High School Sports

 

High School Sports

Small spot out in the patch (Brggsdale) has a state champion basketball team, the first for the town. The girls basketball team.

I approve of high school sports and especially for girls. Back in the day (1961, 42 graduates) the only thing available for girls was band and cheerleading. In Ski Town, USA where I graduated, several female skiers became Olympic competitors but this was on their parent’s dime. 

Small historical note. My Senior year we started with twelve cheerleaders and ended the year with three. The other nine got pregnant. The two drug stores in town wouldn’t sell condoms to teenagers. The only real source was vending machines in Wyoming.

Long before the trust fund snots discovered Steamboat, the high school had a gifted teacher and coach, Carl Ramano. A Korea War Marine, he coached wrestling and taught shop classes. In thirteen consecutive years, the school was six times state champions and seven times runners up. Wray, CO High School was always the other school.

I was a wrestler, 2^nd string, but the attitude developed as a wrestler helped me in life and the skills learned in Coach Ramano’s shop classes I use to this day.

Comets

Visible comets are in the news and that sparked a fond memory. 1996, Comet Hyakutake was in the news. At the time we lived in the Puget Sound area and my youngest son had recently acquired a Dodge Charger. We went on I-90 to the top of Snoqualmie Pass one evening to see the comet. On the way back down he asked,

“Dad, can I open it up a little?”

“Not a good idea, son. There are better places”.

Sure enough, a few moments later the WSP clocked him ten miles over and we had a father/son moment as he got his first ticket.

Son’s Dodge Charger

Not his, but you get the idea.

My son dropped out of high school due to his life being in danger from out of control black students. Travis wouldn’t back down, wouldn’t defer, etc. The assistant superintendent, a retired Seattle Seahawk (and black) put the blame on my son. We had words and I was escorted from the school by the police.

But, I digress. Travis, as a freshman, passed his GED tests with a 82% score. I put him to work as a lot man at the dealership where I worked and helped him buy a Chevy LUV pickup.

A customer traded in a Dodge Charger that he had been turning into a race car. The car looked bad but was sound. The rebuilt engine was from the premier MOPAR shop in Seattle. The suspension and brakes had been upgraded. Larger and better tires were fitted. The owner had given up and traded it in for an economy car. I wasn’t the salesman involved.

Travis came up to me with that “look” and said, Dad!”

I bought the car for $300. He drove it for five years, raised all kinds of hell in King County, and later in Colorado when he moved.

He was a gifted driver. When he was much younger we spent a weekend at Ocean Shores where there was a rental go cart track. He was too short at the time but, as it was a slow day, a $20 bill slipped to the attendant let him grow a couple of inches. He had never driven a go cart but within three laps he was drifting that under powered go cart around the corners and passing everyone.

Would Dr Jim approve?

Bank Failures

I don’t trust banks and will only use credit unions.  I have no need for other bank services. YMMV. Do your own due diligence.  Below is an email from one of my credit unions.

Dear Member,   During the past few days, there has been uncertainty in the financial system resulting from questionable business decisions made by Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. These failures resulted from insufficient risk management practices at these institutions and are not systemic issues that will impact Credit Union of Colorado.   Credit Union of Colorado’s balance sheet is strong, and our systems are secure. We have cash availability from both primary and multiple contingent sources that will allow us to serve all our members' cash-flow needs. None of our vendors have been significantly impacted by these events.    At Credit Union of Colorado, our primary purpose is to serve our members’ financial needs. Unlike a bank, we are not-for-profit; we are not reliant on investors looking for profits. As a result, we maintain well-positioned and strong financials that allow us to return value to our members through lower interest rates, limited fees, and competitive dividends.    We are committed to keeping the Credit Union of Colorado financially resilient. Thank you for your continued trust and for allowing us to assist you in meeting your financial goals. As always, we are here to help.   Sincerely,    Terry Leis       Weather Modification   Has always been part of human efforts from shaman rain dances to this tidbit 100 years ago in our local rag.   • Members of the Army Air Force have announced they are close to bringing rain to areas that need the moisture, by flying over clouds and dropping sand on the clouds, which will be turned into rain. Experiments begin next month.   Daylight Savings Time Always a PITA. Do I really need nine time keepers, including vehicles? No, but I do and twice a year curse my way as I change them. With two I always need to look up and follow instructions. Frays my man card. Of course, “science” always needs to chime in. https://scitechdaily.com/daylight-saving-time-a-medical-nightmare-a-neurologist-weighs-in/ Survivor My parents had one late 1960’s and it was a fantastic car for them. In a town with a then population less than 2,000 they had the only white one. One day a white Volvo 122 stopped near where my Dad was standing. He opened the passenger door, hopped in, and said, “Where are you going, honey?” Oops! Not his honey. Colorado Politics I’m so disgusted with our radical Democrats I can’t even work up a good case of giving a shit. Latest insanity at a 3 am weekend session the House passed a bill allowing “safe” injection sites for illegal drugs. However, they voted down a bill making selling illegal drugs that results in the death of the user a felony. That begs the question; do the cartels control the far left Democrats? As always, YMMV.