The last week of March, Genie and I visited relatives in Harrison, Arkansas. We took Interstate 35 on the way down and U.S. 65 on the way back. The distance was almost the same, with the freeway being faster and 65 being more scenic.

Interesting things we saw along the way were: 1. A freeway sign “Don’t ‘Meth’ With Me, I’m Drug Free.” 2. On the back of the trailer of a semi: “Our main resource is sitting 63 feet ahead.” 3. On an outdoor sign in front of a church where the letters are manually changed: “Some will give God the credit but not the cash.”

We stayed at the Comfort Inn the first night at Bethany, Missouri on I-35. The young guy at the desk recommended “Toot - Toot” Restaurant for the evening meal. The restaurant was named after that old song “Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye.” We strongly agree with the recommendation, as the price was right, the food was good, and the articles on the wall were most interesting.

We stayed four nights at the Quality Inn in Harrison, Arkansas. Genie and I both agreed, as we left, that it was time to leave, as we were speaking slower and with a Southern drawl.

If you want to stay at a property with the desk employees’ treatment of guests “12” on a scale of one to ten, then stay at the Quality Inn in Harrison. Janie, Jan, Carrie and Ernie will exceed your expectations. This is most certainly true.

On our way to the Complimentary Guest Breakfast we heard a lot of hollering in the ladies’ restroom. A female voice was pleading for help. She told me the lock wouldn’t unlock. I brought the problem to the attention of Janie at the front desk. She contacted maintenance, and Mark (the boss) and Anthony (the slim younger helper) came to the rescue of Melissa, a housekeeping employee. The result was, Anthony took a ceiling tile out of the next room to crawl through, removed a ceiling tile and dropped down into the restroom to remove the door and rescue Melissa.

Genie and I both noticed being the boss most definitely has advantages. (Right, Mark?) Sad to say, Melissa hadn’t clocked in, so no payment for her long bathroom outing!

Our relatives, Sandy and Frank Meng, did an excellent job of showing us around Harrison while keeping my tummy full. As we left, Frank pointed out to me he was not a member of the rich Chinese Ming family, but a member of the poor Norwegian Meng family.

On our way home we stayed at the Comfort Inn award-winning property in Marshall, Missouri. As we checked out, we were lucky to talk to a most pleasant housekeeping supervisor at the front desk.

Once again, to all the Southern people with that great Arkansas drawl, “Thanks.”

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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.

I admit it. I grew up a spoiled high school basketball fan. Little did I know this would affect me greatly as I headed up my caraeer path to adulthood.

It was around 1970 when I first attended a game at Waseca's old Central High School, and I remember seeing the Bluejays play postseason games in Northfield and watching them on TV in the state tournament. I saw Gene Glynn lead them to consecutive state tourney appearance and - despite being all of 5 feet, 9 inches - become Minnesota's first Mr. Basketball.

It made everyone in and around Waseca proud, myself included, but I didn't exactly sit around and ponder how good Gene Glynn was — I just knew Geno was one heck of a high school player, the best I'd ever seen — and, as it would turn out, the best I ever would see for decades. Therein lies the issue.

As sports editor at Waseca, I covered some great players — most notably Monte Dufault — and for three years in the Twin Cities northern suburbs I covered some of the best teams and players in the state, including a girl from Fridley named Nicole Johnson who led her team to state and earned a scholarship to Duke. During 15-plus years at Albert Lea, there were many more great players, several 1,000-point scorers and some Division I recruits, but nobody I saw could hold a candle to Geno. Albert Lea's Ben Woodside came close, going on to a great college career at North Dakota State and later playing in Europe, but on the high school level, in my eyes there was never a high school player who could dominate a game like Gene Glynn.

Until now. Carlie Wagner has set a new standard.

Some people have compared Carlie to the Miller twins, Kelly and Coco, from Rochester Mayo, who played in college at Georgia and later in the WNBA. Albert Lea hosted the twins five times while I was at Albert Lea, and I can honestly say this: no, Carlie doesn't compare to the Miller twins. She's a lot better.

Like Waseca in the 1970s, the communities of New Richland, Hartland, Ellendale and Geneva are swelling with pride these days, celebrating the end of a remarkable run that saw Carlie and the Panther girls' basketball team finish third in the state tournament and, this year, win a second straight state championship. Along the way Carlie broke and rebroke several state tournament records, earned state and national recognition, but most importantly remained the same sweet girl we've been fortunate to know since before she was THE Carlie Wagner.

It was fun and interesting to watch Carlie in the state tournament this year. She still wore her game face, but it wasn't the mean-look game face we saw last year; it was more a look of confidence, and her play reflected it. She seemed to be on cruise control much of the time, dictating the pace of the game against the best the state had to offer, seemingly scoring at will or finding an open teammate when the Panthers needed it most.

Next up for our "Golden Girl" is the high school all-star games and announcement of Miss Basketball, which, according to Panthers coach John Schultz, will go to Carlie unless the old Twin Cities favoritism prevails. I like the Golden Girl's chances.

