A highway patrolman pulled me over in rural DeKalb County last week. According to him, I was allegedly driving 68 miles per hour within a 60 miles per hour zone. Besides that, the most shocking thing to me was that this patrolman appeared to be approximately 12 years old to me. Apparently I have just gotten old and young people now look younger. That was a bit of a shock to my system.
Anyway, I chuckled a little at his tone in which he provided me a stern warning and explained to me that the farmers were getting their crops in and lots of “grain trucks and farm machinery out.” Apparently, this guy does not read my column and understands I am a fanboy for harvest.
The diversity of traffic enforcement is revealing when you compare rural and urban areas. What are the chances you get pulled over on Interstate 435 for doing 8 mph over the limit? Absolutely zero is the only correct answer. Read into that what you will, but it strikes me as some poor allocation of resources.
Maybe the patrolman was 12 years old, I did not ask for his license or lunch card, probably should have just for kicks.
Remember when Trump was going to get us in a bunch of wars? He didn’t but the current guy sleeping in the White House Oval Office has managed to get us involved in a few “conflicts.” Could we please have someone normal be president? I would like them to be cognitively functional and one that doesn’t say “bigly.” That’s all.
I like Nikki Haley some, but she scares me. She’s like that nice third grade teacher that you’re kind of scared of. The kind that greets you and your parents on back-to-school night with a wide smile and all kinds of good will that leaves the parents feeling great and then smacks your noggin with a ruler the next morning for not sitting up in your chair. Maybe that’s what we need, but still scares me a little.
She’d smile and nod at the Ayatollah in a morning Zoom call and then drop a nuke on him by dinner. You know the type. Most of you are married to one.
The Royals stadium issue has fallen off the proverbial rails. Listen, Frank White has been off and on mad at the Kansas City Royals for 40 years and this is the result. The Frank White story is amazing. Local kid does good and plays for his hometown major league team. Wins a World Series, has a statue erected and ends up being elected to the highest office in the county, yet it has never been that linear of a story for Frank.
There have been troubles along the way as Frank often did not get the respect that he thought he deserved as a player, announcer or as Jackson County Executive and that is all coming into play for the Royals’ future in Jackson County. He was probably correct to believe that he was disrespected at times and that is where this is so complicated. Even if he wanted to say those things do not matter, it is impossible for them not to matter. There is no way he trusts this organization, regardless of the ownership changes over the years.
The “feel good” story of Frank White will never be fully realized because of the actions of many, including White, but if his administration secures the Royals’ future in Jackson County at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer, it remains a story of the ages. If they get away to the Northland, it further complicates an already complicated story.
(Guy Speckman can be found driving at the speed limit on rural county highways)
