Mama always said

A weird memory surfaced again this fall after Darrell McGraw lost his bid for reelection as State Attorney General and his wife Jorea Marple was fired as State School Superintendent.

Several elections ago, Darrell McGraw and his brother Warren visited The Morgan Messenger office. We don’t remember whether Darrell was running for reelection as attorney general or Warren was unsuccessfully seeking another term on the West Virginia Supreme Court, a post that Darrell once held, as well.

What comes back to us is standing at the front counter with the McGraw Brothers, both of whom were lawyers and career politicians. We recall staring at the pair in their slick Charleston suits, trying to think of a way to ease them out the door.

Suddenly, Darrell McGraw pulled a potato out of his pocket and said something like, “My mama always said you should take along a baked potato when you’re far from home because you never know where you’ll be able to eat on the road.”

Honest.

All we could do was wonder if Warren McGraw also packed a concealed potato, and which one of them carried the butter, and whether it messed up the inside of their suit pockets.

We’ve thought about McGraw’s inane remark more than once when we’ve headed off to the wilds of Charleston or some other Mountain State destination. We’ve considered taking a cold potato with us. But, acting with courage and fortitude, we’ve bravely dared to risk our life on the slim chance that we might luck out and find a crust of bread somewhere.