I covered the last perfect season in NCAA men’s basketball. I wrote a book about it as well, titled Perfect Run as No. 1, in case you are interested in reading it.
Last Monday was April Fools’ Day. The origin of this odd observance is disputed, but I’d like to thank whoever invented it. I celebrated April Fools’ Day religiously as a kid. What other day of the year could you get away with playing a prank on somebody simply by shouting, “April Fools’!” April 1, 1971, the year Canada began switching over to the metric system, a call-in show on a local AM radio station reported, in compliance with the new system of measure, they would now be giving the time in metric. They said something like, “The current time is 10.25 metric.” The phone lines lit up with angry Canadians! At the end of the three metric-hour show, the hosts shouted, “April Fools’!” and explained that it was all a prank.
This week’s deadline was a little earlier in the day so our production manager, Dickie Williams, could leave early to get ready for his gig. It’s not just any gig – they are opening Bands on the Beach with his Beatles Tribute band, “Not Quite Fab.” But as you will see, we didn’t skimp on coverage. Our sports coverage is over the top. Kudos to Brian Lester, Dickie Williams, John Richardson and Stuart Camp for all contributing to our sports coverage. Someone told me they liked to read sports because it is always positive coverage. Even if a team loses, there is something positive to be learned from the experience. Not to leave out the news coverage – we appreciate Jamie Gentry, Brian Lester, Drew Drohan, Michael Bannon, Gail Acosta and the team that supports all our writers. This includes the graphics team that designs the ads, Jodi Kane and Thomas Kulesa. And the ones that like to remain in the background, our bookkeeper Cheryl Middleton and our circulation coordinator and traffic controller, April Pearson. I don’t want to forget (because I couldn’t if I wanted to) our distribution coordinator, Jesse Stewart who has been having to drive to Panama City to pick up our Lowe’s inserts for the past two weeks and drive them to Mobile, Alabama where our paper is printed. Phew, I hope I didn’t leave anyone out. I would mention our sales team, but you are looking at her. Gail helps her in her spare time which is scarce. Hopefully I’ll find more people that want to have as much fun as I am having helping other businesses succeed through effective print and online advertising. First, I must have time to look at all the resumes I have.
Over the weekend, D.J. Deas’s parents returned to Navarre only eight short months after he took his own life. They came to talk about suicide, they came to talk about it out loud, they came to reach students, parents and teachers who knew D.J. and those who didn’t.
I’m a Canadian. Yes, I say “eh?” at the end of sentences, well, at least I used to. Growing up in Canada, I’d always thought that it was you Americans who had the accent. It wasn’t until I moved to Florida that I learned that it was me. People would stop me mid-sentence, ask me to repeat myself, then laugh at my accent. I quickly realized that life in Florida would go much easier for me if I lost the accent and the “eh?” with it.
Every American should celebrate the outcome of the Mueller Investigation. This investigation shouldn’t have happened in the first place because it was based on false “leaks” and a “dossier” that was fabricated, and essentially opposition “research” devoid of any truth. The false narrative was encouraged from the highest levels of our government while Trump was running for the presidency. I hope we find out exactly how this happened because it is a travesty. This should never happen again to any president, regardless of their party affiliation. And, to think our military has had to serve under a commander-in-chief while he was being called a “Russian Operative.” And, how could Trump work with other countries while they are wondering if he is going to be in office?
I’m beginning to learn the driving “culture” on Highway 98. From what I’ve observed, though the speed limits range from 55 mph down to 35 mph, few keep to the posted limit. But driver’s beware! A friend giving me a ride to the airport warned me as we entered a 35 mph stretch, “Watch your speed through here or you’ll get a ticket.”
