By Whitey Harwood

On July 26, I heard on the radio that a bunch of people were trying to get Halloween moved to the last Saturday in October so all the little children could enjoy “trick-or-treat” on the weekend.

That reminded me of this little tale my buddy told me a couple of years ago.

He said he came home from work one day and, when he walked through the house, he thought things looked different. About the time he opened the refrigerator to get a beer, the phone rang. It was his wife, and she said, “In case you haven’t noticed, I moved out today.”

He asked, “What took you so long?”

On the third Friday of July, I called several people to ask if they were going to China Grove on Saturday to celebrate “the hottest day of the year” day.

All of ‘em said they were thinking about it, but were wondering “how hot was it going to be?”

I told them the weatherman was calling for the heat index to be 105 degrees in the shade. They all said, “that’s pretty hot.”

I told them to think how hot it will be with 2,000 or 3,000 people gathered up in a four-block area.

Then, think about how hot it will be for all those people with machines running, throwing off more heat.

Then, think about how hot it will be with all that delicious food being cooked, making more heat.

Then, think about how hot it will be down on that black asphalt, drawing in the heat and bouncing it right back up.

Now, think about being a baby in a stroller down next to the hot asphalt, with all those people and machines and no place to go.

Remember the saying, “a picture is worth a thousands words?” If not, you need a copy of the Salisbury Post from July 21. Look at the picture under the headline “Community reunion.”

So if a tradition that over 2,000 years old can maybe be moved, why can’t three people in China Grove do the right thing for everyone, but esepecially for the babies in strollers, and move Farmers day to a cooler time zone?

For the folks that go because it’s “free,” well, it’s not free. The little ones are paying a very big price for their families to have all that fun and fellowship while old “sol” is bearing down on them with way too much abuse for a baby.

For the folks that go to see people once a year, just imagine how many more people you could see and enjoy in cooler weather.

One day it will happen and get moved. Then, everyone can say, “What took you so long?” Until then, it’s not only the heat and humidity, but the “it’s a tradition” stupidity.

Whitey Harwood lives in Rowan County.