We all know a few people who think they know everything. But sometimes we have some pretty good hunches. I did in a recent column when I wrote that General Milley was probably the source for Bob Woodward’s new book. I had a strong hunch that if he was willing to go behind a sitting President’s back and tell China he’d “Warn them if a strike were imminent,” he’d eagerly be an “anonymous” source for a smear book. Lots of people complained that President Trump’s family had too much access to various types of information. It’s obvious now they were among a handful of people The Donald could trust. As for General Milley, he has ambition but no loyalty. Meanwhile, Lt. Col Schaller is in jail right now for exposing gross mismanagement in the Afghan evacuation. UNBELIEVABLE!
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We’re all getting older. I’m constantly reminded about this by the Enterprise and Democrat staffers who are in their 20’s and refer to me as Pop-Pop. I remember as a kid when Advil came out. They had a commercial with a man picking up a golf bag. He had a pained look on his face. Wondered at the time how anyone’s back could hurt. I found out decades later. Back then I thought anyone in their 50’s was at the point of death. Thankfully I feel pretty much the same as I always have. Gott sei Dank!
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Have you ever taken a look at the Missouri Blue Book? It’s been published for over 100 years by the Missouri Secretary of State and contains all kinds of information on Missouri government. We have copies going back to the 1940’s at the Enterprise office. Some have a green cover. This was done when James C. Kirkpatrick occupied the Secretary’s Office as he reveled in being Irish. When Secretary Kirkpatrick retired it was changed back to blue. The Book is more interesting than it sounds and usually has some kind of excellent feature story about some phase of life in Missouri. I randomly grabbed the 95/96 edition this morning. Some glimpses from it include that 14,000 Missourians lost their lives in the Civil War, leaving countless widows and orphans. Children sent to Missouri families on the Orphan Trains brought nothing with them but the clothes on their backs and a name tag pinned on their shirts. Henry Jost, Mayor of Kansas City from 1912-1916, was an Orphan Train child who went on to get a law degree. In 1908 the University of Missouri supported the State’s first small town summer playground at Butler with a supervisor and some equipment. It quickly became the model for other parks in Missouri. It featured a sandbox, teeter totter, parallel bars and a running tack. The daily attendance rose to about 90 until an epidemic of maple worms scared away the children and destroyed the shade. I won’t go into anymore of this, but if you haven’t seen a Blue Book, stop by the library and take a look. We have a state with a lively history and wish our schools taught more about it.
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Time to stop this free flow of words. Lord knows where it will lead. Quit while I’m ahead. Take care of yourself.
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Til Next Week:
J.M.W.
