Monday, February 23, 2026
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New Old Geezer Gang

By
Milo Yield
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0
Thayne Cozart
Milo Yield

Folks, I’ve joined a new gang of old geezers here in Riley. I’ve dubbed it the Old Geezer Gang of Gossip, Gospel and Government. The loosely-knit group meets every morning at the local Short Stop convenience store to sip coffee, share local “doings” and discuss and debate any topic that happens to arise that morning. Quite a few members simultaneously work to enhance their retirement by winning scratch-off Kansas Lottery tickets.

It wuz quite an exclusive debate society to join. I invited myself in and wuz heartily accepted. However, to become a full-fledged member required that I buy one $5 pan of cinnamon rolls made by an enterprising local lady who runs the Fork in the Road store.

So far, the group has not solved a single local, state, national or global problem. But we’ve put forth a lot of worthy suggestions. What I’ve really appreciated is learning about Riley’s citizens and history from folks who’ve lived here all or most of their lives.

***

Readers will recall my occasional rant — as a red/green colorblind person — about manufacturers always using red/green lights to show stop and go. I’ve mentioned that the use of red/blue contrasting lights would be quite helpful for us colorblind folks.

Well, I’m happy to say that the Insignia brand of headphones — to help my 80-year-old ears hear television better — features red/blue on-off and battery charge buttons. Now, if I could just coax the folks who make traffic lights to put a little blue dot in the middle of the red light, I’d make a major contribution to traffic safety.

***

Once again I’ve immunized myself against both the flu and Covid. In the last two weeks, I got both vaccinations. I didn’t hesitate for a moment in making the decision. Vaccines have kept me alive for four-score years. Once again, no reactions to either shot.

***

Along the same vein of thought about old geezers and hearing, two old farmers were arguing. One fellow seemed to be doing most of the talking and he went on and on while the other tried unsuccessfully to slide an occasional word in edgewise.

Finally, when it seemed as if the talker was about to run out of words and the other old fellow could get his chance, the geezer who wuz flapping his jaw summed up his argument vehemently and, with a flourish, turned off his hearing aid.

***

Back in the day of the one-room rural schoolhouse, a teacher was having daily trouble with an unruly boy in the sixth grade. It got so bad that she decided to stop by the boy’s home and speak to his parents about their undisciplined son.

When she knocked on the door, the unruly boy answered the knock. The teacher asked to speak to his mother or father.

“They was here,” the kid replied, “But, now they ain’t. They’s gone.”
“Where,” demanded the teacher, “is your grammar!”

“She’s taking a nap,” the kid replied as he slammed the door.

***

A lazy farm boy, fresh after high school graduation, tired of doing farm chores, so he got a job at a local agri-manufacturing plant.

After several weeks of totally shirking on the job, finally the kids boss called him into his office and said, “Son, do you know you are mentioned in the Bible?”

“Really,” replied the kid. “How so?”

“Yep,” said his boss. “It says in the Bible, ‘The Lord made every creeping thing.’ That saying pretty much nails your work performance so far. You’d better pick up the pace if you want to keep this job.”

***

I doubt the astute members of Congress will ever come to an agreement on a new farm bill.

So, I have a suggestion for the stalemated Congress.

Introduce a “truth in packaging” law that applies to government agencies. I propose that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s truthful name should be “The Department of Consumers, Reformers, Regulators, Activists and the Poor.”

***

A farmer came home from buying feed in town and told his wife, “I nearly hit a jaywalker from San Diego when I was in town this morning.

His wife skeptically asked, “And just how do you know the jaywalker was from San Diego?“

The farmer replied, “After I missed him and he got on the sidewalk, he hollered something to me about the sun and the beach.”

***

It was a so-so weekend for my favorite football teams. The teams at my two alma maters — Bea Wilder U I and Bea Wilder U II — both won. But the KC Chiefs laid an egg and lost to the Philly Eagles. My college basketball teams won a big one and lost a close one.

***

Words of wisdom for the week: “If you want to buy an inexpensive mixed green salad in these inflationary days, use fives, tens and twenties.”

