Life in Mayberry is often hard, sometimes funny, but never dull.

This past week we had our first ever political showdown here in Ripley County.  Lots of candidates that will be competing both in the primary in August and the General Election in November were present.

I picked up a few new Mayberry sayings that I had never heard before.  They all came from some of the six men who are duking it out for Western District Commissioner.

One candidate in describing the various quick fixes that had been done to the courthouse in recent years called them all just, "lipstick and rouge".  What an apt little phrase!

Another one, after hearing the "horrible" condition of the roads mentioned one too many times said, "But that horse has already been beat." (I have heard that before, it was just perfect though when he used it the other night."

Another candidate in discussing the power structure in Ripley County said, "There are a lot of chiefs and very few Indians."

And finally, one said, "Only people that leave Ripley County with one million dollars come back here with 2."  I am not sure exactly what his point was, but I got a kick out of hearing him say it.

 

The various grandkids get to go shopping with me on a somewhat rotational basis.  This past week it was Adeline's turn to go.  She is very much her own little person, and that came through loud and clear in our several conversations throughout the day.

Some years ago I had Kathleen with me and we drove past the purple castle that Doniphan is graced with.  As we gazed at it, I said to Kathleen, "When my ship comes in, how about if we go to Europe and explore all the castles we can find?"  She was thrilled with the idea and our imaginations ran wild.

As Adeline and I drove past the Doniphan Purple Castle yesterday, I tried that same tack with her.  "Adeline, when my ship comes in, wouldn't it be fun to go to England and Ireland and Scotland and Germany and see all the castles that we can!"

Dead silence for about 5 seconds (and 5 seconds can be a lot of silence from a 6 year old).  Then, "Do you mean you and me, Grandma?"  "Yes," I replied.  More seconds of silence followed that little exchange.  Then came this from her, "Well, could you just go and take a lot of pictures?  I don't want to go without dad and mom.  And, I already decided I never want to fly in an airplane."

A bit later we were in the parking lot at Menard's and saw a person with a handicap working there.  I pointed them out to her so that we could talk about how we treat people, no matter who they are.  After about my first or second sentence she said, "Grandma, please stop, I never want to talk about this again."  

Finally, I was putting on a Fernando Ortega CD to listen to, but before the music started, I began singing the first song.  "Grandma, please stop, if I listen to you sing it first, it will ruin it for me."

In a world of innuendos and indirect statments, such honesty is refreshing!