In case I forgot where I am...

  Our electric utility is a member of the Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, so we get the organization's folksy little monthly magazine.

Besides electricity-related articles, seasonal recipes, health tips and readers' snapshots, they have ads for barn builders, casket companies, hearing aid dealers and nail fungus products. Pretty much the same stuff you'd see if the little 48-page magazine were published in Indiana.

Except for the full-page ad for the $99 Pride of the South Civil War Commemorative Ring from the Bradford Exchange.

It's sterling silver and black onyx with the Confederate Battle Flag graphics on a shield backed by other flags of the Confederacy. It's a nicely executed appeal to the romance of the lost cause, but there are lots of places in this country where I wouldn't want to wear it for fear of a waiter spitting in my food or worse.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the ring or the ad. As a former collector of Third Reich memorabilia, I know better than most how an interest in the historical artifacts of an unpopular/politically incorrect regime can be misunderstood.

I'm just saying that the ad is a reminder that we're not in Indiana anymore, Toto.