"Ma’am, do you want to trade them girls for a good fattening hog?"
Otis "Bullman" Hensley pictured here, who has run for governor twice, travels the state with a giant Fiberglass bull and a sign promising to "chase the bull out of Frankfort." He's hard to miss.
Also, if you're unfamiliar with the Appalachian culture - as most of us are, there are bound to be misunderstandings. Local humor and complimentary sayings are land mines when outsiders run up against them.
While in a grocery store, Otis simply tossed off a frequently used joke in Appalachia which is actually often considered to be a compliment in that neck o' the woods. Obviously it's only used when speaking of cute little girls. He asked the wrong woman if she'd like to trade a hog for her two adorable nieces. She wasn't amused or flattered. In fact, she claims that Hensley wanted to entice the children into illegal sexual activity and wasted no time in having him arrested.
Hensley spent three days in jail, facing ten years in a federal facility. Hensley apologized to the girls' father in court Monday. The case has been dismissed, and he once again rides the bull of change.
Perhaps one of his next ambitious projects should be a guidebook for newcomers delineating what constitutes harassment from complimentary teasing and joking.
I can't help but remember a very unflappable friend who has hiked the Appalachian Trail three times. Scurrying for a lean-to shelter in a downpour late one night, he was glad to see an occupant and warm fire. The older woman, apparently destined to be the only company on that dark and stormy night, pleasantly started the conversation with "Nice Hog-killin' weather." For all we know, this could be "How de Do" in that part of the country, but brought wild-eyed, hatchet-wielding psychos to my friend's mind, who found he no longer seemed to mind sleeping in the rain that night. Trade Ya a Hog For Your Two Nieces? KY PoliticianFaced Prison For The Local Compliment.
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