What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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It’s hard to wait. If we’re not connected when and where we think we ought to be, then we become selfishly impatient. We’ve come by it honestly through worldwide merchandisers as they ply their trade to the masses. Overnight deliveries are becoming the standard and consistent same day delivery is just around the corner. Anywhere a line forms, the potential for annoyance and irritation exists. We are taught that we shouldn’t have to wait, that squeaky wheels get the grease, and that if we must...
Outside of some unsettled weather early in the week, conditions were good enough to see competition is multiple sports in the past seven days. Some of the top performances during that time came on the golf course and in track and field. Swink's girls golf team took home the title at last Thursday's Rocky Ford Invitational, as the Lions were 24 strokes better than the hosts, who finished second. Kinzie Ensor was the low individual, shooting a 92 to lead Swink. Teammate Emma Hanagan tied for third...
The blinker is the most misused item in a vehicle. It’s a great tool to have when trying to communicate with fellow drivers. What an invention. A system that lets others know what your thinking and you don’t have to utter one word or make any other sound. So why are so many drivers afraid to let others know what they are going to do? I know there aren’t that many shy drivers out there because I’ve seen a lot of them. They use the horn for everything. Tapping it to say hi, letting someone know they light is green or you cut me off. So, there s...
April is here, which means it is almost time for our annual summative assessments (i.e., SAT, PSAT, CMAS). Summative assessments are used to make systems-level decisions about curriculum and instruction. It is aligned to grade level standards and happens once a year. Summative assessments should not be scary. It is simply to see if our students have mastered grade level standards for English Language Arts (reading and writing), Math and Science. It is similar to the work they do each day. Each...
Big corporations always publish a year-end report containing both financial information and overall performance of the company. I think the purpose is to keep stockholders in the dark while shining a light on their profits to the banks they have borrowed from. The system appears to work quite well so beginning this year I decided to do the same for our ranch operation, with a few alterations. I want to shed a light on the three or four things we accidentally did right, while keeping the bank in...
The need for speed Gotta have it, must get it, and oh, what’s next? Where would we be without our favorite technology to flout or the latest shiny must-have gizmo to show off? Millions are made forecasting and projecting what the near future holds. We don’t want to let anything get in our way in the marketplace where time is money and money is God. Ingenuity and necessity are prime movers, a not altogether bad combination. Each drives the other. The potential to produce something astounding is...
The weather finally cooperated this past weekend and a majority of local athletes took advantage of the warmer conditions to turn in strong performances in several sports. That includes meet and school records falling in track. Wray's Sydnee Cheek established a new meet record in the pole vault at the Yuma Early Qualifier last Saturday, as she cleared nine feet, eight inches to win the event my more than a foot. Chloe Cure swept the shot and discus for the Lady Eagles, who won the team...
Democrats at the State legislature made a remarkable choice in recent weeks to burnish their “reproductive rights” bona fides by passing a bill that stakes out perhaps the most extreme position possible on abortion by explicitly depriving an unborn child of any legal rights whatsoever until the moment after birth. A premature over-reaction to fears that the United States Supreme Court may strike down Roe v. Wade, the bill strangely ignores Colorado’s history as one of the most permissive in th...
To most of the world the cowboy symbolizes unspoiled freedom. Whether a ranch cowboy trotting across the hills on his horse or a rodeo cowboy “going down the road”, he represents to most what they’d love to be themselves ... wild, free, unchained, unconnected to the world’s restraints. Yea, right. Even the word “cowboy” has taken on a second meaning. It can also mean a renegade, loose canon, a non-conformist. Let me tell you, nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s take the rodeo cowboy f...
Every generation faces its own self to a lesser or greater degree. We are living in a time of reckoning on many levels. This is one of those moments when it is helpful to be clear, to offer lucidity in the midst of chaos and hope beyond isolation. It is easy to declare the world broken. It is quite another thing to aspire beyond this place and this time, and to continue the hard work of being human in spite of ourselves. We like to fix things. We live in a culture capable of many things and we...
Mother Nature continues to wreak havoc on the spring sports schedules, with more track meets and baseball games canceled last week. However, a number of contests were able to go on as scheduled, even if conditions were less than ideal. Fort Morgan ran its mark to 4-0 with three victories last week. The Mustangs dominated Niwot 14-6 last Tuesday, overcoming an early 2-0 hole. They were the beneficiary of 18 walks by Cougar pitchers. That was followed up by a pair of 1-0 wins, the first over the...
Sooner or later every fad gets me. I can't help it. I resist longer than most but eventually I succumb. Over the years I've been talked into purchasing polyester leisure suits, tennis shoes with built in air pumps and stone-washed jeans. Some fad items stuck with me like poly-grass ropes and nylon horse halters. Other items the world convinced me I couldn't live without now lay gathering dust somewhere. Remember CB radios (replaced by cell phones), fuzz busters (replaced by 75 mile per hour...
Sometimes the hardest things to find are right in front of our eyes. Even up close we may not be able to discern everything we need or would like to know. But with a little patience and a positive learning environment it is surprising how easily things can fall into place. Being a good observer is at the core of discernment. Without observation there is little basis for well-informed conclusions, something we all have experienced firsthand in recent times. I am an admitted rock-picker-upper...
