Out and About – Week of January 18th

There is always a need for blood here in St. Joseph County and thanks to all the volunteer blood donors, the need is being met. St. Joseph Catholic Church in White Pigeon will host an American Red Cross blood drive this Friday, January 22. The hours for donating will be from noon until 5:15 PM. St. Joseph Catholic Church is located at 16603 US-12 in White Pigeon. All those wishing to donate blood, roll up your sleeves and come on down. Your thoughtfulness and compassion is appreciated.

Today is Inauguration Day. For most, it is a day of celebration. Every four years, we have the right to select a person to lead America into the future. The last four years we were lead by a Republican and the next four years a Democrat will do his best for America. One thing I’d like to see happen is to have both parties act more like Americans. Our elected officials should remember that they work for us and should do what they can for us, rather than for themselves. Absolutely no one should get rich by serving the American people. My soapbox has officially been put away for now.

The 2021 Three Rivers Ice Bowl DISC Golf Tournament is still alive and is scheduled to happen. Since 1996, the Ice Bowl has raised over nearly $5,000,000.00 for local charities. The date is Saturday, January 30, and the venue is Armstrong Park at the Three Rivers Sports Complex. This year’s donations will benefit the Three Rivers Food Site, Inc. The goal is to raise $500 in cash and 200 pounds of food. The entry fee is $20 per person, plus some non-perishable food items. There will be two tee times. The first is 9:30AM and the second is 1:30PM. You may choose your tee time, or play both for $40. They will permit only 36 players per tee time. Registration ends a week from today, Wednesday, January 27. To register and get more information, please contact Tim Sylvain via discgolfscene.com.

With this year’s college football season now in the history books, it’s time to concentrate on college basketball. I’ve never been a huge fan of college basketball, because it moves so fast, much like hockey. I do, however, enjoy the month of March when “March Madness” fills the air and everyone’s attention is on the “Sweet Sixteen”.

The University of Michigan has the Wolverines and Michigan State University has the Spartans. The one school of higher learning that leaves me a bit bewildered is Georgetown University. Their basketball team is known as the “Hoyas”. Like me, I’m sure you’ve often wondered, what is a Hoya? According to the Georgetown University guidebook, the name Hoya derives from an old Georgetown cheer, “Hoya saxa!”, This is a slightly ungrammatical translation of “What rocks!” Hoya means “what” in Greek and saxa is a latin word for “rocks.” There are several theories as to the origin of the phrase. Regardless of its roots, the phrase was shortened in the 1930s to Hoyas, when it came to identifying the Georgetown athletes. If you think long and hard about it, the Georgetown basketball team could be thought of as the Georgetown “Whats.” Don’t let it ever be said that you can’t learn anything by reading this column.

While you’re in the mood of learning and remembering, here are some words of wisdom:

Never underestimate the power of simple courtesy.
Plan your work and work your plan.
Communicate in a way as to leave as little room for misunderstanding as possible.
Don’t take life or death too seriously.
Converse to please others, not yourself.
“His face was smooth and cool as ice, and Oh Louise, he smelled so nice.” BURMA SHAVE

See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman

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