GOT A FEW comments about my column in Tuesday’s Whig about trading in the old car for new(er).

Several people said they relate.

“I have an old truck that sits out back. I start her up twice a month just so the battery doesn’t die,” one man said. “I just can’t get rid of her.”

Everybody has car stories. My first car, a gold Dodge Colt, rusted from inside the wheel well and collapsed, forming a triangle from the hood on down. My parents had a Dodge Dart with a great white canvas top that my sister wrecked on some back road, and I can remember two or three monstrous station wagons carting the family of seven around.

My best buddy had an old sled of a car that finally gave up the ghost, and I begged him to put it in the backyard so his mom could plant flowers in the engine block.

I’m not a car guy, just somebody who wants to get back and forth in one piece. Maybe with a little style, that never hurts ….

YOU KNEW SOMEBODY around here would claim to see the Barefoot Bandit. There’s no way it couldn’t happen. By the way, when you click on the previous link, I challenge you to not laugh out loud when you read the quote from the Bandit’s mother.

For the latest, click here.

The Bandit, also known as Colton Harris-Moore, is garnering cult status and known for residential burglaries and stealing airplanes. At age 19, he has thousands of followers on a Facebook page, and some liken him to a modern-day Robin Hood.

The Bandit apparently stole a car in Iowa last week and abandoned it in Hancock County. So there was a good chance he was literally camping in our backyard, as he’s known for living off the land.

Early Sunday morning, local police officers responded to Irene’s Cabaret in downtown Quincy after somebody called 911 and said the Bandit was in the bar.

Irene’s?

Of course it was a false alarm, though there was an arrest made.

You Can’t Make It Up. Even on a Monday morning ….

THE BLUES HAVE gone green. And we are all better off for it.

When you head down to Blues In The District this afternoon in Washington Park, check out the recycle and garbage bins placed around the park. They are for glass, aluminum, and regular trash.

Blues In The District is one our best events. Take care of the park and keep others in mind when bringing your beverages and food.

The bins will also be out for the MidSummer Arts Faire this weekend in the park.

Go green! We all benefit.

WE WRITE A lot of stories about a lot of people. People tend to remember the stories about the ones who aren’t so nice.

So it was nice to hear from Donna Doss, who works as a licensed practical nurse at Quincy Medical Group. She sent us the following e-mail:

“I have read many articles about the kindness and overall generosity of the people of Quincy. Would like to add someone to the list.

“I took my computer tower to Computing Made Easy for a free estimate of repair charges. The owner said he would call with a quote. I told him I would be in Ohio for five days or so, because my father is in the hospital there and is very ill.

“When the owner called to give me the quote, I thanked him for his time, but I toid him that at this time, my budget was very tight and with the computer being quite old, I would hold off for awhile and would have my daughter pick up the tower. He was very gracious with my reply.

“When my daughter went to pick up the tower, he told her he had repaired it at no charge. My daughter was shocked and said are you sure? And he replied, ‘I thought your mom could use a break.’ My daughter told him that I would be very appreciative, which of course I was. He has no idea how much that meant to me, which I told him in a thank-you card that my daughter delivered along with homemade brownies. I don’t even know this young man’s name but I am still amazed at his compassion and generosity.”

Just another kind person in Quincy!

I’M NOT MUCH of a soccer fan, but I have to admit I tried following this morning’s World Cup game between the U.S. and Algeria. Many of us in the newsroom were watching when Landon Donovan pounced on a rebound and scored the game’s only goal in penalty time.

The way soccer players celebrate is unique. Donovan ran toward the corner of the field and slid on his stomach, then waited for teammates to dog-pile on top of him.

Can you imagine a banker or lawyer or doctor similarly celebrating a successful investment deal, trial outcome or surgery?

I just had a frightening vision of one of our Herald-Whig sports guys doing the same thing. Enough is enough.

Will have to watch Saturday in our next match!

