Last fall, early in the semester, I fell woefully behind with this blog though I did keep up on You Tube and on Facebook with all the events I usually highlight here. I will now begin the process of catching up, so you see a mixture of dates and events for the next few months.
Last night, Linda and Leah (wife and daughter) accompanied me to Spring Creek Prairie for this year's installment of Twilight on the Prairie, an event at which I always enjoy a gratifying time.
This year proved no exception. The Husker game, a victory over Indiana that moved Nebraska to 6-0 for the first time since, what 2001--kept the numbers lower than usual, 350 or so.
But we kept busy at the table with the parents, children, and other interesting folks, as the photographs indicate.
The event also featured a group of American Indians who told stories punctuated by imaginative and large puppets that kept the children engaged.
Music filled the air, as did the aroma of Tom and Twyla Hansen's delicious pizza available to all from Rolling Fire Wood-Fired Cuisine. Twyla is also the State Poet of Nebraska.
Near the end of the semester, Feathers and Verses presentations kept me happily occupied.
The exact May dates matter little at this juncture. And as the photographs indicate, we all enjoyed an instructive and enjoyable time.
For Arbor Day, I gave a couple presentations of Feathers Verses at the beautiful Keeping Room--thanks to Kelly Baquette for inviting me. As matters turned out, Julie Mancini wrote an article about Saturday's presentation that got featured on the front page of Nebraska City's "The News Press" on Friday, May 6.
Brightens up the semester's conclusion! Thank you Julie. On Saturday morning previous to my presentation--I look forward to making a return trip this spring--at the Keeping Room, I spent most of the morning at Indian Cave where for probably the tenth year in a row, I took part in the annual Spring Festival.
This year, rain fell almost the entire morning. But, really, the youngsters in particular paid little mind to the wet. At my station, they colored pictures, wrote some poems, and learned about birds and their songs.
This time of the year is special to me and invigorating, energy for the term's conclusion.
Late last spring term in the middle of the end-of-the-semester chaos, the college's media specialist, Jason Hogue, asked me to take part in a video project.
A first for me, the video session featured the the college's beautiful library and its history.
When I arrive at PSC twenty-four years ago, the library was an unused gymnasium upstairs and the art department below--below this area, resided a former swimming pool.
What now houses CATS previously held stacks of books.
Anyway, I enjoyed making the video and think that the project turned out well.
Well, I continue to catch up selectively with the past many months of blogging, choosing rather haphazardly from among the many things I did post on Facebook over the past year and change.
Early last fall--yes, that long ago--a high-school teacher in Odel asked me to help her make some decisions about teaching Composition 101 for college credit at the high school there.
Instead of talking by telephone, I decided to drive there and check out the this area I had never visited. And I enjoyed myself, both talking with the enthusiastic teacher and visiting the town museum, among other things, including the artistic bathroom Check out the photographs from this short trip.
In the middle of April, I took part in Words for Birds, a new program at Spring Creek Prairie for adults and children. Nebraska poet Roy Scheele worked with the adult group, and I enjoyed the opportunity to work with three remarkable young ladies. Twyla Hansen served as the MC along with poet Amy Plettner.
I posted some photographs from the first of many such events at beautiful Spring Creek Prairie.
Eight youngsters had signed up for the children's section, but I suspect the potential for rain kept some away--they missed out on a lot of fun. The three young ladies read Barn Owl poems and others--we utilized a poem about Barn Owls by my friend, the late Nebraska poet Don. Welch.
I hope that this event becomes annual. Congratulations to all who took part.
Homecoming--Let the Good Times Roll--for me comes in four phases that begin on Friday night with the reception and dinner for 30- and 50-Year Alumni.
As happens every year with this event, the people I meet make the evening special. And in addition to the honored alumni, the dinner featured this year's Grand Marshal of the Homecoming Parade, Jackson Howard, who studied at PSC in 1943 for 8 months as part of the V-12 program.
Jackson Howard went on to a rather illustrious career in both the Navy and the legal community. In addition, he helped before the football game with the coin toss.
Saturday morning, I got up early and took pictures of Nebraska's Toughest Mile and enjoyed watching others suffer at 8:00 in the morning. In truth, the 60-degree cool and moderate humidity made for some excellent running weather. And everyone involved enjoyed a good time. The event becomes more popular each year. The race ended quickly. I am not sure of the exact times, but folks told me that the winner--also in the homecoming court--completed the mile in impressive fashion, as did the fellow who finished second. Oh, and the first place for women once ran for the PSC Cross Country team. After the the final runner crossed the finish line, I worked on the race photographs in my office for a while before heading downtown to announce for the 23rd time the Homecoming Parade, and experience that always puts me in excellent spirits.
This year's parade gave me plenty of opportunities to talk with the folks downtown. And when things get out of order, as happens always, the chaos pleases me to no end--I always enjoy a good, good time.
We all missed the Jazz Band's music mixing with the sound of people and making the day sparkle. Still, this party grows each year, and I took special pleasure from talking with students who graduated but return for Homecoming.
Around 1:00, people began drifting to the stadium for the game between Baker University--ranked 4th in the NAIA, I think--and PSC.
Along the way, I stopped to say hello to the tailgaters north of the stadium and then wended my way to the Hospitality Suites to talk with people and, of course, to take photographs. As usual, I took lots of photographs of the game for everyone's viewing.
And while the game began with fanfare, the final score did not thrill, for PSC made a few errors and ended up on the losing side of the 42-21 score.
Halftime featured, of course, the colorful crowning of the King and Queen and the Homecoming court. Pictures of this year's winners appear at the bottom of this page, after the next paragraph.
The score dampened a bit the day, but most left the stadium with smiles. We in the press box kept busy with statistics and will return in three weeks for the Hall of Fame game.
Last night, Linda and Leah (wife and daughter) accompanied me to Spring Creek Prairie for this year's installment of Twilight on the Prairie, an event at which I always enjoy a gratifying time.
The Husker game, a victory over Indiana that moved Nebraska to 6-0 for the first time since, what 2001--kept the numbers lower than usual, 350 or so.
The Husker game, a victory over Indiana that moved Nebraska to 6-0 for the first time since, what 2001--kept the numbers lower than usual, 350 or so.
But we kept busy at the table with the parents, children, and other interesting folks, as the photographs indicate. 
Music filled the air, as did the aroma of Tom and Twyla Hansen's delicious pizza available to all from Rolling Fire Wood-Fired Cuisine. Twyla is also the State Poet of Nebraska. 
