By: W.C. Reader

Well, folks, when we were growing up there was an old saying, which said, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed”. And after an absence of about a year and a half, Old Country Boy is preparing to come out of the wings and get back on center stage again. During the passage of those months, Mama Doris and we have been waging quite a battle with a large assortment of ailments. Now, through the mercy of God, a few miracles, the skill of medical personnel, and the prayers, concerns, calls, inquiries from good people like you, we are going to try to get back in community affairs again, even it if will be on a limited basis. There’s still work to be done on the organs, legs, and arms, but the mouth is in pretty good shape.

Now, so much for that! Let’s pause for a few seconds and see what we were talking about with you the last time we picked up a pad and pencil. We think it was the Model “T” Ford Car, and we suggest there is an item, which we suggest any writer can write about for years at a time and not have to repeat themselves. The only topic that can come close to it is the old steam engine, which used to pull people and products up and down the steel rails while, at the same time, pulling the nation together. Both of those items seemed to have as much life in them as the people who operated them and used them. But if you want more information about them, go to the library or the museum. We just fell lucky that we are one of the few left who was able to admire them and ride in them.

Now that is just an example of the things which we discussed with you in the past, and which we will continue to do so in the future. During the time that we have been away, a number of newsworthy things have happened to grab the attention of the public as a whole. For instance, there is the economic downtown which causes those of us who lived through the Great Depression still to shudder. There are the present day spells, which make some of us wonder if the sandstorm and drought of the 1930’s are going to repeat themselves. The financial problems of the past years causes us to think about the collapse of the financial system in the past century. And we still are having wars, even though the League of Nations and The United Nations promised us “Peace in our Times”. All of that is pretty deep stuff, and we are going to stay away from it, leaving it for the younger and wiser people to handle.

Many years ago, we started a love affair with rural people, small town folks, older folks, poor folks, the weak and the weary, those who till the soil, perform the back-breaking jobs, maintain homes, and raise boys and girls to be productive, law abiding citizens. You are the ones we are going to start busying ourselves with, while we talk with you and about the interesting things you do. Mama and we thank you for your prayers during the past trying months – and we’re glad to be back among you. See you next week.

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