Some simple thoughts and tidbits as we plow through February.
It doesn’t matter that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow last week. We still are going to have 13 more weeks of western Nebraska winter. Count on it.
Do you want proof? My daughter, Christa, graduated from Alliance High School on May 17, 2015. I woke up the morning of May 20, 2015 and was greeted by six inches of snow.
Thanks to each one of you who offered loving messages on the birth of my grandson, Noah, on January 23. It was incredibly heartwarming.
Congrats to former Husker quarterback Zac Taylor, now the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. In only two years he has completely turned that program around. The Bengals are returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since the conclusion of the 1988 season. Taylor was a tough-nosed quarterback for the Huskers in 2005 and 2006. He led NU to 17 wins and accounted for 5,850 passing yards. Not bad for a kid who has Oklahoma Sooner blood coursing through his veins. Taylor graduated from Norman High School. His father, Sherwood, was a defensive back for the Sooners from 1976-1979.
If my Kansas City Chiefs – who I have followed since 1971 – were going to be beaten by anyone, I can handle it being Cincinnati. With Taylor calling the shots, the Bengals are the natural team for me to root for in Super Bowl LVI. How can I best describe being a Chiefs fan for 51 years? Well, it’s like being on a date with Miss America and she has a chronic gas problem. Just when it appears the Chiefs are going to have a beautiful win, they find a way to stink up the stadium. They did so twice this year against Cincinnati.
January 25 was a special day – for two reasons.
First, it was my final day of serving on the Board of Directors of the Snow Redfern Foundation in Alliance. The Foundation’s roots are the Nebraska Boys Ranch, founded 70 years ago by Arvilla Snow-Redfern’s request of her family’s 20,000-acre cattle ranch south of Alliance. The Nebraska Boys’ Ranch, as it was known, offered an environment of security and possibility for young men battling homelessness, hunger, and family struggles. Today Snow Redfern no longer provide direct services as the organization did on the ranch. Instead, SRF provides funding to the many organizations working to create opportunities for youth. To date, over 142,800 children have been served via the two million dollars that has been granted. I have served on boards and committees for over 40 years, but my six years on the SRF board were my favorite. Not only because of its mission, but I served with wonderful people and two top-notch executive directors in Stan Bills and Sara Nicholson and staff member Amy Gullion. You can learn more about SRF at www.snowredfern.org.
Second, it was Jason Wentworth’s fiftieth birthday. During the morning, Jason was bombarded with more Coca-Cola and Dolly Madison snacks than seen in a 1965 Charlie Brown special. That afternoon, he was the victim of a surprise party at the Knight Museum that included visitors from across Alliance.
While Jason still has the appearance of someone who should be needing a date for this year’s Alliance High School Prom, he is quickly becoming a Box Butte County diplomat and is already an Eagle Communications legend in commercial production. Most of the plaques that hang on the walls of KCOW Radio are due to Jason’s skills, talent, and quirky sense of humor.
I enjoyed working with him for 16 of the 23 years he has been opening microphones at KCOW.
Jason hails from New York State. He moved to Alliance on a hot, dusty day in July, 1998. The late Mike Garwood hired him after a lengthy phone interview – sight unseen. Jason’s bust needs to be carved into the northeast side of the West Tenth Street railroad overpass – Alliance’s Mount Rushmore.