Well, everything will be settled today. It is today, isn't it? Dottie, don't you DARE forget to tell us what that crazy looking thing is! You hear me? 
hehehe David...You're lucky my husband got too hot and too tired and called me on my cell to pick him up early...LOL ... I might have forgotten
not really so now while I sip my delicious Orange Creme Frappacino in air conditioned splendor I will post the answer to this poll!
OK so ARE YOU READY? ? ? ? 
I CAN"T HEAR YOU! ! ! ! ! 
At Long Last the time has come to post the answer !!!!First I want to say:
to EVERYONE who participated!Because this one was tougher than I thought it was going to be….
Most of you thought it was a loop like the dog catcher uses to corner and control small animals 
Someone thought it was a whip….
not a 
But a …..
Still others thought it was a dowsing rod…
or a rug beater …..
But only one of you guessed ( I mean GUESSED!) the correct answer! 
Imagine my chagrin 
I was sure more of you would puzzle it out 
Where were all those train enthusiast’s we have around here 
off to P’town or out riding the Silver Lariat or in the wilds of Canada I guess 
I was sure they would steal the day…. So can you guess what it is now?OK without any further delay...The Answer is:
It is an antique, obviously no longer in use…. Train order hoop, when a train wasn't scheduled to stop at a station but they needed to give the engineer new orders, they would attach them to this hoop and pass them to the train as it went by. Paper notes were held in the clip and placed strategically beside the rails at a height where railway employees would reach over and grab by the loop (or drop off) while aboard a moving train. These sticks quickly traveled back and forth across the countryside, making a free and efficient national inter-office memo system of sorts.
http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/fa81g.htmFrom the above site:
Moving aboard the train at great speed, the trainman ran his arm through the hoop, pulled it out of the hand of the telegrapher, took the order, and threw the hoop down alongside the track. Injuries occurred when the telegrapher was slow to let go of the hoop. Occasionally the telegrapher was jerked down on his back. Likewise, the trainman sometimes suffered arm injuries.
The old train order hoop was replaced with the "Y" shaped train order stick. The telegrapher placed the order in a string and then threaded it around the stick. The telegrapher held the stick and the trainman took only the string with the order attached in a slip knot.
So the WINNER is Shasta because a guess is as good any other answer !!!Congratulations Shasta!!!!
