The Weather, KU, Super Bowl and birthdays!

I want to tell you about the weather, KU basketball, the Super Bowl and a birthday event happening soon.

It took until February 4 to see some snow accumulation on our Potawatomi grounds, but it was only a small amount and it melted fast the next day. Up north of us in Nebraska, they had over a foot of snow, so I guess the storms have hit Denver and decided to go around us. Having so little snow isn’t something we plan on here, but it is too early to say we stayed in that pattern.

I don’t know if my expectations are way too high when it comes to KU basketball or not, and I know this is a rebuilding year of sorts, but I get so mad to watch them get beat and it’s already happened five times this year, more than normal. I think the biggest problem KU has is a lack of depth. The starting five can hang in there with just about anybody.  Look at the games against Ohio State, Kentucky, Duke, and Baylor as a testimonial, but when it comes time to substitute, the drop-off is way too huge. When the starting five plays upward toward 30 minutes a game, they get winded and tired at the end and errors happen. Yes, I get mad at Taylor for throwing the ball away or for missing free-throws but giving him a breather on occasion could only help at the end of games. I predicted they would 25-27 games this year and they can, but they will have to work at it to reach that plateau.

I watched the Super Bowl 46 last night. It was a good game although I don’t watch pro sports much anymore. Both teams were good and played very well. Too bad somebody had to lose. I thought about how I watched the first Super Bowl on t.v., when Vince Lombardi’s Packers smoked the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10. I was a great admirer of Lombardi and in the past year I was able to see their home-field and a huge statue of him in from of the stadium, it was a fitting tribute to a great coach.

Also this week, I turn 61 years old. To be truthful, I never expected to hang around that long. Some people go into depression at this age, but to me this is just another milestone and I’m more like that guy on the Gladiator movie when he said “All you can do is look death in the eye and laugh.” What else can I do?

For all those years, I just did normal Indian things – tempted fate on more than one occasion, lived hard at times and eventually slowed down, stayed married to the same woman for going on 41 years – a gal who added balance to my life and gave me the right instruction I needed. We raised a family, saw the good and bad of life which caused a whole bunch of highs and quite a bit of lows, but I let it all bounce off, kinda like that duck we read about. Longevity enabled me to see my two girls grow up, start a family of their own and to give us five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter Ju Ju. That was all good and worth sticking around for.

Throughout this journey, I saw many of my friends leave this neck of the woods, including my twin-brother Larry. That wasn’t enjoyable to see at all, but it is part of this thing we call life. Also, I included a picture of my other brother Bubs.  He left this rez back in 1984.  I sure liked him too, he was one good sheet-rocker and one hell of first baseman.

My birthday is going to be a low-key event -  I told my kids I don't want no big meal, and no gifts but If I get a couple I will be a happy camper.  Instead, I will take my wife to eat somewhere, maybe we will go and look for a giving and caring slot-machine that might hit over and over, and when we have had enough of pursing the gambler dream, we will go to bed and I will give thanks I made it this long.