Brittany Hinkle and the other South Dakota Music Ambassadors will be setting off for Greece and many other European countries. Brittany is taking her mother, Kristi Hinkle along, leaving Shelby Hinkle in charge until they get back. Brit and Kristi will be leaving at around midnight tonight, and they will be gone for a spell, All of us here at the Holabird Advocate wish them well on their journey. Our Publisher hopes they can pick him up some of that Greek yogurt if they have time, and if they could make it chocolate, that would be excellent.

The Holabird Advocate Circulation Department has been doing some market research. What they have found is interesting, but not necessarily shocking. They have discovered that the Blogger page shows an average readership of 7 people each day. Meanwhile the Holabird Advocate Facebook page has an average of 24 people with a recent spike of 269 people. For some reason, very few of the people reached bother to check out the site. All of us here at the Holabird Advocate are wondering why that is, although we have a few suspicions.  

     Apparently, while I was busy being courageous and dynamic offline, the Supreme Court declared the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. For years now, we've been told that allowing gays to marry would destroy the instution of matrimony. Time will tell if that happens.

     For now, I'd be happy if this action means that all of those equal signs could be removed from FB profiles pictures and we can all go back to posting pics of our children, pets, and what we are eating for dinner in their place.
I have a few friends who are of the gay community, and some of them are looking to get married. If they do, I wish them well. but once they do, they'd better make double darn sure this is what they want. Critics of gay marriage will be watching and waiting for a rash of gay divorces to start. So if y'all got the right, don't abuse it. Then in 50 years or so, invite me to your Golden wedding anniversay, and we'll talk about it. Until then, God be with you and do the best you can!

 

     The South Dakota Humanities Council held a conversational forum at the Dakota Discovery Museum Saturday afternoon. Several open ended questions were asked about what makes South Dakota and the people who live there different from the rest of society and what makes them the same as everyone else. Quite a few people showed up, and Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, was one of them. During the introduction part of the forum, he described himself as a Holabird native, which prompted another participant to ask about Wayne "Breezy" Peterson. South Dakota is indeed a small world!

     So did the assembled company figure out who is the typical South Dakotan is? Not Really! South Dakota's infinite variety is found not only in it's nature, but it it's people as well. A South Dakotan is a product of the environment in which he or she is placed. From the flat prairie in the East, to the black hills of the west and even in the river valley that divides them, South Dakota as a diverse population made up of people form different ethnic backgrounds, different shapes sizes religions creeds and colors united by the invisible bond of a political boundary that sets it apart from the rest of the population.
     Over 700,000 stories are able to be told in this state. The book, which provided the reference points for the form discussion provides a drop in the proverbial bucket. Each State and Region of this nation has their own heritage that sets it apart, and yet people are people That's why someone could be able to come for a visit and end up staying here. President Calvin Coolidge liked South Dakota because it was less expensive to live here. E.E. Hinkle liked it here because even though the weather was troublesome, the pace of live was just his gait. He visited California during the wintertime, but preferred. the peace and quiet of the South Dakota prairie. Everyone who calls this state home has their own reason for doing so.

     There is an old saying that "Good fences make good neighbors" But in South Dakota, it's more like "Good neighbors make good fences" Neighbors come in handy when the cows get out or the barn is on fire. They are a cold drink of water on a hot day. 

     Dear Readers, I must confess that I never heard of Ms. Deen until she made news the hard way last week. This has become a hot button issue, and one that has a lot of people, myself included, shaking their heads. As offensive as her action were, I fail to see how putting her and her sins up on display for all to see has accomplished. The alleged comedians at the Daily Show making fun of her weight kind of made me sympathize with her just a tad, with a little bit of empathy mixed in. It's always interesting to see that even among the politically correct, it's still OK to make fun of fat people! All because she used a term that I'm quite sure did not apply to Jon Stewart.

        As for her losing the Food Network gig, I've seen some people express the opinion that the  network went to far, while others think that she deserves far worse. In this case, The network did what they thought was right, so I'll let them off the hook. Would I have done the same? Well, if she did her job, and did it well, I'd have kept her on unless their was no other. I mean, yes, it's true she used language that clearly the best of people should never say even privately, but truth be told, at that time I used the same language. I don't have the excuse that I lived in South Georgia before the Civil Rights movement. I just didn't know any better, and worse yet I didn't care. Now, I know better and I don't care to use that term, and I bristle when others use it, as I suppose we all should. Over time I learned that it wasn't right. Ms. Deen is learning that as well, but the lesson is going to be slightly more expensive for her. I hope that she, and others as well take this learning experience to heart and use it to become better people. God be with you and do the best you can!

