Man of Few Words

By Al Horn

Whew! The last two weeks have been like a whirlwind. Between my being down with the flu, busy with church projects, and getting my election campaign going, I have barely found time to sleep. Oh, and least I forget, there was that old 9 - 5 that pays most of the bills.

I started coming down with the flu on the day we left for a field trip with the grandchildren to one of Missouri's oldest river towns. It also gave us a chance to try out our new mini van with the kids. We plan on taking a two-week trip through the south this summer and wanted to see how well the DVD player would keep them entertained. We discovered the convenience was well worth the extra money.

During the day, I was either too hot or too cold all the time. We cut the trip short and by the time we got home my symptoms were full blown. I was down for the biggest part of a week and even after I began to feel better, my strength wasn't one hundred per cent. The following weekend was filled with project work for the church. I would come home exhausted and didn't want to do much more than go to bed. Of course the rug rats weren't too happy with that. After a week of no contact, they were ready to roughhouse.

The start of this past week found me scurrying to get questionnaires filled out for newspapers and teacher's groups for endorsements. I thought all the hard work came during the last week of the campaign. If you think writing down a few answers and getting them into envelops is easy work, try doing that with two children constantly trying to get your attention. Balancing mental calculations and two kids on the living room floor is not as easy as it sounds. What should have taken three hours took three evenings. Still, both efforts proved to be emotionally satisfying.

The next six weeks will be grueling. Hopefully, I won't have a physical relapse. Being sick is never fun. As a new trustee at the church I will pick up more responsibilities along with all the activities that surround the Easter events. The campaign trail will have me hitting every breakfast, lunch, and dinner social as a means of getting my face out there. There are signs to be posted, cards to be printed and handbills to be passed out. I will be plenty busy.

Oh, there is one more thing to fit into the agenda. The Barmaid has reminded me to make time in my schedule to help plan and produce a birthday party. The granddaughter living with us turns seven at the end of March. In an odd way, I'm actually looking forward to a dozen, screaming, first-graders running around in our basement. Providing they don't get the idea I would make a good donkey to pin a tail onto.