Saturday, Vernal and I packed the kids in the car to head over to the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City. The festival itself is one of those great slices of small town Americana. All sorts of booths line the old brick paved main street in their little down town area right next to the small college. The booths are filled with everything from art to crafts to country singers in American flag shirts to politicians to Aunt Gertrude’s large homemade cookies for a dollar to ceramics to school pride toilet seats to license plate bird houses to portrait painters to Grandma Betty’s knitted tissue covers to well you probably get the picture. The festival included a parade, carnival rides, exotic wild animal petting zoo (not smart with the porcupine), moon walk, pony rides, and all sorts of food. The best part was the weather and the smells. The smells are free!
Anyway, before our drive through the farmland that precedes Baldwin City, I saw something that made me do a double take and wish that I had my camera. But since I was driving, I really couldn’t stop. And no it wasn’t the old car on the side of the road that was cut in half with a sign that said “My ex got half.”
Driving right through the heart of small downtown Gardner we went through an intersection. Maybe, it was the only intersection with a stoplight. There were some people in the middle of the road with orange vest and buckets to collect money. We had a green light, thankfully, so we didn’t have to stop and ignore them. As I drove by one of these fundraisers, I noticed what the text said on their orange vest:
“HELP RETARDED CHILDREN.”
??????
14 comments:
Any more the PC "mentally-challenged" is more derogatory than retarded. Still, you'd think they could come up with something better than than.
Is it just a small town mentality where the whole PC is not a big deal.
My sister says that in their line of work you never use an adjective to describe a child. Do you work with disabled kids? (bad) Do you work with kids who have disablities? (Good)
BTW, did anybody catch last nights Extreme Home Makeover? (sniff, sniff)
Did you ever see the Growing Pains episode where Ben wants to buy his dad a good birthday gift? He goes around door to door and collects "money for the poor" because he was poor. Maybe they just needed some cash, and they are clearly retarded, so the sign wouldn't be dishonest...
Crack me up! Seminole, I remember that episode!
I don't think small towns really care about being politically correct. People in small towns usually know everybody's business and like to gossip. I know I'm making a big generalization. : )
Is there a nice way to say the "short bus"? It picks up a boy two houses down from us.
"bus that is not long"
Were any of them wearing sandals with socks?
Drew....sorry
Having to ride in the "short bus" is almost as bad as those orange vests.
Bus "Diver", why did you ride the short bus again?
Carolyn, I am glad their early diagnosis was wrong! BTW, If I were you I wouldn't admit to riding the short bus. And Please call them kids with disabilities and not retarded kids. :)
niiice. the last fun event like that that I got to go to was the Ethnic Food Festival. awesome food, and it was all pretty cheap.
and you guys are all a lot more secretive on this thing. nobody says their real name, so it's all like a code to me so far. good job with the picture though, so I got you figured out now...
Yeah, remember the old days when all old men used to have nicknames for each other? Lefty, shorty, lumpy, goose, etc.
A short bus picks up a kid two houses down from us every morning. I honestly don't think it is that kind of short bus, but I got a smile this morning when I saw it.
sitting at my coffee shop(drinking hot chocolate- I come for the smell...) and am laughing so hard. Thanks for the story- you made my morning....
Post a Comment