Overheard the Saturday evening of the first weekend of August in Graves County-

Said the night wind to the little lamb - do you hear what I hear?

Said the little lamb to shepherd boy, I heard what the night wind heard and it's baaaaaad.

Weeks after the St. Jerome Picnic stump speak (conducted on a shaded stage with multiple overhead fans cooling the fevered brow of the pols on the platform) I think my stomach has finally settled enough to let me write about the 2022 entry into a long line of political speeches in the tiny overwhelming Catholic community of Fancy Farm Kentucky.

I am reminded, as I seem to be every year, that my perception and that of the mainstream media of the speakers is as if we were in different places on the same day at the same time. The comparison of the blind men and the elephant is apt here. We experienced the same event but some of us saw ears, others felt what appeared to be a tree trunk and a ropy tail. What we describe depends on what part of the animal we experienced.

The print media drove to the Purchase (yeah, we know it's a long way), went to a couple of events, at least stayed longer at the Picnic than Kelley Paul then drove home again complaining like kids on their way to visit grandma.

"Why do we have to go all the way down there?"

"It's outlived its usefulness!" drips the ink of discontent.

The thousands of locals who come to play bingo, visit friends and family and watch the upstate visitors parade in t-shirts don't much care for whether the political portion of the St. Jerome Picnic goes on in 2023. One has to wonder if a poll of the bingo pavilion would agree with print media's opinion. During the event itself, they focus more on B's and O's than R's and D's. They would have no opinion on whose speech was most compelling, being more interested in getting a mutton sandwich and not losing their spot at the tables.

For the most part, Purchase residents avoid Fancy Farm Saturday unless their uncle lives there and is hosting a picnic. We saw a handful of Purchase residents around the speaking pavilion (one admitted he left before the speeches). Others were there to cheer on Charles Booker because word had gone out that the event would be a sea of Republicans with few Dems in attendance.

The visual and audio media applauded Mrs. Paul for her rousing speech and complimented Attorney General Cameron for his perseverance through chants of "Breeanna Taylor".

The rest of the speeches? Meh.

So, who does the St. Jerome Political Speaking benefit?

It is past time to have a seriously honest discussion among the St. Jerome organizers. The event is no longer a short speech peppered by a few rude hecklers. It's a noisy scrum with headlines that appeal to the lowest common denominator of the faithful. What comes out of Fancy Farm despite the organizers attempt to stem the tide, is a cacophony of foolishness.

The first discussion point is how does this reflect on the Parish? And can the Parish continue the good works that the Picnic funds without the political speaking?

St. Jerome's has funded improvements and programs around the community with proceeds from the Picnic. Volunteer families are generational. Cancelling the Picnic itself is out of the question. Outsiders don't realize that the Picnic is days more than the few hours spent in the Pavilion.

Better to decide now whether to let the time-honored event stutter out to a close or to continue on as red meat for the masses on the fringes of both parties.

Major hitters like McConnell, Paul and Beshear are already voting on its future with their absence.