Then it's on to the Minnesota Gophers and their new head coach, but after that, who knows? My crystal ball foresees more championships and most assuredly more dominating play. The WNBA shows up clearly. Maybe there's an Olympic team or two there too.

We can all be thankful to say we knew her way back when.

The scurs were pleased with the performance once again of the ’74 Gremlin Weather Eye. Only those who once owned a Nash/Rambler product can appreciate it. Will we appreciate the upcoming week’s weather or want to trade it in on a new model? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with good chance for rain. Highs near 50 and lows around 30. Thursday, mostly cloudy and cooler with a slight chance for rain and snow in the evening. Highs in the low 40’s and lows near 30. Mostly cloudy Good Friday and a tad warmer with a continued slight chance of rain and snow. Highs in the mid-40’s and lows hovering around the freezing mark. Partly sunny on Saturday and a bit warmer with a slight chance for rain and snow. Highs in the low 50’s and lows in the upper 30’s. Easter Sunday, mostly sunny with highs near 60 and lows around 40. Partly cloudy and warmer for Monday with a chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the low 60’s with lows near 40. Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs in the mid-60’s and lows in the upper 40’s. The normal high for Easter Sunday is 59 and the normal low is 37. The scurs will be planting their potatoes on Good Friday after a trip to Souba’s where someone will be Johnny on the spot to help them.

Another week of slow progress towards planting season. There was some talk of small grain seeding over the weekend. A quick drive-by survey of a potential planting acreage revealed nothing planted. Chances are soil conditions were just a bit tacky yet. It has remained very cool with our warm days struggling to get to the forecast highs with cool and cloudy conditions following them. It’s no wonder overwintering crops and forages are moving as slowly as they are. The Dubya’s winter rye is greening up although it’s taking its sweet time. Some hayfields and pastures have a greenish hue to them but that’s about it. Some have attempted to spread manure on top of the recently thawed fields and have left some substantial ruts. Sometimes there is no choice especially if the pits are getting past the full mark. 

Around the yard there is additional proof as to just how cold it has been. At the order of Mrs. Cheviot, the mulch cover was removed from some of the perennials so they could dry out, avoiding fungal disease. Probably no danger of that just yet as under some of the slabs of old hay used there was still ice even on the south facing slope. There is hope however. Last Tuesday the fence was charged and the lambs made their first outdoor appearance. Yes, the heavy traffic by the ranch slowed to a crawl to get a glimpse of the new lamb crop. Charging the fence also allowed me to put away the illegal fireworks I’d been shooting at the ewes to keep them off the fence in the meantime.

It was tempting to put in some radishes again. We still have some winter radishes in the refrigerator that have maintained their integrity so no hurry. That and the .28” of precip from the rain and snow Sunday has made the ground sticky on top. Picking up all the sticks as well as the corn cobs from pheasant/squirrel feeding over the winter seemed a more prudent course of action. The seed will keep until the ground is ready. 

The first striped gophers were spotted in the yard on the 8th.  A small group of bluebirds made their first appearance that same day as did the first of the rhubarb buds to make the soil surface.  The handful of chorus frogs heard earlier last week turned into thousands and the noise on the few warm nights was almost deafening by the 9th and 10th. Last but not least, a lone tree swallow stopped to check out the bluebird houses near the yard. Unfortunately those nesting boxes are occupied by house sparrows. The house sparrows don’t know it yet but they will be evicted permanently soon.

As cold as it has been, the ice came off of St. Olaf Lake late last week. It was only about 10 days before that people were still out driving around. I was surprised, as avid as he is, that the local Bandwagon star didn’t swim or boat out to the remaining iceberg for one last go at it. Although, the way the 20-degree low on Tuesday morning felt, he might get one more crack at it.

Fudgie and Ruby’s big day Saturday started out with a good brushing for Fudgie. We wanted her to look pretty for her vaccination appointment. The strong southerly breeze carried some of the large fur balls up into the trees where some birds would probably grab them for nesting material. It doesn’t take any prodding to get either dog into the soccer Mom van, also known as the Gus Bus. 

Once we arrived on the scene of the clinic and got in line, the dogs shifted into full Border Collie mode. They were more concerned about keeping track of other dogs moving across the parking lot than they were the canines right next to them. Our dogs were well behaved and have the drill figured out. They waited patiently and quietly until it was their turn. When the injections were administered, Fudgie squirmed a little but was calmed by my reassurance and firm grip. Ruby on the other hand wagged her tail the entire time. Mrs. Cheviot was holding her and when she wasn’t looking, Ruby would lick her face. A strategy to think about next time you’re getting shots. 

See you next week…real good then.

I like to win. This is blatantly obvious to anyone who has ever seen me coach or even through my announcing. We’ve experienced a lot of winning at NRHEG over the years, and it’s a great feeling.

I like to win. I’m that parent who never just let his kids win a game. They had to earn the victory. Jayna wanted to learn how to play chess a few years ago. I told her she needed to beat me in checkers before that would happen, but I wasn’t going to let her win. She’s now a pretty good chess player!

I like to win. But I also know how to lose. Nobody wins all the time, though my dad probably remembers his twelve straight losses to me in Chutes and Ladders when I was young, when it seemed like a game based completely on chance would never allow him to get to the top first. One of the great lessons of competition is learning how to handle adversity and loss.