THE HANNIBAL POLICE Department sent the following press release Monday afternoon:

“The incident in LaGrange Missouri regarding the officer who used lethal force on a dog in their jurisdiction has created a backlash of blame to agencies in the area. The Hannibal Police Department has received emails from persons stating their concerns and displeasure with the event. We ask that these concerns be directed to the appropriate agency or governing body in LaGrange Missouri.”

Well. I can relate, having received several letters written in crayon about the subject, too.

But somebody is getting a little testy about this, don’t you think?

SO I’M DRIVING up Ill. 96 about 6 p.m. Saturday and going through Ursa when I look to my left at the local bar parking lot — parked next to a pickup truck was a shiny green John Deere riding lawn mower.

Apparently there’s a famous story about country singer George Jones riding his tractor to the bar when his wife hid the car keys.

Nice to see stuff of legend and country music folklore being played out in real life right in our own backyard!

ONE OF MY favorite musicians in Quincy is Cheeks McGee, also known as Highland High School music teacher Ryan Christian.

Cheeks went out East to play some shows and was in Charleston, W.Va. this week. Cheeks is a one-man band, playing guitar, trumpet and percussion and looping the songs with a foot pedal. Click here for more.

On his Facebook account this week, Cheeks said he was playing the show when a drunken fan asked him to play “Taps” in honor of his late father. So Cheeks obliged, and the fan tearfully raised his beer in tribute.

“I feel sorry for the guy, but very awkward moment for me as well as the crowd,” Cheeks wrote. “Lol … I love live shows!”

Live music stories … You Can’t Make Them Up!

AT FACE VALUE, the YouTube.com video of a LaGrange Police Department officer shooting a dog in a city street doesn’t look good for the department.

As always, there is much more to the story.

Click here to see the YouTube video.

Authorities said the video is actually about 30 minutes long. The owner of the dog, Marcus Mays, was found guilty Thursday after a bench trial of not registering the dog and failure to muzzle or leash a vicious dog. Click here for the updated story. The video was not shown at the trial.

Less than 10 minutes of the video, which Mays got because he represented himself during the trial, is shown. What is not shown is the officers attempting to get the dog into the back of a pickup truck.

The dog does appear to lunge and bark at the officers after being put on a catch pole. For that, you can’t blame it — a frightened animal isn’t just going to lie down and let you do what you want.

What isn’t shown is the dog and other dogs owned by Mays getting loose and supposedly coming after neighbors. Two testified that’s exactly what happened in the days leading up to the incident.

It’s hard to feel sorry for Mays, who admitted his dog got loose by likely slipping off its collar, and also admitted he didn’t register the dog with the city because it “slipped my mind.” Mays represented himself and the exchanges between him and neighbors on the stand were civil but a bit tense.

LaGrange Police Chief Dale McNelly says his department can do better. It was good to see him and his officers meeting with Missouri Humane Society investigator Carmen Skelly after the hearing to find out more about training and education offered by her agency.

Sadly, it’s too late for the dog.

THE ADAMS COUNTY Courthouse is about the last place you expect to see a child’s smile lighting up a room.

It happened Tuesday when Denise and Charles Booth were honored for being foster parents. In the photo, Charles Booth, left, and his wife, Denise pose with foster children Matthew and Ana inside the Adams County Courthouse in Quincy. The Booths were honored with the 2010 SAM Foster Parent Award.

Matthew, 3, has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. He doesn’t talk, but you don’t have to hear him to be won over by his personality.

The little guy smiled constantly as his foster parents were honored in the short but moving ceremony inside the courthouse, conducted by Judge John Wooleyhan.

It’s hard to know what life was like for Matthew before the Booths began caring for him. There are rules about what information they can give about their foster kids.

Perhaps Matthew’s birth parents simply couldn’t care for a special needs child. There’s little doubt his first years haven’t been easy.

Several Adams County judges were in the courtroom and they were all taken by the little guy. So were Chuck and June Otte, whose late daughter, Samantha, was the catalyst for the award.

It wasn’t just the smile. It was the eyes, crinkling up and dancing as Matthew’s mouth lifted up from the corners.

It lit up the room and lifted souls in a place where it’s appreciated.