I was born and raised in a small Ohio town called Portsmouth. It's the kind of place that rarely makes the news. Sadly, when it does, it's usually for something goofy like this... An Ohio historian removed an 8-ton rock from the Ohio River. The rock is covered with a variety of carvings, dating to Portsmouth's early days, and perhaps even earlier than that. That, in and of itself, hardly qualifies as news.
What does qualify as news is that politicians in Frankfort, Kentucky, are up in arms about it. They're calling it a "raid", as though you could move 8 tons of rock out of a river in the middle of the night with no one noticing. And as if there were no Kentuckians involved in the "raid".
The more ridiculous part of the story, crazier even than the fact that the politicians are up in arms over a rock, is that they're willing to fight over it in court.
It's a rock, guys. Not only that, but you can pretty much see Frankfort from Portsmouth. Can't you guys work something out without a court case?
How about on even-numbered years Ohio displays the rock in a public place of honor, and on odd-numbered years you have a big celebration as the rock is transferred to Kentucky for a display there. You could turn this into a silly tradition that actually generates tourist traffic and revenue for the businesses on both sides of the river. No need for a court case!
