The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Greetings to everyone in Western Illinois.
What an interesting year we are having, and I do mean year, as in year long. Wet late spring, a summer filled with timely rains, harvest with unusually good yields beyond expectations, and now thunder and lighting during a sleet storm. Thats what I like about Illinois weather. It can always hold a surprise. And now below zero weather from 60 degrees on Sunday.
In coming back from a church Christmas program Sunday night, up in the northern part of our county, we experienced rain going to the program, and sleet, icy roads, thunder and lightning coming home. Driving home slowly, I had time to reflect on the privilege we have in our area to have country churches.
In counting churches in the Hancock County Quill, December 3, I counted 26 different church congregations in our area.
We are blessed to have churches of many persuasions to choose from. These include Christian churches, Bible churches, Catholic churches, Community churches, Fellowship church, Methodist churches, a Union church, a Nazarene church, a Divine Faith Ministry church, Baptist churches, an Old Bedford church, a Reformed church and a Lutheran church. I'm sure the list may not be complete, and I apologize for that, but it does show how fortunate we are.
It has been said that rural areas are the moral fiber of America. I'm sure big cities have some nice churches as well, however, to me, their larger size can limit the closeness we experience in many of the rural churches, with smaller congregations.
As for my persuasion, I prefer that closeness often found in our rural churches, to the swelling of the ranks sometimes found in the big city.
As to moral fiber, my ole friend, Cornelius Farkwad, cornered me recently and reminded me he had warned me along time ago about Gov. Rod Blagojevich. At that time he warned me, "that feller is too narrow between the eyes" to be honest. He stated that, "when a fellers' head swells up, such as Mr. Blagojevich, his brain stops working" and the only way Mr. Rod could become a bigger liar was if he put on more weight."
Well, I say to Cornelius, that was just a lucky guess on your part. Just because he's got a head full of feathers don't mean his porch lite is not on. And, while he might not fully understand wire taps and his knowledge about state financing is about as much as a dog knows about Sunday, one must presume him innocent until proven guilty.
Cornelius feels our governor was happier than a dog in a meat packin house, when given the sole power to appoint the next Senator for Illinois. The problem was that Governor Blagojevich may have swallowed the bull and left the tail hanging out. Literally left hanging out, for both prosecutors and the FBI to easily discover. Now the chicken will come home to roost for all of his misdeeds.
Poor ole Cornelius, he is sometimes to quick to judge. There are many instances in the past where a high profile person looked mighty guilty, but was judicated, with the help of their political party innocent. Why, there was Ted Kennedy and that Mary Jo Kopecky thing, there was O. J. Simpson and the mysterious death of his wife, and of course, Bill Clinton, never had sex with that woman and wasn't impeached. Even now the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, from Harlem, is being excused for misdeeds for worse than Senator Stevens did in Alaska, but because he is needed to orchestrate thru many of President-elect Obama's legislative agendas, he is being winked at and forgiven by some.
So, I says to Cornelius, do not write off Governor Blagojevich to quickly just because in his conversation he fixates on a sexual act so frequently. If that is a crime, one-half of Hollywood would be in jail. Cornelius replies - "maybe they should be in jail. And besides, if a person gets double penalty for breaking road laws in a construction zone, a politician should get double penalty for defiling government offices by lowering peoples confidence in our government, when they break the law." And besides he pointed out, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is a "Republican" and some say that alone should disqualify him from exposing a Democrat. Anyway Cornelius strongly feels many hard nosed Democrats look at it in that way.
I think you can see this debate has possibilities for going on for a long time. The only wild card is the governor has the Chicago machine against him and generally speaking that is a losing battle in Illinois. In fact it can be the "kiss of death" to aspiring politicians.
As for us, in western Illinois, what say ye we stay focused on the season, attend the church of our choice, take in the holiday festivities, and be thankful for all that we are blessed with. Keep a stiff upper lip, focusing on what is important-family, church, and community.
Shop politely, drive carefully, and enjoy the holiday spirit.
Catch ya Later
Barnyard Bruke