Timmons Touches on Hodge Podge of Items

Notes found scribbled on the back of an autographed photo of Chuck Barris . . .

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WITH THE holidays coming, it’s a good time to talk about our publishing schedule. Since Christmas and New Year’s fall on Wednesdays, we won’t have a publication either day. Part of me likes to think you’ll miss us terribly – but then I realize that faith, family, friends and just having a break probably take precedence over missing us.

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SPEAKING OF said holidays, New Year’s Day is the only one in 2025 that falls on a Wednesday. The other U.S. Post Office observed holidays are:

• MLK Birthday, Monday, Jan. 20
• Washington Birthday, Monday, Feb. 17
• Memorial Day, Monday, May 26
• Independence Day, Friday, July 4
• Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1
• Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 13
• Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11
• Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 27
• Christmas, Thursday, Dec. 25

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THE HOLIDAY schedule means this is the last time this year you’ll be reading my scribbles. So Merry Christmas (Bah humbug on “Happy Holidays”) and Happy New Year to one and all!

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WITH THE year drawing to a close, that also means that some office holders will see their terms come to an end. This is always good news and bad. As written in this space on many occasions, we need term limits. So I can’t say I’m especially sad to see some folks who have been in office a LOOOOOONG time leaving . . . but then again, there are some awfully good folks holding office locally.

Can I waffle a little and push for term limits at the state and national levels?

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SPEAKING OF one of those folks, County Commissioner John Frey will be out of office when the clock strikes midnight on his final term. Jake Bohlander will be taking his place and good for Jake. He seems to be an up and comer and we wish him all the best. That said, I’ll miss John Frey.

Yeah, yeah, I know. A lot of people won’t. That’s the deal with politics . . . AND media. You have your fans and boy do you have your haters! (Why is it we have SOOO many haters in today’s world?)

Anyways, say what you want about John, but you would be hard pressed to find someone who spends more time on the business of Montgomery County or who cares more about it.

Do I always agree with his stances? Heck, I don’t always agree with mine. But he has a quality that I wish more politicos had – he believes in what he is doing. For me at least, that’s an easy position to respect.

Will this be the last time we see him? Oh heck no. I suspect John will stay involved in various ways. Much to the delight of some, and chagrin of others.

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SORRY TO spin off into sports, but how neat is it that the College Football Playoffs have not one but two Indiana teams? Almost 20 percent of the field is from right here in the great Hoosier state – and this is football no less. We’re used to having multiple teams in the NCAA basketball tourney. But football – and IU? This is new ground!

I only wish the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish of Notre Dame weren’t pitted against each other. On the good side, that means at least one of them will make it to the next round. But with the seasons they had, and depending on the draw, there was a decent chance both of them might’ve.

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ONE LAST sports note – can you hear Duke Tumatoe? His wonderful version of Lord Help Our Colts sure seems appropriate.

Truth to tell, I haven’t really understood the pundits who got all excited about the Denver game and maybe making the playoffs. The Colts are mediocre at best and their wins – which usually are squeakers – are against teams that are, well, in a word, awful. Why did anyone think they could beat a good team.

A lot of changes are in order in the off season. But that’s been true the last few years. Will anything be different this time?

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A LOT OF US remember the Gong Show and the goofy host Chuck Barris. Never did figure out if the rumors about him working for the CIA were true or not. Then again, didn’t really matter. He will go down in history as the host of maybe one of the weirdest (and dumbest?) shows in TV history. It was so weird and bad it was kind of like a car wreck. You didn’t want to look, but you just couldn’t help yourself.

Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically on Wednesdays in The Paper. Timmons is the publisher of The Paper and can be contacted at [email protected].