Today's News

To add to my column of last Friday about the building of a road to where existing roads already go, I have to share information from a phone call I received from a friend in this regard. This person may or may not know the real story, but the information is so illogical and ridiculous, as is usually the case when dealing with the state and it’s agencies, it has the ring of validity.

 And then there’s that old saying, “You win some and you lose some,” which applies to getting information from folks about stuff that other people don’t want you to know. However, in the case of my information source who told me the Blue Springs highway project was the result of a promise our governor made to Toyota, I think there were some guarantees about distances and elapsed times between plants and they are being used to justify and camouflage some additional reasons for the road to go where roads already go.

With the proliferation of catalogs being sent and delivered this Christmas season, the tendency is to immediately throw them in the trash, unless, of course the lady of the house gets to them first. Most of these catalogs look very much alike and offer discounts and specials for most every type of merchandise imaginable.

Yes, ‘tis the uniquely American season for mistletoe and holly, tinsel and toys, Santas and sleighs, carols and crèches, good cheer and anachronistic poetic contractions.

‘Twas a time when Christmas in America was a less hectic season. Why, the Puritans even banned its celebration. But the Dutch brought their bearded Sancte Claus or Sinterclaas to New Amersterdam, where the children would find candies and nuts and trifling trinkets in their shoes or stockings. The Germans brought a similar tradition with their Pelze-Nicol.