“Communism is the system where everybody always shares equally in getting the short end of the stick. Capitalism, when it is working well, is the system that makes the sticks longer.”

“Just be glad you’re not getting all the government you’re paying for.”

Have a good ‘un.

“Thin-Flation”

By
Milo Yield
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0
Thayne Cozart
Milo Yield

 

I recently mentioned how “shrinkflation” is just another hidden way that inflation is hurting us all. Companies are putting less product into the same size containers and still charging us the regular price. Well, this last week, I discovered still another method of inflicting us consumers with shrinkflation. I call it “thin-flation.”

Here’s the deal: Nevah fixed us some boiled shrimp for supper one evening this week. She opened a can of pork and beans as a side dish. First, let me mention that the “pork” in pork and beans has always been a dietary scam. Even in the best of times, you’d be lucky to find one or two tiny cubes of pork fat in any can of pork and beans.

But, this time not only wuz there scant pork fat in the beans, but also the beans were scant, too. In short, I’ve never seen such watery beans. The entire can was mostly thin juice. It’s wuz pretty plain the company knows that water in a can is cheaper than beans and thick juice in a can. And, it gets by with duping us.

If truth in advertising wuz enforced, the maker of this brand of pork and beans would label the can “Watery, No-Pork Beans.” Shame on it for it’s “Thin-flation.”

***

The weather this past week brought 5-6 inches of welcome snow to us in the northern reaches of the Flint Hills. Although it created a mess for driving, I’m sure the snow wuz good for the young fescue grass in our yard.

For sure, the wheat benefitted from the snow and moisture, even though there wuz scant runoff. Every bit of moisture helps lessen the effects of the ongoing drought.

***

Although I love living in our new home, one thing I miss about our former home is the abundance of wildlife. There just ain’t much wildlife here on the outskirts of Riley.

So, in a meek attempt to remedy that wildlife situation, I decided to put up a “bird feeder tree” just off our back deck. I figgered that I could at least enjoy watching the wild birds as they feed during the cold weather.

And, I decided to make putting up the “Fake Tree” a fun outing with my 4-year-old great-grandson. When he arrived early for Thanksgiving dinner, I loaded him and his Dad into the ATV and we went in search of a suitable “tree” for the bird feeders. There’s a hedge row just across the road from us and it didn’t take the great-grandson to “pick” out a tree that would work.

So, we sawed the top out of a small hackberry tree, took it to the back yard, dug a post hole, and “planted” the limb. It actually looks pretty much like a leafless live tree.

Then we got out bird seed feeders and suet feeders and together we got them hung in the tree. It wuz a good shared experience for both the great-grandson and his old great-grandpappy.

It took the wild birds about a week to find our feeders, but now they are coming daily. The snow cover helped.

Also, I wuz pleasantly surprised one morning after the moisture to discover a set of big deer tracks that went right between our home and the neighbor’s. I’d bet it wuz a rutting buck, but I’ve not seen it.

***

I like to eat popcorn and I always figgered it wuz worthless or detrimental in my diet. Well, I read an article last week that said popcorn wuz a valuable “whole grain” in the diet and that it helped stave off mental decline. While I doubt most of the “info” I get from the internet, it’s still better to read supposedly good news than for sure bad news. At the very least, now I can eat popcorn with a clear conscience.

***

Overheard at the coffee shop: “I figured out how to keep from getting parking tickets. I removed the windshield wipers from my pickup.”

“The best thing about a small rural town is that you can chat for a while on the phone even if you get a wrong number.”

***

A Flint Hills rancher went in to his doctor for his annual physical examination.

During the question/answer session, his doctor asked him if he’d had any accidents since his last visit.”

The rancher said, “Nope.”

His doctor, who’d known the rancher for years, replied, “You’re telling me you haven’t had any accidents in the past year?”

“Well,” the rancher confided, “My old hoss did buck me off onto a pile of rocks. And another time, a little rattlesnake bit me. And, I got stung by a bunch of hornets and swelled up like a poisoned pup.”

