Hi hooooo John Deere, Away

Deep in the heart of central Illinois--God's Country, you might say--there's a little town called Arcola. Arcola, you may not know, is Broom Corn Capital of the World. Broom Corn is, well, the corn they use to make natural fiber brooms out of--duh. (I can't tell you how I know this, it hurts too much).

Each year, in the end of summer, Arcola holds an annual Broom Corn Festival. It's quite popular. The streets of the town are filled with entertainment, good food, and down home fun. There's a nice parade, and, one of the highlights of the parade each year are the Lawn Rangers! Who, you ask, are the Lawn Rangers. Well, they are America's premiere lawn mower marching brigade! (Also, they drink a lot). Pretty much every male of stature in town of a certain age becomes a Lawn Ranger in a rite of passage. They are charged with decorating their Lawn Mower to the best of their ability, imbibing in as much alchohol as their respective livers can stand, and march proudly through the streets, brandishing their mower.

Sometimes they have special guests. The Columnist Dave Barry has writte about the Lawn Rangers a few times and has been there to march. Often th Rangers are invited to parades around the state! But I was just alerted to what you see below--it's a dang good thing it didn't come out before the election, could have swung the whole thing!!!