Opinion: Nice Day for a Trip

by Mickey Floyd
First, it was the storm radio alarm going off, followed by a loud report of thunder, then the clock, and finally the wife. All working together to convince me to get up a full two hours before dawn. Now three of the aforementioned items, I might try to ignore, but the last 51 years has taught me not to even think of doing this with Retha. Not this time of day anyway. Have I mentioned that she is not a morning person and this was my idea, so I did my best to get vertical and head for the coffee maker. Why would it be so wrong at 5 a.m.? It seemed like a good thing when we had decided in the middle of the day to do it. Oh, yes! This was the day that we were going to Jefferson City and advise some of our elected officials that there really is a Northwest Missouri and the people there are watching (with a microscope) what is happening at the capital.
Two hours later, we were parking the car next to a large tour bus which had arrived ahead of us and was to be our ride to Jefferson City. The bus was like something a rock band would travel in, except the windows were not blacked out and the driver was clean. He was, in fact, very professional, nice-looking, and perky. Did I mention that I don’t do perky in the mornings? But what the heck, he turned out to be a great driver (more on that later) and that’s what’s important. More cars. More people. Some I recognized from last year. Others were new to me. All with a common goal; advise the lawmakers in Jefferson City, "We are here!" Only a half a busload, but we had stops along the way to pick up more. Five, maybe six stops later, our bus was full with a collage of travelers. There were retirees and young people. There were housewives and farmers. There were businessmen and educators. Some had waited in the cold wind and rain to join our forces. There were many who had gotten up early to do a couple of hours of chores before catching the bus. Suddenly, I felt bad about what I had called my alarm clock when it went off.
Setting in the front of the bus, I could not help but notice how the knuckles of the driver had bleached out to almost bone white due to the forty-plus mile per hour winds trying to push our southbound vehicle into the northbound lanes. This sixty-foot slab-sided bemoth transporter catches more wind then a fat sky diver, and the wind was always to the side. Mr. Perky Driver did a great job of keeping us straight and in one lane. God bless perky. As we neared Jefferson City, the wind subsided, the rain let up a little, and we even had a sliver of sunlight. Anyone who has not had the opportunity to visit the capital should really try to do so. The capital dome on this day was bathed in sunlight while all of the background was dark clouds. On any day, the building is an impressive sight, but this day was special. Everything was just right to create one heck of an awesome view. It made me proud to be a Missourian, if only by adoption.
Cross the river, up the off ramp, right turn, and there we were, our objective, the Missouri State Capital. I couldn’t help but think how many important people had walked up these stairs. Did I have the right to be there? Why would I think that anything I say or do could possibly be of any consequence? I wondered if at some time President Truman had stood here where I am standing. Yea, getting up a 0 dark thirty is not all that bad when you get to be a part (even a little part) of this type of an event. But back to reality. As I reached the top of the stairs, I was overtaken by two young legal types who were having their own small debate over party spending and, of course, the Democrat was accusing the Republicans of spending too much money and the Republican was accusing the Democrat of not spending enough. I don’t know who won, but I did hear the one of them state, as they went through the door ahead of me, that "if the Capital Building had not been built during a Republican administration, all the elected officials would still be meeting in a pole barn." As for me, I was just glad to see someone had spent the money for indoor plumbing. Four hours on a bus is a long time.
There was able an hour before we were to assemble in the Rotunda for our meeting, so the wife and I put this time to good use by visiting one of several museums on the main floor. I always like to get a chance to look at the past. It helps me appreciate more what we have today because of the sacrifices made by our ancestors in war and in peace. The time travel trip was over all to quickly, and it was once again 2008 and time to find seats in the Rotunda. As speakers came and went, I thought again about the common bonds which had caused us all to make this trip together: There were concerns about the "local control" issue, and whether or not local policy should be made by people two hundred miles away and taken away from those who live here. There were concerns about "truth in advertising" in milk and how it will impact the local dairy farmers. Should large chemical companies be allowed to lie about what is, or is not, in the milk we drink? And there was the concern about CAFO. This, as you know, is of my concern, not because of animals or big business. But any type of large operation, large or small, which comes into a community without controls. Any entity which destroys the environment, sickens and kills the population, wipes out property values for their own financial gains, does so in the name of progress, and then has the audacity to expect to get the taxpayers to pay to clean up their mess.
When the meeting was over in the Rotunda, we had a little time to go around the halls of the capital and speak with some of the elected officials who will soon be voting on these matters, and it was really nice to actually have some of them come out to speak with us. Some agreed with us and some didn’t. I guess that’s what makes politics.
Well, back on the bus. Another four hour ride. Another four hours to watch Mr. Perky fight that wind. I’m glad that was him wrestling with the steering wheel and not me. As for myself, I used the time to reflect on the day’s events and appreciate the fact that I am blessed with some great neighbors. These people put their lives on hold for a day while they did what they could to make sure that Missouri will still be a good place to raise our grandchildren and theirs. Yes, I do have good neighbors.