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Richard Fish donned his ‘Captain America’ persona Monday to explain the intricacies of his economic bailout protest sculpture.

DEARBORN, Mo. — Millis Fish has a decade of experience with her husband’s “wild” imagination. She knew there was no stopping him when he embarked on his latest endeavor.

“Once he gets into it,” she said, “he’s set.”

What Richard Fish, 47, is getting into these days is a red, white and blue cape, and steep opposition to the pork in the recent $700 billion bailout/rescue plan approved by Congress. He’s transformed his yard, just off Missouri Highway 116 north of Dearborn, into a protest, employing his donkey, “Hairy,” as part of the scheme. But on this rainy Monday afternoon, Hairy was taking the day off.

“He’s gone to Washington, D.C., to try and fix this problem,” joked Mr. Fish.

Taking a look at the billboards, props, and strategically placed refuse that helps depict his opposition to the $700 billion plan, some might say he’s got too much time on his hands.

“It all tells a story about the bailout plan and a different approach to it,” he said, adding that a pair of coveralls draped over a pitchfork can be worn to protect one from what he calls the excrement that the bailout plan has produced.

His biggest beef seems to hinge on the extras that went into the rescue plan, which he said includes $2 million for the production of wooden arrows for children, $100 million for racetracks and $478 million to keep film production in the United States. One of the props he employs is a wooden barrel with a sign that says “$102 million for rum” production taped to its side.

“What are they trying to do,” he asks rhetorically, “get us drunk so we don’t notice?”

For all of Mr. Fish’s “Captain America” bravado, he does represent a feeling of mistrust among Americans not happy footing the bill for the bailout and perhaps wondering where the bailout is for middle America.

Dr. Brian Hesse, assistant professor of political science at Northwest Missouri State University, said the attitude regarding the bailout is that “people don’t like it.” But, he said that last week’s stock market plunge “scared” people who were already concerned about their retirement accounts and future homeowners looking for loans and students who need loans to continue their schooling.

“In my classes,” he said of his students, “they don’t like the smell of it but they know the alternative is worse at this point.”

Mr. Fish also agrees that something has to be done, but he won’t stop barking about the pork.

A passer-by with a video camera captured Mr. Fish in his cape (which is actually a patriotic tablecloth) while he explained his yard art and the idea behind it. The photographer then posted it on www.youtube.com. As of Monday it had been viewed 170 times. The yard project has since been expanded.

“Million and millions spent, which in my opinion has nothing to do with the banking situation,” he says in the video.

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com