Text The Times.

Text The Times.

870-225-1456

Here’s what everyone is talking about this week:

Serena Williams’ daughter’s doll ‘Qai Qai’ has more than 88,000 Instagram followers, approximately 88,000 more than I do. There is also an egg which has more than 18 million followers. One of the many wise quotes attributed to Winston Churchill is that ‘The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.’ but in this case I think both sets of followers are fools. Why not follow someone that has something worthwhile to say or are there so few wise people out there that use Twitter and Instagram that they are too hard to find. [ Editor’s Note: Who cares? Not to be rude, but I mean, there are a lot of silly things in this world. In the mid- 1970s advertising executive Gary Dahl sold one- and- a- half million Pet Rocks. He sold them for $ 4 each with a production cost of less than one dollar. Now, I flunked out of engineering school, but that’s a profit of $ 3 million by my math. And that’s $ 3 million in 1970s money. By 1980, he was only selling about 100,000 a year, but by that time, he was a millionaire. And if you’re wondering, no, there absolutely was nothing special about these rocks. It was a novelty item, and you can still get one today on Amazon… for $ 17.75!!! My point is, Pet Rocks don’t hurt anyone ( they won’t even pee on your rug), so if someone thinks it’s fun or cute, then let them. And if following “ Qai Qai” on Instagram makes someone happy, why would it bother you so much?]

*** Is the guy who was defending bagpipes in text the times the same one that used to stand out in the school parking lot on the weekends and toot his own horn? [ Editor’s Note: I feel like you’re being a little cheeky with that last bit, but yes, at the risk of blowing his secret identity, that is David Corbett. In addition to his fondness for the famed Scottish musical instrument, Mr. Corbett is also among the daredevils you might have seen floating over Marion in those cool paramotor hang- glider things.

And he’s one of the leading forces behind the Crittenden County Community Gardens. He also writes the occasional column for us… that guy is probably pretty fun at parties!]

*** Glad to see you all finally said something about what was going on with the Marion police department. It’s time for some real changes there! [ Editor’s Note: It has actually put me in a weird spot, as I have nothing but respect for members of law enforcement. But it is true that we have always had trouble getting information out of Marion. I know there can be a fine line between informing the public and leaking too much information about an ongoing investigation, but the idea that if it isn’t in the paper, it isn’t really happening or the public won’t hear about it is just not applicable in a Facebookfriendly world. And what ends up happening is that not only do people get angry with the MPD for “ keeping a lid on” crime, we lose credibility with the public for not forcing the issue and making demands for information. And just for the record, while I know more about what’s going on with the investigation at the MPD, we’re still only putting information in the paper that is confirmed and factual. A “ right to know” does not mean “ a right to know everything immediately.”]