The coffee emporium was sure quiet today, just a couple of fellers from the insurance office out to visit some feller who lost a load of hay to the lightning. They looked sorta out of place with their suits and ties on and sitting in a booth. That is because the booths are hardly ever used by us locals.
I got a slab of pie and cup of coffee, walked over and pulled a chair up to the end of their table. I introduced myself and we shook hands. I like to talk to folks and these were the only folks in the place, so they had to do. We visited about the pie, weather, lightning damages and then the conventions! I had no clue as to what to expect from these men, and I sure didn't mean to cause any trouble.
The bald headed man was the boss, and the other agent was older than his boss. I sorta tiptoed around the politics and asked about where they were originally from. The boss was from "upstate New York" and cleared his throat as he revealed his birthplace. He was a lot less talkative than the other one who was from southwest Kansas. We hopped on the farming business and totally bored the boss, who by the time we had planted and harvested a crop of wheat, was ready to leave. I offered to buy their lunch, but the agent said the company would be responsible for the meal and thanked me for the offer.
The boss, the feller who didn't like to visit or smile and sure had heard enough about farming, said the hired hand should have kept quiet and let me pay! Protect your company was his way of thinking. He volunteered that he suspected he was surrounded by people of the class that preferred to vote for that party who was for sure a laughing matter and he could pick us out of a crowd 10 foot away! He said he knew people from our area were basically uneducated and we always voted for the one who would hand out commodities and free cell phones! He excused himself, and I didn't offer my hand to say I was glad to have met him.
The agent sorta chuckled and we shook hands. He grinned and told me he had retired from an aerospace business and didn't put that on his application for the job. He already knew the boss feller and it was fun to watch the poor old boy make a mess of himself everywhere they went. I invited him out to the place to discuss insurance!
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, you just cannot judge an area by what you think you know! Come election day, I suspect this part of the world will surprise that uppity man. I could be wrong, but I can almost pick them out of a crowd 10 foot away! Forgive me for being too sarcastic. But, then, I did this for all of us uneducated hillbillies!
Keep your pencil sharp and your insurance up to date!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 08/03/2016