     To read the Front Page these days, you might not think that the home office of the Holabird Advocate is ever open. It is, but there hasn't been much to write about. That not withstanding, we are closing the home office tomorrow in order to allow our Publisher to take part in the Farmers Market, the benefit for the Mitchell Food Pantry at Resurrection Lutheran, and the forum at Dakota Discovery on "What makes a South Dakotan". With any luck we will have the home office set up at the Corn Palace on Sunday Afternoon. Come on over, shake hands and say "Howdy"!

     As anyone who has been a faithful Reader of  our little Newsblog for the past 11 years knows and could tell you, I fully support the 1st Amendment in all of it's forms, and as such despise political correctness whenever possible. Whenever I give my opinion, I welcome the other point of view to be included. When I edit someone Else's submission, I may edit the form, but never the content. However, it has come to my attention that, according to some, a certain word beginning with R needs to be retired from the American vocabulary. I am not going to try to convince any of you Readers to join me in this pledge, but certainly hope you will.

This move to retire the R word is not a new thing, in fact it's been around for a while. The fact that it has taken me this long to make the pledge is regrettable. When I heard how a certain alleged comedian made reference to a politician's son who happens to have down syndrome by using the word, I felt compelled to action.

In my family, we pick on each other, sometimes quite severely. If anyone outside the family called one of my relatives by that word, as the so called comedian did to that little boy whose only real sin is having a mother in the public eye, I'd take offense to it. As it happens, I have a cousin, with Downs Syndrome. Her name is Anne. Y'all Readers should meet he when you have the chance, because she is a very inspirational young lady. Yes, I do pick on her, but she is usually able to give back as good as she gets so that makes it even. Sometimes, she gets on my nerves, but then so do some people who don't have Downs, so that's a wash as well. The point is, she doesn't deserve that label. I've been called by the R Word my self a time or two myself, but I can take it. If you want to insult her, call her an old maid, call her Ginger (Call her Merry Anne if you dare), but do not use the R word. None of the best people do, which is why I've taken the pledge.

It's been pointed out that ignorance knows no political affiliation. Beside the unfunny comedian, there was a conservative commentator who called the President buy that word, and did not see the wrong she was doing. A lot of people have, though, so it's all good! As for me, my R Word is Respect!

God be with you and do the best you can!

      It has been a busy week for me. So busy that I see that I missed Father's day! But I have some time between that and my parents anniversary to say a few things. I have mentioned, on occasion in the past, that, at least by my perception, that I had it rough growing up. I must say that I've noticed as I get older my perception has altered slightly. As rough as that time was,I was not alone. We all experience that.

     My Dad did not spoil me, but he did not neglect me either. As he was not perfect nor I. In fact, I was a constant source of disappointment to him. But we both did our dead level best to deal with things as they were. As I look back, I can honestly say that had I been in his place, I'd have done like he did. We each have to take the bad with the good. In the eyes of the world, my dad may not be much. After all, he's only had an 8th grade education, and he only grew up to be a farmer and rancher, but he is more. It's true his education didn't take him far, but he was still able to put on the uniform of this great country and he served this great country honorably, as only a true Hinkle can. While serving, in Germany, he was selected to be an escort to the Burgermeister's daughter. Not bad!

     He also married well! So well that he and my mother will be celebrating 50 years together. Was he a perfect husband? I suspect he was as perfect as his bride. He may not have brought candy and flowers to her twice a year, but he darn sure never smacked her in the face for burning dinner. Real love is not thinking the other person is perfect. It's knowing the other person is flawed, but overlooking those flaws, hoping they will do the same. Now 50 years is hardly a record, but it's a good start and better than most.  They've done their friends family and neighbors proud. If the Lord is willing, they'll keep on doing just that. God be with you and do the best you can!

     All of us here at that Holabird Advocate have been just a tad bewildered at the woman who launched into a profanity laced tirade that some of called racist. some of the things that were heard on this video have caused some of us to wonder if the whole thing was on the level, or some kind of act. Had this woman looked at the video before posting she'd surely see that she isn't helping her cause.

     So what was her complaint? She seemed to be disgruntled because she wasn't given a receipt. Since there is no DD in this area, we have nobody to contact for context of the complaint. However most of the better eating places to offer to give the customer a receipt of their order. One wondered how she can prove that she didn't get one. During her 8 minutes of infamy, the irate customer also accused them of spitting and urinating in her food, but there was no clear evidence that such a thing took place. This is a clear exception to the rule "The customer is always right". This customer could not have been more wrong. Still, she supposedly was booked on the Today Show, so what do we know!

