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Lincolnite Year in Review
It has been a busy year at Lincolnite. Here’s a look back at the past 12 months.
A Pee-Wee New Year
The Wilsons will be spending New Year’s evening at the Lincoln Children’s Museum’s Make Believe Midnight party, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. If any of you will also be attending, we would love to say hi.
Off Track Dirt Track Needs to Get Back On Track
It sure would be a shame if the motocross project at Abbott Sports Complex got derailed because developers and funders can’t agree on a timeline. I’m not a motocross fan, but I would still like to see this project get moving. It certainly has been discussed for long enough—at least four years. I spend a lot of time out at Abbott so I’ve seen it’s evolution over the years, and I’ve heard plenty of rumors and whispers. I can’t say I have full confidence that the motocross project—or any of the other long-range plans for the complex—will go off without a hitch. It’s unfortunate because Abbott could really be a nice asset to Lincoln. As it stands today, it really feels like it isn’t living up to its potential.
I’m Getting Old and Cranky
Damn, I’m not even 30, and already I find my blood pressure rising in response to things I really should just ignore. Case in point: today’s New Year’s Eve advice from the Journal Star. It was the part about “moral turpitude” that really got me going. But there really isn’t anything to get fired up about. One need only read the opening sentence—in which New Year’s Eve is described as “an inherently rad holiday”—to know the article is trying way too hard to be hip.
Sigh. I don’t think I’m ready to get stressed about this sort of thing. Before I know it, I’ll be sitting on the front porch shaking my fist at the neighbor kids. Oh well, somebody’s got to do it.
Government Gives Back
Whodathunk that Nebraska’s Treasurer would be most well-known for giving money to people rather than taking it.
Giving people their money is, I think we can agree, an important task. Are there any public service roles the State Treasurer’s office should be performing better than they are now? The reason I ask is simple: I want to congratulate Shane Osborn for serving the public. But I don’t know enough about his office’s role to know if his improvement in returning unclaimed property comes at the expense of some other critical task. If he is returning millions of dollars a year while still doing well everything else that needs to be done, fantastic. But if some other role is slipping, we the public need to say “Pst, hey, don’t forget about that other thing”.
Who can help me figure out how big of a pat on the back Mr. Osborn deserves?
Happy Boxing Day
Christmas festivities went well for the Wilsons. Robbie had a good couple of days, everybody liked their gifts, and all the toys are assembled and working. Of course, getting everything put together required staying up until midnight on Christmas Eve. When Santa’s elves say “assembly required”, they mean it.
Yesterday we went out to Grand Island to visit family. Robbie was a little clingy at times, but he didn’t take long to warm up to everyone. He also discovered that he really likes Tostitos. Robbie got to play with his cousin Ben, who is just a few weeks Robbie’s senior. Unfortunately, Ben wasn’t crazy about sharing his house with so many people, and he took that out on Robbie with a couple whacks to the head. Why do little kids always go for the noggin? Why can’t they slug each other in the arm or something?
Now to get back to the regular routine. That may take me a while.
The Gift of Life (I Hope)
After years of saying “I should”, today I can finally say “I did”. I joined the National Marrow Donor Program Registry. Well, almost, anyway. I still have to complete the tissue typing process. The testing kit should arrive in a couple weeks. It’s as simple as a couple cheek swabs.
So why marrow donation? The idea stems from two events, both of which occurred about ten years ago. The first was the loss of a childhood friend to leukemia, which can sometimes be treated with a bone marrow transplant. The second involved a bizarre series of tests that led doctors to believe that I might have had leukemia. (I didn’t. My test results were just waaaaay on one side of the bell curve. Today, fortunately, those test results come back much closer to average so doctors don’t look at me like I’m quite as much of a freak.)
Included among the barrage of tests was a bone marrow test. It consisted of laying on a table while a surprisingly-large straw was jammed into my pelvis. It didn’t hurt at all, nor was there much discomfort. There was just a little “grinding” that was kind of weird. Afterwards I could walk just fine, and I don’t recall any significant residual pain. Bone marrow donation isn’t much different, so I figured, what the heck.
Now, I’m not telling you this so that you think I’m some sort of hero. I haven’t even done anything yet! Rather, I hope that by posting it I might spur somebody to pursue a donation of their own that they’ve been pondering for a long time. Maybe marrow, or blood, or even cash. It’s always easier to do something when you know others are doing it, too. It’s how we humans work. So if you have been sitting on a donation for far too long, like I was, consider this the “sign” you were waiting for. It’s worth it.
Ho Ho Ho
The Wilsons and all of us here at Lincolnite want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. Whether or not you celebrate the day as a holiday, we hope you use this time of year as an opportunity to enjoy the gift of giving, and to revel in goodwill and merriment.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Local Tornado Victims on TV
The Togstad family of Clatonia will be on TV tomorrow on “The Twister Sisters” on the WE (Women’s Entertainment) network (Time Warner channel 55). The Togstads were victims of the Hallam tornado that struck back in May 2004. The show should be interesting to watch for those of you who want to follow up on one of Nebraska’s most infamous severe weather events.
Open for Business on Christmas Day
Those of you spending Christmas Day in Lincoln may need or want to find an open business tomorrow. Unfortunately, pickings are usually pretty slim. If you happen to know of a business that will be open at least part of the day tomorrow, let us know. The Journal Star’s list includes coffee, laundry, beer, and porn.
If that doesn’t float your boat, you can always catch a movie.
Free Music From the Loup River Band & Street Choir
Gene Hogan dropped me a note yesterday:
Our first record, An Evening At Lee’s, has been available over the internet for a while. Our second record, Golden Testament, just recently. Both records were recorded and produced ourselves in a basement in midtown Lincoln, with the lone exception being “Better Times” which was expertly recorded completely live by Chris Steffen. He records for money and you should hire him and pay him lots of money. Special thanks to everyone that played on these records, especially Ken Morton for lending us his talents as a full-time band member and songwriter. He’s since moved on to The Allendales. You should go hear his band and buy him lots of drinks.
Thanks to the “Street Choir” for showing up and singing backing vocals. One of them even stuck around and joined the band.
Go ahead and download the two albums for your weekend listening pleasure.
Today’s Best Story
I’m sure the “victim” isn’t laughing, but this burglary “tail” easily wins the Story of the Day award.
An Icy Reception
Looks like Lincoln will soon be the happy recipient of two new ice rinks in a new arena to be placed somewhere near Haymarket Park. That’s good news for the many users of the Ice Box, who currently have to practically fight each other to get ice time. Details about the new arena—and the gift that made it happen—are due at a news conference at 1:15pm today.
Update: Some details have been released. It’s a two-rink, $11 - $13 million facility, thanks to a gift from John Breslow. One piece of the article raised an eyebrow: “The facility will be somewhere in the West Haymarket district.” Hmm, that could mean “organizers are in the final stages of securing a location”, or it could mean “we have a great idea but we don’t have any idea where we’ll be able to put it”. Hopefully the truth is much closer to the former than the latter.
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