The Tip Top Electons

Greeting to all, and welcome aboard to my new friends in Taiwan.

Who would have ever thought a kid that grew up in downtown Toto writing about the little city in Northern Indiana would be read by a guy In the Taiwan. The power of fingers on keyboards. It makes ya stop and think.

Don’t know about your trees but many of mine have lost most of their color and most of the leaves except one tree. A Maple which has turned a spectacular shade of yellow, orange, green standing directly outside the East Wing as I look to the south..

I look at this tree in the bright sunshine with a slight breeze from the east moving all the leaves in harmony this early November Morning and notice the other trees and bushes in the yard also in tune with silent music heard only by the leaves and realize surly somewhere there in the wind there is the leader of the band. I just haven’t met him yet, but will.

How about that snow a week ago, so pretty, to me it’s still magic. As the snow fell, I lit the fireplace, sat on the floor in the East Wing and told stories to the girls (two dogs, one cat, one wife). The one wife didn’t come to the story telling.

It was a night to remember. I told Mustina’s favorite story about the “Three Little Dogs and the Big Bad Wolf”. The girl dogs love that story. Sophia the Cat said it was a stupid story, she never heard of a talking wolf.

For those of you that were unable to attend the Meet the Candidates Night at Grand Central two weeks ago on Oct. 22nd, you missed a lot. Too far gone to detail it out, but just say next time make it a point to come. It was worth the effort.Sure hope everyone is ready to vote. I’m almost. One way or the other we will give ourselves a new president.

That reminds me of the time I ran for president, the third grade, Tip Top, Kentucky. Now Tip Top was a company town way up in the mountains. The educational facilities at Tip Top in 1953 were somewhat more sparse than what we are accustom to seeing now days. Two room building, grades 1 – 7 in the larger room, grade 8 in a separate room. A single source heating system, pot belly stove, Both rooms. Air Conditioning System, windows that went up and down. Plumbing, outside, both sanitation and water(outhouse and well). Federal and State Financial Assistance, $00.00. Company school, company funded.

It was the springtime in the mountains, right near the end of the current school year, and Magoffin County was in the middle of a hotly contested primary election, it was from that background that I stepped in the political world.

The teacher, Miss Higgins, thought it a good idea to get us little hillbilly boys involved in politics early, after all our parents were shooting each other left and right over political differences and both sides buying votes at every possible opportunity. She explained that it would prepare us to take our places in society in the future if we understood how politics worked.

Miss Higgins would select two candidates and they would campaign for the votes and after the campaigning was all done we would vote. Well when the teacher said she would select the candidates we all knew she would select Tucker Bailey, cause Tucker Bailey was the teacher’s pet.

When ya go to a school with two rooms and a total enrollment of 32 students and 1 teacher, it don’t take long to figure out who’s the teacher’s pet. Later in life I could never quite figure out the fact that Tucker Bailey’s Dad owned the coal mine and the whole town plus he hired Miss Higgins, if that had anything with Tucker Bailey getting to be the teacher’s pet, or she if just liked him better than me. I just don’t know.

Miss Higgins said we needed candidates who could be president of the student body next school year, a person of leadership, a person who we all could admire, (at the time I didn’t know what admire was) a person who could get all us students working for the common good of Tip Top.

The teacher pointed out that the newly elected president would not take office until next school year so that meant the current eight graders could not qualify, but they would get to vote. Just like everybody in that school house knew she would, she said “My first candidate from the fifth grade is Tucker Bailey”. We were all about as surprised as when the sun came that morning.

It was Miss Higgins’s next statement that changes my life forever when she said “and running against Tucker is from the third grade Bobby Ray Howard”.Well I damn near fell off my seat, twice.

Having no political experience and a great deal of resentment of Tucker Bailey, he had the nicest house in Tip Top, his yard had grass, his house was painted, he had shoes year round, he wore church paints to school, he didn’t have to carry water, he had his own dog, while I had to share a dog with seven cousins, and the list went on and on.

I was just pain jealous of Tucker Bailey. I thought he had all the things that made people rich. He had all the stuff I didn’t have and I wanted um.

Miss Higgins told me and Tucker Bailey that the next day we were to give a speech to the whole school and then we would vote for the best one.

I was so afraid I didn’t want to go to school the next day but I did.Tucker Bailey came to school that morning in a new white shirt and a neck tie, yes a neck tie, Tucker Bailey wore a neck tie to school. I wore the same overalls from yesterday. Tucker Bailey wore shoes,,,shoes I’m telling ya Tucker Bailey was the only person besides Miss Higgins wearing shoes in that school house that day.

Tucker Bailey spoke first, he said what a great privilege it was going to be to be president of the school. He talked about making us all better citizens of Magoffin County. Tucker Bailey laid out his plan to organize next year’s 7th and 8th graders to remove all the rocks from the playground so the little kids would not get hurt from falling on the rocks. (we go more hurt from throwing than falling) Seeing if he could get his dad to paint the school building which would allow us more pride in our school ( I think Tucker Bailey’s mother wrote that little speech, cause he’s wasn’t that smart to use words like privilege)

When Tucker Bailey finished Miss Higgins lead the applause and congratulated Tucker Bailey on such a fine campaign speech. Miss Higgins then turned to me and with a somewhat snicker said “Now Bobby Ray are you ready?”

Boy was I ever not ready. Somehow I just never thought I’d really have to do this thing. With no thought in my mind what so ever I walked to the front of the room, both composing and practicing my speech as I walked.

I turned to face the electorate and said “If you’ll vote for me I’ll give ya a RC Cola and a Moon Pie”The school went wild. Everyone jumped to their feet clapping and yelling and stomping the floor. Miss Higgins had to ring the bell to get the kids back under control.

With fire in her eyes and I would swear a split tongue Miss Higgins looked into my very soul and said “Bobby Ray how you going to pay for those RC Colas and Moon Pies?” I said “I don’t know” She said “Bobby Ray where you going to get those RC Colas and Moon Pies?” I said “I don’t know”

Then with her best smile for the teacher’s little pet she said “ Tucker, honey you get to speak again”. I looked at Tucker Bailey and for the first time in my life felt sorry for him, he was about to cry and said “I don’t want to talk no more” Miss Higgins then asked me if I wanted to say anything else.

For the second time in my campaign I stood before the voters and said “If you’ll vote for me I’ll give you a RC Cola and a Moon Pie “ This time the bell didn’t work for three minutes. After Miss Higgins gained control of the school once again, we voted. Two girls from the 8th grade counted the votes. Final Vote: Tucker Bailey 1, Bobby Ray 31

I voted for Tucker Bailey that day. He voted for me, not because he wanted to but afraid he’d be the only one voting for Tucker Bailey. I looked that little boy in the eye that day and saw superciliousness turn to fear. At that point Tucker Bailey needed a friend more than anything else in the world. I was closest one to him so it was just my job. I became his friend right then and there.

I was to take office the start of school in September.My family and I moved to Indiana that summer 1953. Come September I started school in North Judson, not as the president, but just a 4th grader with political experience.I never delivered on my campaign promise of RC Colas and Moon Pies to the Tip Top School System. I wonder if they remembered. I bet Tucker Bailey did.

As I set in the East Wing still trying to make a decision on how to vote, I have this empty feeling that I have been offered a RC Cola and a Moon Pie. By both parties.

From the Howard Campaign Headquarters in the East Wing,
I wish you well,
BobbyRay