The winter sports season came to an exciting close last weekend, with the State basketball championships. A lot of history was made, with individual milestones, as well as program firsts. In the Class 1A girls tournament, Lone Star took home the consolation championship, in the first tournament appearance for the Lady Longhorns. After falling to Briggsdale in the opening round, Lone Star bounced back to eliminate Sangre de Cristo on Friday. Alivia Weathers went over 1,000 career points in the...
There is one thing almost every man will lie about. He will give you a straight answer to just about any question you ask except for the one “magical” question. What is it that will turn normally credible, straight forward male citizens into something less than truthful people? Gas mileage. That’s right, you’ll never get a straight answer about how many miles per gallon the ole pickup is getting. I guess it’s some kind of macho thing among guys that clouds our judgement when the “taboo” topic co...
The challenges we face today in this moment and in this time are historic. Angles from many stories compete with truth which is buried deep within the debris of our collective souls. Answers come sparingly, if at all, as the sharp edge of the pendulum sweeps ever closer. What shall be our role in the ongoing catastrophe that is war? Each person must decide for themself. Many responses reflect the deep heartfelt compassion that accompanied Christ and a resulting determination to rebuild a better...
With spring sports beginning their practices last week and competitions looming on the horizon, basketball is about to wrap things up. Last week saw regional contests in the 1A and 2A classes, while 3A got its State tournament underway. Sterling's boys are the #2 seed in the Class 3A tournament and the Tigers are a team on a mission. Longtime mentor, Mike Holloway, is in his final season on the bench and the Tigers are trying to send him out with another State title. They began the tournament...
Lilacs evoke the sweet smell of spring. These shrubs were brought to this country in the 17-century called Blew (blue) Pipeflower, for its hollow stems and grown in English gardens according to https://www.thetreecenter.com/the-story-of-lilacs/. In 1750 lilacs were the first shipments of plants sent to America to satisfy the memory of new settlers in their homes. In 1852 a Frenchman called Victor Lemoine started breeding lilacs and flower petals went from four to eight petals in a dense cluster. This shrub was named “Azurea Plena” with a blu...
For me, it all started when I was in the sixth grade. You would think I had finally outgrown it but that hasn’t happened. What hasn’t happened? My ability to wind up at the end of any and all lines. No matter why it is there, if there is a line with ten or one hundred people in it, I’m going to be the last one. Back in my school days I attended a small two room school with 10 to 12 students. At those numbers being at the end of the line was no big deal. Besides, I was big for my age so movin...
There is a surreal quality to the events of this past week when Russia invaded Ukraine. In the past we might have dismissed it as a distant and largely forgettable concern. The world has since changed, embracing perspectives that have come about through the marvels of modern communications on a variety of platforms. No longer can rats scurry to the dark corners of the room; cell phones, texting and social networking have all contributed to fresh light and a new dawn of accountability where...
The basketball postseason is in full swing and teams are just a week away from the State tournament in classes 1A through 3A. Class 4A started its state bracket last week. Fort Morgan's boys opened the 4A tournament on Wednesday as the #33 seed. The Mustangs got 16 points apiece from Fernando Marquez and Wesley Carnes, but came up short in their opening round contest at #32 Sand Creek, 60-47. Sterling grabbed the #2 seed in the Class 3A boys state bracket after winning the Patriot League title...
Well, I did it again! New Year’s Day, widely celebrated throughout the land by nearly everyone, came and went more or less unnoticed by yours truly. How does anyone manage to miss such an obvious holiday? For me, Holidays trigger columns or at least are supposed to. There are, again, supposed to be columns dedicated to Christmas, New Years, even Valentine’s Day. I try to treat all equally by missing about all of them. It seems that when I sit down to write a column, the near disastrous exp...
It is once again time for gardeners to wake from their wintry slumber and purposefully step into that spring rite known as planting season. Plastic trays, peat pots, mulch and soil amendments are all part of the conversations which, once started, can become all-consuming. A growing stack of seed catalogs attests to the urgency of the matter. This is known as the horticulturalist’s “everything is possible” stage and woe to those who give it short shrift. When did it get to be so involved? For y...
State wrestling took center stage last week, with championships decided at Ball Arena. Lots of hardware is making its way back out to the eastern portion of the state, including a team title. After a third place finish last season, Wray is back atop the Class 2A standings, as the Eagles beat second place Meeker 167.5 to 146. Rocky Ford (6th) and Fowler (7th) also took top-ten finishes in the team race, while Wiggins tied for 10th. Traven Sharon of Fowler out-dueled Holly's Tripp DuVall 9-5 in...
It goes without saying there is nothing funny about Covid-19. My sincere sympathies go out to those who have lost loved ones to the virus. That said, I have often heard the phrase, “Even in the darkest storm, there will be a flash of light.” Today’s column is about such a flash during the darkness of this pandemic. While she repeatedly denies it, I have a younger sister. I cannot divulge her name since previous such exposure has resulted in phone calls threatening disclosure of embarrassing mome...
