The Rock Wall

Had a nice chat at the front counter Tuesday with Winnie Burrow. Don’t know exactly how many years we’ve been chatting, but it’s been ever since her son, Carl, worked here. He’s now the VP of sales for a big computer company and travels all over the world, most recently to Europe and South Africa.

Winnie and I recalled that when we were eating ice cream and Winnie’s late husband, Ike, coughed, the family would say, “He’s full,” and he was.

Winnie told me that the day just before she and Ike got engaged, he told her there was one thing that bothered him, she had a little dog in the house. She said she could change that and did for 61 years. Now some family member wanted to give her a dog and she doesn’t want one. She said that at her age, she doesn’t want to have to get up at 5 a.m. to walk the dog. And, no, she said, she doesn’t want to get married again either. She was glad to take care of Ike, but doesn’t want any responsibility now.

But, Winnie will be glad to talk a while if you run into her in the grocery store… or the Sun office.

Oh, Carl and Lindy’s sons are 28 and 30 so it’s been a while since he was a high school kid working here.

-We have to run this reminder about once a year. Just received a letter to the editor with just a typed name on it and wanting us to withhold that name. Letters to the editor must have a signature, an address and a phone number so we can confirm the person actually wrote it. We may withhold a name upon request if the topic is of a general nature, not a personal attack. Where a specific person or entity is criticized, we may hold the letter to give time for a response from the one getting to enjoy the extra attention.

– Just talked to a friend in friend in south Louisiana. They are still deer hunting. The deer are in full rut. A real cold spell hit them – down to 22 degrees. I suppose that is while we were at 0. Rough life. They haven’t seen any rutting bucks except on trail cams at night. Now that sounds familiar.

– Well, Mike Parson and Eric Greitens got installed into office Monday. Tuesday when I called about getting a photo, Mike was headed back to Bolivar to do some more recuperating from his encounter with the surgeon. I think he was tough just to be on his feet for the ceremony.

I enjoyed the little smiles of pride on his daughter’s and his wife’s faces as Mike took the oath of office. Mike looks more serious than usual, possibly from the weight of the responsibility and from the pain of the stitches.

God bless, lead and protect him, his family, the new governor and his family, our president and vice president elect and their families and our other leaders and the USA. KL