Have you noticed how presidents, after leaving office, or by the time they actually leave office, look as if they have been run "through the mill?"

The first president I voted for was Jimmy Carter. Yes, I DID vote for Jimmy Carter (for all of you who think I am a staunch Republican and who never voted for a Democrat in my life!) By the time he reached the end of his one term in office he looked as if he had been run "through the mill." I was glad to see him get out of office for that reason alone.

The next president I voted for was Ronald Regan. He, too, by the time the end of his second term rolled around, looked as if he had been run "through the mill." Of course, he was quite old after his second term.

George H.W. Bush followed Reagan and served one term. I will never forget seeing him pass out at some official dinner he was attending. He looked as if he had more than been run "through the mill."

Then, of course, there was Bill Clinton, who also served two terms. By the time he reached the end of his second term, and even now as far as I am concerned, he looked as if he had been run "through the mill."

The current George Bush also looks as if he has been run "through the mill." I bet he is thinking to himself , "I can not wait until this ride is over!" That is what I would be thinking if I were him.

So I wondered, Where does that term run "through the mill" come from? What does it mean.

I have learned that the phrase dates to the establishment of the first bankruptcy court in England. According to the book, "Common Phrases," the Insolvent Debtor's Act was the first English bankruptcy law. That law provided a court in which debtors could obtain legal release from their debt by petition and proof of insolvency.

These petitions by these debtors were heard in a special court, according to the book, called the "Mill." Therefore, the phrase developed referring to people who had been through this court as having "gone through the mill."

Of course, today the phrase refers to more than that. One who has had a difficult time or a severe time of testing is referred to as having "gone through the mill."

No doubt, our current president has been "through the mill." No doubt you have too at one time or another!

Jack Rollins is the managing editor of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.