“And, you wouldn’t call them accidents?” his doctor queried.

“Heck, no,” the rancher replied, “Every one of the scamps did it on purpose.”

***

A farmer caught a boy up in an apple tree stealing apples. He yelled, “Why are you in my apple tree stealing apples?”

The boy yelled back, “I saw your sign that said ‘Keep off the Grass.’”

***

Words of wisdom for the week: “Here’s a great new recipe for sponge cake. Start off by borrowing all the ingredients.”

“Today it isn’t facing the music that hurts. It’s listening to it!”

“When it comes to giving, some folks stop at nothing.”

Have a good ‘un.

A Republican original

By
John Marshall
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0
john marshal

 

Decades ago when the Republicans had genuine leadership, the party celebrated its elder statesmen. After the Tafts and Teddy Roosevelt, Republican respect began to take root in Kansas, first with William Allen White and then Alf Landon, Frank Carlson and Dwight Eisenhower; later, Bob Dole and Nancy Kassebaum.

Landon, in 1936, and Dole (1996) were nominees for president. Eisenhower was nominated in 1952, elected, and reelected in 1956.

In earlier days the heat source of political parties was in local wards and precincts. Members organized, had committee meetings, raised money. Campaigns were incubated in neighborhoods and township halls, moored in district conventions.

Each party’s wellspring, its issues, messages and candidates, had strong beginnings in the awareness and experience of people at home. Political parties once reflected the principles and expectations of local citizens, not the fever dreams of Washington power mongers or faraway cause lobbies.

*

After his landslide loss to Franklin Roosevelt, Landon dusted himself off, built a mansion in Topeka and began a retirement career advising the national conscience. For Republican Kansas and an assorted America, Landon became a durable and learned sage. People paid attention for decades.

For example, in late 1962 Landon was asked in an interview with The New York Times to describe his political philosophy. “I would say practical progressive, which means that the Republican Party or any political party has got to recognize the problems of a growing and complex industrial civilization. And I don’t think the Republican Party is really wide awake to that.”

At the time Landon was, like his friend Dwight Eisenhower, a global figure. He had come to Kansas as a teenager with his family, graduated from KU in 1908, worked in a bank, then made an early venture into the oil business and by 1929 had earned a fortune. All the while he acquired respect and status as a progressive, a two-term governor (1933-37) and presidential nominee.

Landon’s remarks in that Times interview seemed prescient. He was a respected raconteur, tuned to the ways and means of American politics and culture even three decades after his presidential race.

Republicans began to drift right in the 1960s with Goldwater, then Nixon and Reagan, but Landon remained a fixture in the party’s liberal wing, its considerable history. He had opposed Republicans who supported the Neutrality Act in the 1930s, fearing it would give Nazi Germany the impression that the U.S. wouldn’t fight; when Britain needed help, he urged $5 billion in foreign aid.

Landon had declined to campaign vigorously against Franklin Roosevelt, mostly because he liked many of FDR’s controversial domestic policies known as the New Deal. Although the national debt had increased (to $7 billion) and seven million Americans were jobless, Landon saw that beneath even the ugliest numbers, things had improved. Unemployment was high, but half what it had been in 1932. The banks had been saved. National income and profits were up. The Dow Jones average had nearly doubled.

*

Landon’s vision embraced the world. The stuff of his dreams often became issues or answers, policy or law: Civil rights. Recognition of “Red China.” Trade with the communists. Aid to Greece and Turkey to counter communist threats. He backed the Marshall Plan for reconstructing Europe after World War II. In 1961, Landon argued that the U.S. should join Europe’s Common Market even as President Kennedy urged only cooperation. And Landon supported many of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs, including Medicare.

On Dec. 13, 1966, Landon delivered the first in a lecture series named for him at Kansas State University, entitled “New Challenges in International Relations.” The theme rings yet, and the Landon Lectures continue to feature world leaders and political figures including seven U.S. presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Landon also addressed the GOP national convention in Kansas City in 1976. He and his wife, Theo, welcomed President Reagan to their Topeka home in September 1987 to celebrate Landon’s 100th birthday.

