Smarter than the whole bunch…

I just finished 3 days of backpacking with my son and one of my brothers, Mike, in Arkansas. One of the things I have been doing for years after a hike in Arkansas, if I am anywhere near Jasper, Arkansas, is to treat myself to a meal at the Ozark Café.  This particular café is more than a hundred years old, seems to be a favorite with the locals, and is written up frequently in the Arkansas Times. The food is almost invariably very good or better, the coffee is even more so, and the service is in the same category.

Jasper is not very big, the population is 440 souls. It is however, right on the Buffalo National River.  In season the area is very popular for canoeing, backpacking, trout fishing, hunting and many types of outdoor activities.  They reintroduced elk into the area a few decades ago and they are thriving there.  While we only heard of a report of black bears from other hikers, we did see bear sign more than once. It is a fun area to hike with the scenery and wildlife.

I am eating my meal at the Ozark Café, and catty-corner from me is a table where there is sitting 70ish gentleman dressed cowboy.  There are a lot cattle ranches in the area too.  Sitting with him are a middle age couple.  I never once heard them say a word except for the woman who suggested to the man that they were ready for the check.

I was not really paying them much heed, but then our cowboy started talking rapidly and loudly about those awful Democrats.  He then started denigrating Speaker of House, Nancy Pelosi.  He was on this subject for a good five minutes.  At one point, I had a brief thought, a very brief thought, about going over and introducing myself as a proud Democrat.  Sanity prevailed and I ate my dinner in silence.  The real kicker for me was that after the woman had made her comment about the check the cowboy said, “I’m not worried because Trump is smarter than that whole bunch lousy Democrats there in Washington.”

That was almost too much for me, but obviously there was to be no profit in engaging this individual.

I just cannot get my mind around where these folks are coming from… God save our country.

Just as an aside, this was in Arkansas, but it could have happened all across the south and many other rural and working class areas of our country. I have a lot of affection for Arkansas, and at one point had planned on retiring there.  With the change of politics in the state, I have ditched that plan.  Of course, I am living in St. Louis now, and rural Missouri is no better… once again God save our country.

As an agnostic on the atheistic side of that spectrum I should not be saying “God save our country.” But God save me, with the horrible situation in our country, I cannot think of what else to say.