information a person must get from another person. Googling the question gets lots of information, but not a precise measure of relative meanness. It is true that relatives can be the meanest. One Champion Mother would say of any difficult task that it was like putting a side saddle on a hog. She did not specify color. A favorite fine fiddler probably knows the old tune, Root Hog or Die, or the Pig Ankle Rag, which he probably plays with a smile on his face thinking about his lovely wife. He knows he is a lucky man and, if he forgets, she will tell him.

Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride will be coming up soon. Andrew Harden will head it up again and will let us know the date. Looking back through the archives here the ride generally takes place around the second Wednesday of October or sometimes later. It is a recurring reminder of a charming old Champion and a delight to see young Champions following Bud’s same sweet trail. Meanwhile, a group of jolly cowboys, discussing plans at ease, are looking for their reward when their work is all done this fall. Fall has just started, so we have until December 21st to “get ‘er done, Sis.” The expansive plans that were hatched in the air conditioned summertime for fall projects may well exceed what is possible now that it is time to get started. “Just do what you can and don’t feel bad about asking for help.” It always makes a body feel good to be of help. Whatever your task, find a moment to enjoy the changing of the season–something tame, something wild. We live in a beautiful part of the world. With any kind of luck, some seldom seen sight seeing friends and family will wander by in time to lend a hand.

Our Skyline R2 School is in an excellent spot in the world. It is about equidistant between Mountain Grove and Ava, enjoying the generous support of both towns. The Mountain Grove Lions Club brought their special $10,000.00 camera to school last Thursday and did vision screening for every Skyline student. It was an efficient and interesting process, a real amenity to the school community. This week, on September 29th, Skyline will be hosting the Cross Country meet for all the small schools around the area at the Ava High School track facility. It is nice to be in the middle. The next Cross Country meet will be at Thornfield on October 6th and then back at Ava on the 13th when Skyline will again be hosting. Skyliners are getting excited about the school carnival coming up on October 22nd.

Jana Brixey, pre school teacher, and Debora Barker, special education teacher, head up the archery program at Skyline. Ms. Brixey shares her birthday on the first of October with the Prominent Champion who subscribes to the notion that if you act like you are having a good time, soon you will forget you are acting. If you ask him how he is doing, he might say, “If I told you, you would cry.” or “I ain’t worth a dime.” William Tucker Clark has his birthday on the second of October. He was born in 2015. Second grade student, Evan Homer, has a birthday on October 3rd, along with Tucker’s Grandpa Clark. Those twins, born up at the OK Corral three quarters of a century ago, celebrate on October 4th. Far flung family will be in town for the celebration–all the way from Alaska. Around here we celebrate birthdays and delight in our good fortune to be where we are. Lannie Hinote says it is already cold in Alaska. Visitors from there are sure to feel warm and welcome in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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