Landon died a month later. He may be seen at once as a celebrated and displaced hero, a champion of the disillusioned, ever insisting that the world is better when we seek to embrace more than our own kind.

Snow; Love it or hate it

By
Steve Gilliland
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0

 

As I sit here this morning in the warm comfort of my living room watching the snow flakes fall, I’m reminded just how magnificent our Creator is. The flakes started slowly and never got much bigger than glitter, making me seriously question the predicted 4 -7 inches.

Show me one person who doesn’t have some sort of love-hate relationship with snow. It

seems as though a person either love it or hates it, and for some of us it depends upon the

day. It’s hard to explain how something that makes the landscape suddenly seem so sparkling clean and pure can turn on you in an instant and ruin your day. I was reminded today how much I love to watch snow fall and how beautiful it makes everything it touches, but also how much I hate removing it from my driveway. I’m kind of a purist in that I believe God put it there and I don’t want to shovel it and take away any satisfaction He might get from taking it away himself! Yes, to the traveler, home owner, maintenance man and commuter, snow is often an unwelcome inconvenience. To the outdoorsman, however, snow opens up a whole new world of opportunities.

For the outdoors photographer or painter there is no other canvas that compares to an outdoor scene sporting a fresh snowfall. Suddenly, as if by magic, the mundane becomes majestic, the drab becomes dynamic and the everyday becomes extraordinary. Outdoor spots we pass daily with no recognition suddenly become scenes from a calendar. Like the lava lamps of days gone by, the look of the landscape slowly changes from hour to hour with the wind.

Obviously, skiers and snowboarders live for fresh snow. After an overnight snowfall, hills too steep to climb become mere carnival rides beneath their feet. Cross country skiers can, in one day, see country it would take them several days to see on foot without the snow. And let’s not forget the farmers. As a rule of thumb, ten inches of snow equal one inch of rain, and snow supposedly brings with it good nutrients too, so even though we will not be getting any amount near ten inches, every little bit of moisture is welcome, given the dry state of our land.

Hunters and trappers can benefit greatly from a fresh snowfall. Tracks of deer, coyotes, bobcats and other game animals are tough to spot in our often-dry Kansas soil, so trying to learn their movement patterns can rely on being fortunate enough to see the animals themselves. Remember going to dances back-in-the-day when your hand was stamped with a mark that only showed up under a special “black light?” That mark was there the whole time but only became visible when put under the light. Just like the black light, snow suddenly shows tracks of wildlife that have been traveling those same paths for months, but leaving no visible signs.

After a significant snowfall a few years ago, I spent time scouting an area I still had yet to trap. It was a soybean stubble field along the river where my wife harvested her first deer several years before. Besides hordes of deer tracks, I followed 2 sets of bobcat tracks as they meandered back and forth across the field and between several freshly made brush piles. I tracked a coyote for several hundred yards and was able to observe exactly how it related to certain land features. I followed coyote tracks on a frozen drainage ditch and

could see where it had stopped to nose around under logs and other attractions. Its tracks showed me cattle trails it had traveled along the steep banks and where it had entered and left the ditch. Closing my eyes, I could almost see these animals as they left the footprints that held my attention.

So, the next time it snows, after you’ve shoveled the driveway, cleaned the walks, swept the deck and cursed the weatherman, grab your camera or walking stick and head for the woods. It will definitely influence your relationship with the “white stuff” as you continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Prices Down At Major Nine-Day Racing Thoroughbred Sale

By
Frank Buchman
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0

The 80th Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale in Lexington, Kentucky, concluded November. 16, with the sale taking a 12.7 percent downtick in gross from the previous year of $216,338,400.

The nine-day sale saw 2,219 horses sold for a final gross of $188,836,000.

Keeneland reports 258 of the 297 horses on offer during session nine sold for gross receipts of $2,702,200, down 15.6 percent over 2022.

An average price of $10,474 shows a 12.6 percent decline, while the median held steady at $7,000. Some 39 horses, 13.1 percent, failed to attain their reserve price

Last year’s sale had 10 sessions, with the final three comprising Book 5. This year, there were two sessions for Book 5.

