August 15, 2004 - At lunch Saturday I was talking to an Illinois farmer, a friend of mine. He is the Republican County Chairman and a member of the Piatt County Board. He and I have a good relationship based on the reality that he knows he is not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change his. Still, we banter about politics and life. If the conversations grow too heated we change the subject to Illini Football, though recently that subject has been somewhat less pleasant than politics but at least we don't fill body bags after combat in Memorial Stadium.

Saturday noon he asked me if I had seen the pictures of Charley's damage. I told him that I had. He asked me if I understood that the idiots who chose to live on the Florida coast took the risk that they were going to get hit by a hurricane. I responded that we have tornados.

"I suppose", he said, "that you liberals want to run down there and hand out money right and left to pay them for being fools". I reminded him that the storm devastated Sanibel and Captiva islands - the playgrounds of the very rich.

"You guys are always just buying votes with Federal handouts", he said. I reminded him that the Bush Brothers were running things in both Tallahassee and DC.

"You just want to make sure that the Democrats living in the Florida swamps don't have to move to somewhere they will be in a minority." I reminded him that Bush carried Lee and Charlotte counties in 2000. Illinois football practice started this week.

The check came. I picked it up. It was my turn. He had the steak. I had a salad - the same thing I order when he is buying. I'm diabetic and have to watch the diet closely. It always seems that he isn't too hungry when it is his turn to buy. When it is his turn he just orders the soup.

This morning it is chilly in Central Illinois, we set another record low last night at 48 degrees. I read somewhere that they are experiencing record highs in Iceland. It isn’t as cold as it was in 1863. On August 15th my great-great grandfather wrote in his diary that frost had killed the corn and the squash growing on the farm. Later that day he went to help bury Jim Luskaleet. He died serving in the 107th Illinois Infantry. They held a memorial service for my cousin Gene Utt this week. He will be buried at Fort Hood. His mother and dad went to Texas for the funeral. He was killed north of Baghdad.