Written by Joel Klaassen Tuesday, 12 June 2012 15:52

I’ll bet a lot of people would have scoffed at the notion that we could sell the awning we replaced on the front of our business recently.

I kid you not. It sold last week from a classified ad in the Free Press. This might sound self-serving, but I will say it anyway. Classified print ads continue to work regardless of what you read about print being dead.

We have always found the help we need, sold all of the vehicles we wished to sell—I even rented, actually borrowed, a stock tank to keep pop cold at the Arts and Crafts Fair from an ad in our paper.

Another thing I should tell you is that if you see a number code at the end of a classified ad it indicates a local ad. The ads with letters at the end of them are ads from regional and national ad networks that we receive and run as part of our membership in two free paper associations and the Kansas Press Association.

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If someone ever invents a way to keep bugs off of the front or windshield of a vehicle they might become wealthy. Scrub­bing bugs off of my vehicles is one of the most irritating jobs there is.

And the minute you clean them off and then drive somewhere they are back on the windshield and front end again.

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It is almost Marion County Fair time. If you’re planning to enter any of the open classes for the opportunity to win a ribbon, the fair books are available now that contain the rules and regulations and list all of the possible categories for this year.

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When we started collecting photos in January for our tribute book to Marion County veterans, it seemed like the dead­line for contributing photos was far away. It is now less than one month until our cut-off date of July 10. I know many people have said they plan to bring photos, so please make sure you get them to us soon.

The response has been overwhelming thus far, and we will need the rest of the summer and part of fall to put it all together in time for the Nov. 11 release date. I know not all will come forward, but we want to be as complete as possible for this once-in-a-lifetime book.

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It is hard to believe Nancy and I have been married for 45 years. I would do it again, but I am only speaking for myself.

When I was young, and people used to celebrate their golden anniversaries, I thought the couples were ancient folks and lucky if they made it that far on the aging factor alone.

My advice to make it this far is to laugh a lot, don’t do and say things you wouldn’t want your spouse to know and it’s better for both to win than be right.

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This is the sixth season of “Ice Road Truckers” and I think I am losing interest. Every show is too much like shows I have already seen. They make it seem like a disaster is about to happen and then in reality it is much less than that.

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Last week I drove to Topeka for a business meeting. I took off after lunch and by the time I reached Emporia I could barely stay awake.

So I did what I don’t normally do. I stopped at the Emporia rest area and took a 15-minute nap. My old tricks of trying to stay awake—like turning the AC colder and yelling—weren’t working.

If you wish to share your comments or ideas, my e-mail address is joel@hillsborofreepress.com.