During last year’s corresponding session, 267 horses of the 308 through the ring were traded for a $3,201,200 gross.

An average of $11,990 and a $7,000 median were made. There were 41 individuals, 15.4 percent, failed to sell.

Antony Beck’s Gainesway led the final session with gross receipts of $306,900, at an average of $13,950 for 22 horses sold.

Buena Madera purchased two head for a gross of $100,000 to be the leader on the final day.

Over the nine days, 2,219 horses sold of the 2,728 to go under the hammer for gross receipts of $188,836,000.

An average price of $85,100 and a median of $32,000 were made with 509 horses, 18.7 percent, did not sell.

to: “I think pound for pound we have to be pleased the way it shaped up,” Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said.

“The beginning of the sale showed some selectivity in the market. At the higher end, there was some protectionism used by sellers. There were strong reserves that were fair, but also, people weren’t willing to let horses go at a less-than-reasonable value.

“We have seen quality protected in the market throughout the year because there are other opportunities.”

Last year’s 10-session sale concluded with 2,327 horses traded of the 2,869 to go through the ring for a $216,338,400 gross.

Averages of $92,969 and $35,000 median were recorded. The 542 horses that remained unsold represent an 23.3 percent.

It’s hard to say whether the downtick of this year’s sale is a direct result of the current market’s status or the catalog’s quality.

“What we observed a few sessions into this sale was sellers recognized the market in front of them and were pragmatic in their approach, and as a result, we have had an excellent clearance rate,” Cormac Breathnach, director of sales operations, commented.

“It’s been a solid market, and there have been a lot of horses traded. We are pleased with the participation and support from buyers and sellers alike, and more horses have traded with a lower no sale rate than last year.”

The sale saw 12 horses bring $1 million or more, topped by Puca, the dam of this year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mage . She was offered by Case Clay Thoroughbred Management carrying a full sibling to the grade 1 winner. Gavin O’Connor, agent for John Stewart, purchased the mare privately for $2.9 million on November 8, after she didn’t sell in the ring during the first session.

There were 13 $1 million or more horses sold during the 2023 sale.

“The clearance rate was good, and the middle market was extremely healthy,” Lacy said.

“The sellers were pleased for the most part, and buyers found it tough to find the quality stock at the prices they were looking for. The market has a lot of stability overall, even with the slight correction. Considering what we are dealing with in interest rates and the strong dollar, we had a lot of international participants.”

Perennial leading consignor Taylor Made Sales Agency sold a total of 270 horses for receipts of $23,689,900, at an average of $87,740.

West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable, made nine purchases throughout the sale for $5,220,000 to be the sales leading buyer.

AAA Thoroughbreds, the weanling-to-yearling pinhooking arm of Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, skidded into second after spending $4,870,000 on 19 weanlings from Books 1-3.

Horse of the Year Flightline, who will stand his second year at Lane’s End for $150,000 next year, had seven mares in foal to the son of Tapit, grossing $6.625 million, at an average of $946,429, to be the leading covering sire for the sale.

This year, Keeneland focused on selling more quality foals, played out by design, with weanlings accounting for $13.3 million, or 7.1 percent of the gross.

Lacy added: “The foal market was robust. It shows breeding quality has its return whether as a yearling or weanling.”

The top weanling offering, a colt by Gun Runner sold for $750,000 to Shadwell Racing on the first day. Taylor Made Sales Agency consigned the colt out of the Galileo mare Urban Hill.

“We have had a couple of record September Sales the last few years, which is incredible, but we noticed early on in the first few sessions the strength in the weanling market, which is a reflection of the confidence in the yearling market next year,” Breathnach said.

Lacy added: “We have interest from the Middle East and other parts of the world, which see this sale as an option now for sourcing horses for their racing programs.”

CUTLINE

Perennial leading Keeneland sale consignor Taylor Made Sales Agency sold a total of 270 horses for receipts of $23,689,900, at an average of $87,740.

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