Ready for the weekend

It's February, and that means spring is even closer. But so are our March and April blizzards, but that kind of snow melts soon whereas the Dec. 2 ice storm ice is still on our yard and driveway! . . . . .

More than 4,000 were in the Dome last night for the USD games vs. Minnesota-Duluth. The women won easily; the men struggled with cold shooting again but had enough weapons in the second half to win. Both teams have lost only once, and both are ranked #4 in the nation. Big games here tomorrow vs. Minnesota State! . . . . .

I've seen only snippets of the Obama-Clinton debate last night. I'm sure I would have my opinion about who "won" if I had seen it all, but since I didn't, I won't comment on that. . . . . .

Quote worth saving from columnist Leonard Pitts' Thursday column: Quoting a friend of his who at age 46 is volunteering to work for a campaign for the first time in her life, he said, "'We don't need another politician. We need a leader.'" And then Pitts in his own words continued, "I submit that maybe a critical mass of us has grown sick of the politics of acrimony, the politics of red vs. blue, the politics of addition by division. I submit that there is a yearning to e called into the service of something larger than self or party." And then, speaking about Sen. Obama, Pitts wrote, "He has not sacrificed intellectual honesty for ideological purity. He comes across as a man not so rigidly enslaved by political creed that he cannot be persuaded, a man who is, in a word, reasonable. And reason has become a rarity. Obama appeals to American characteristics that lately have seemed used up, forgotten, discarded. Meaning our capacity for reinvention and the native idealism that powers it. If I were a politician, I'd be taking notes." . . . . .

The Sioux Falls paper had a feature story on a lady who lives alone up at Chancellor and who will be 99 on Sunday. A photo showed her playing her upright piano. So since she and I share the same birthday and the same piano inclinations, I sent her a birthday card today. I told her I hope I live to be 99, which in my case will mean 30 more years. That's a positive thought because it will mean I get to see the grandkids grow up, graduate, marry. But it will also mean I will get to see Jason at 65, Ryan at 62, and Heather and Holly at 59. That will be interesting! And I wonder if, by that time, I will have seen the Cubs get to the World Series once and/or the Vikings win a Super Bowl once. Well, hey, a guy can't have everything. I'll trade both of those extreme occurrences for the chance to live to 99.