Kentucky

When Dad retired, he and Mom moved to a rural area in western Kentucky. It was a odd choice—there was no family history in Kentucky—but Dad had some odd ideas. They made friends in their new home, but no matter how long they lived there, they were always kind of outsiders with funny ideas,

One day they were talking with a neighbor from down the road, and the topic turned to politics, where my parents were definitely outsiders. In a bit of unintended eloquence that’s become famous in our family, the neighbor summed up his political philosophy.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said, “but I would never vote for a woman or a nigger.”

Maybe this is a Kentucky thing. Since first explaining his problems with the Civil Rights Act, Rand Paul has continually telling us, “Don’t get me wrong.”