Last Sunday some people at Fusion got together at one of the cities better residences for a pool party which was, as we understand it to be a potluck affair, since they are Methodists and all. The hosts did good a pork loin, but Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, who went despite not knowing how to swim, did not get any. As it happens the clouds overhead did not put many of the adults in a swimming mood, but the children didn't seem to mind. The pool, after all, was heated. Jerry cut his visit short because he had to get to the Hut, because they were very busy, and he was needed. Hopefully it will warm up before the next one.

     Yesterday's school board elections had a few interesting results, including an unusual allegation of voter fraud. Deb Olsen and Rick Johnson were rather handily elected to the board. While a man whose name is unworthy of mention on the Front Page of our little Newsblog had been accused of trying ti vote twice, once t the polling place and another time at the Courthouse as an absentee voter. The Absentee vote was declared spoiled. The vote was lopsided enough that it didn't matter. Our friends at the Daily Republic report that 1707 votes were cast, making the voter turnout about 14%, which is about double the amount of voters that cast a ballot in 2007. Impressive!

     Soon we will all be able to buy wine on the sidewalks of beautiful downtown Mitchell. Last Monday the City Council voted 5-2 to allow the ordinance to pass. While none of us here at the Holabird Advocate know exactly how it will work, we've been assured that it will.There is some concern that there will be certain consequences to this action, but we are keeping an open mind. If the availability of wine on the big city sidewalks becomes a problem, it can be undone. As it happpens there has been talk of putting the issue to a public vote. This, of course, means fun days are ahead for all of us here at the Holabird Advocate.

     Imagine, you're 17 years old trying to survive during the Great Depression. Life is tough, food is scarce, jobs are non-existent, and you've turned to petty crime to eke out a living. One day you hear about a new job works program created by the federal government that pays a dollar-a-day, The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). You soon find yourself  spending long days planting trees and building roads. Over the next year, you put on 20 pounds, develop good work habits, gain confidence and make life-long friends. The job skills you learn help you find a job when you leave camp. Your experience in the CCC turns out to be the most important event in your life. It turned you from a boy into a man.

     Jesus died over 2000 years ago. Nobody has ever referred to HIM as the late Jesus, Not even the heathens. Nowhere in history. Nowhere has HE ever been referred to in the past tense.HE 'is' the Living God! When Jesus died on the cross HE was thinking of you! May God Smile on You Today!

Yesterday, all of us here at the Holabird Advocate got word that "All in the Family" star, Jean Stapleton died last Friday. She was 90. Stapleton will be remembered most for her portrayal of Edith Baines Bunker, possibly the kindest television character to ever grace the small screen. If Archie was the soul of the Bunker family, Edith was the heart. Of course, Ms. Stapleton was more than just Mrs. Bunker. She had many roles on the Broadway stage as well. All told, she had been an active member of the show biz community for 70 years. While she, like Edith may be gone, her work lives on, thanks to YouTube and other sources, and all of us here at the Holabird Advocate feel sure her talent will stand the test of time!

Holabird Advocate Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, was very pleased to see his coffee buddy, Earl, back in his usual pew at church this morning. It was 3 weeks ago tonight that Jerry went to the hospital to see that he was not in his room. While he was sure that Earl was in the best of all capable hands, Jerry was glad to see it for himself today. Jerry was not by himself inn this regard, as several people at church were glad to see Earl after all that time away! The best part is that Earl looks well considering his slight setback in April. For someone who will turn 98 in September, Earl is indeed in remarkable shape. We should all be that well at his age!

     While it hasn't made us break any records-yet-the story of the 9 year old who had words with the CEO of McDonald's has been giving us a steady stream of Google traffic since we posted the story a few days ago. It's been trending an Yahoo as well. It's a story that just won't go away.

     The MSM would like to make this a David and Goliath story, but there is a certain element that is siding with the fast food giant. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a member of an investment club that holds McD's stock. I'm not sure how much stock the 9 year old girl has, but it must have been enough to get her in the door. If not her, then it must have been her mother's stock.

     Even if I was not a stockholder, I'd side with McD's because they are not using cartoon characters to trick children into eating unhealthy food. Children of all ages are eating at McD's because the food is pleasing. It has NOTHING to do with cartoon characters. Ronald McDonald himself could go on TV and tell me that raw broccoli tastes like chocolate covered sex, but I wouldn't fall for it, and neither would the so called gullible children to whom McD's is supposedly marketing.

     Some are criticizing the mother of this girl for exploiting her in order to gain support and publicity for her own project that supposedly educates children about healthy food choices. I don't know is that is what she is doing. Hopefully this girl is sincere about what she and the CEO discussed. I also applaud the mother for raising her child to make healthy food choices. That said, I believe that she and her daughter went about this all wrong. Then again we are still talking about it. Maybe something could get done at that. Time will tell! God be with you and do the best you can!