LAFAYETTE, Ind.: Out here in Purdue country the crops never looked better. Farmers are harvesting soybeans and corn around the clock while the weather holds. It’s 80 degrees by day, and a full moon by night.

They’ll take Saturday afternoon off to watch the Boilermakers win another football game. In Indiana that’s about the only college team that remembers how to play. Up the road at South Bend, some folks are praying for the resurrection of Knute Rockne.

There’s some fine young people here this week, 4-H members from several states competing to take home the blue ribbons in engineering projects. Their parents, their home towns, and their home states can be proud of every one of them, even if they didn’t win, because they’re good upstanding citizens.

I told them a few political jokes and anecdotes last evening. The one about me and Strom Thurmond being born the same year got a laugh. So did this line: “I’m not a member of any organized political party… I’m a Democrat.” See, it’ll take a whole lot more than a terrorist attack to keep us from laughing at politics.

Our sense of humor can’t be knocked down by any bombs or missiles. Neither can our patriotism, determination, and our faith in God.

I got to meet one special 4-H contestant from eastern Ohio named Matt. His high school sits on a hill and there’s a grass field in front that slopes down to the road. About two weeks ago, Matt and some other students, and a couple of teachers decided the school needed a bigger flag. It took a few days, some detailed planning, and a lot of work but, brother, they got one. It measures 150 feet by 90 feet.

It’s not fluttering in the wind, it’s painted on the ground, on that grassy slope where all who drive by honk their horns, or stop, get out and salute.

If you’re in the mood for a drive, it’s along I-70, at Exit 208. The leaves are turning, and gasoline is down to $1.20, so the whole trip will be a pleasure.

Historical quotes from Will Rogers:

“LAFAYETTE, Ind.: Indiana is noted for its great crop of humorists: George Ade, Kin Hubbard and a flock of others. Indianians, jealous of these men’s reputations, used to say, “We have people in Indiana besides humorists.” And sure enough they did have, but they were all in jail but the humorists. So why don’t they elect some of them?”
DT #527, April 4, 1928