The Quixotic American Spirit

I live in Kirksville, Missouri.
Every fall, we have a Red Barn Arts festival.
Other small towns have similar(ish) things.
Edina has a Corn Festival. Novinger has Coal Miners' Days.
But in La Plata (luh plate-uh), Missouri, there was a Soybean Festival today.
My younger brother needed a ride.

There was a washers tournament. Six sets of washers, and washer-throwers competed for the championship.
There were also barbecued pork sandwiches. The Midwest is great at grilling food, as a general rule.
Of course, the VFW had their thing, because We Do Love America, Here In the Midwest. So the veterans definitely need to bring a speaker to the harvest festivals. This is not uncommon.
It was decent, though. Some girl sang the national anthem, then there was a speaker. He'd recently come home from the war in Iraq.
So that was what he talked about. The shortage of supplies, how he thought they were doing a good thing overall, but how he didn't want to go back, that kind of thing.
After that, the girl sang another song. "The Impossible Dream," from Man of La Mancha.

"To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go"

My older brother and I think it's brilliant political commentary.
I think everyone else was just inspired to love America more.

Also, not a soybean in sight. At the Corn Fest, they throw corn from the floats in the parades, like candy. They do not throw soybeans in La Plata, though. They do have a train station.