The best teams build off a loss and learn from it. It’s no secret that our girls’ basketball team fumed a bit after their loss to Chaska early in the 2012 campaign. It was a close loss, but one that stuck with them when they were in a close game for the state championship at the end of the season.

The best players deal with loss well too. After Brett Favre lost his father, he gained a focus unseen before and raised his game to a new level. Competition and sports often are affected by life in general, and learning to win and lose in life is the most important lesson of all.

I tend to raise a few hackles any time I bring religion into the mix of my column.  As someone recently told me at a seminar, “If you’re offended, please choose not to be.” Here we go.

As much as I like winning and being in control, God doesn’t always allow that. Our purpose in life is to figure out how to win with God, but that sometimes involves losing. Sound like a conundrum? That’s what is difficult at times to deal with as a Christian.

A powerful and difficult moment in my life occurred when my grandma was very sick and about a month away from dying. She was in the hospital, and nobody was sure if she would last. One of my uncles was really struggling with this. He talked about what a good person my grandma was; she always tried to do what was right and rarely had a negative thing to say about anyone. Why was she made to suffer? He questioned why God would do that to her.

I thought about that a lot leading up to Grandma’s eventual demise. I still think about it a lot. It’s logical to understand that we lose people in our lives that we care about, but it’s difficult to see the suffering. We can understand losing, but it feels like the other team is running up the score.

But as Easter approaches, if you are a believer, you can think about the death of Jesus. He did not die an easy death and suffered as much or more than we will. Being scourged, having to carry a cross, facing ridicule and denial, and finally being crucified are beyond imagination for the physical and mental pain. In the end, though, Jesus won. He won the most important game of all – victory over death.

I’ll always struggle with losing in life. My faith wavers at times, often when the logical part of my brain kicks in. I find myself asking questions about how a person could die and rise from the dead. There has to be some explanation which explains that, perhaps a coma-like state or some other scientific rationale. When I see good people suffer, as I too often do, it shakes that faith. Why would God rub it in like that?

Finding my faith to believe is a game plan that is always a work in progress. Coaches have to make halftime adjustments all the time; I have to do that in my life too. Constant adjusting will help me continue to follow that faith and hopefully find victory at the end of the game.

I hope everyone has a good Easter and can spend some time thinking about this occasion. We often hear at Christmas to remember “The Reason for the Season,” but Easter is much the same way. It’s not all about bunnies and chocolate and ham, but about the game we’re all in the midst of trying to win.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is manducate, which means to chew or eat, as in, “The hungry family sat down after church and proceeded to manducate the entire ham before taking a nap.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

Funeral services for Gerrit Hoogenraad of Albert Lea, MN, will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at the St John’s Lutheran Home Chapel in Albert Lea, MN. Pastor Jeff Laeger-Hagemeister will officiate. Visitation is one hour prior to the service at the chapel. Interment will be in the Freeborn Cemetery, Freeborn, MN.

Gerrit died Saturday, April 12, 2014 at St John’s Lutheran Home in Albert Lea, MN. He was 67 years of age.

Funeral services for Robert D. Severtson, age 84, of Albert Lea will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 17, 2014 at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church. The Rev. Matt Griggs will officiate. Interment will be in Central Freeborn Cemetery. Visitation was from 4 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at the Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home and one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.  Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com.

Robert died on Saturday, April 12, 2014 at the Good Samaritan Society, Albert Lea.

Janice Mae Perkins, 68, of Horseshoe Bay Texas passed away on March 22, 2014 after a courageous four and a half year battle with ovarian cancer.

She was born to the late Victor and Jessie Daubenspeck on July 20, 1945, in Lawton, OK. Janice graduated from Lawton High School in 1963. She married Terry Perkins on July 23, 1994, and they lived together in Lawton, OK, before relocating to Horseshoe Bay, TX in 2007.

At 94, Myrtle Peterson enjoys life at Ellendale’s Whispering Oak

HAPPY TO PITCH IN — After suffering a broken hip, Myrtle Peterson may not get around as well as she used to, but she greatly enjoys her busy schedule at Whispering Oak. (Star Eagle photo by Kathy Paulsen)

By KATHY PAULSEN

Staff Writer

There often comes a time when for some reason or another as a senior citizen, you have to leave the home you have lived in for oh-so-many years, and move to a care facility. In 2012, Myrtle Peterson had just gotten out of her car when she took a fall. She ended up with a broken hip and needed some help to recover.

Fortunately, Myrtle had just gotten a call button, the type you wear around your neck, and she was able to call for help. 

At 94 and living in new territory, what does one who has lead a busy, event-filled life do? Keep on doing fun and practical things that not only keep your mind and body busy, but include friends and other residents as well.

On April 25th and 26th, the Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association will host the 2014 All-Star Series at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. The top 40 senior girl players from Minnesota will put on a display of skill, athleticism and class. There will be two games played showcasing these phenomenal athletes one last time before they move on to play college basketball.  After one of the best state tournaments we’ve seen in years, there will be a lot of great players putting on encore performances.