Commentary

A few weeks ago, Husker fans were asked to have a “Black-out” stadium and wear black instead of red when we faced the powerful red and white Wisconsin Badgers in Lincoln. I’m an old traditional red and white team fan and after all, it’s our home field and we can wear what we want. Needless to say, I had a problem being asked to show Husker black support when the event was on our home field. The problem was we faced a powerful Wisconsin Badger team who was also recognized as Red and White and it was quite embarrassing to me as home fans who felt there must be some home field advantage available and also needed all the advantages we could gather.

Aurora has heart.
Two giant fiberglass hearts, actually, simultaneously reflecting the community’s artistic flare and pieces linked to the state’s sesquicentennial celebration.
Thanks to the imagination and quick thinking of Aurora’s Tammy Morris, an effort to participate in the Nebraska by Heart auction caught fire just in the nick of time.
As reported in this week’s edition, Morris floated the idea of raising funds to purchase one of the unique art pieces to the Aurora Rotary Club, then expanded the reach to local foundations. This community has a long, proud history of getting behind good ideas, so it’s not surprising that Morris had $5,000 in her bidding budget in a very short time. As it turns out, that was enough to buy two heart-shaped pieces, which was an added bonus.

A child expert says that playing the saxophone or piano will keep the youngsters from becoming juvenile delinquents. We also understand it will  teach them how to live alone and like it.
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I smiled the other evening when I watched the Wells Fargo chief executive try to defend his bank against criticism from lawmakers that the mega bank has not done enough to reform itself since admitting last year it had opened millions of fake accounts customers didn’t want.
As the chief executive pointed out, he too was angry how the bank had handled these problems and now has overhauled its community banking division; ditched aggressive sales goals; released some employees; and taken other steps.
My smile came when several senators who were questioning him seemed to believe that the changes were not sufficient and the bank was willing to abuse customers and even bank employees.

Broadway came to Aurora Sunday with a world-class musical performance from a hometown girl who found and followed her passion.
Local native Tereasa Payne delighted a crowd of approximately 200 people at the Plainsman Museum, sharing insight into her unique world through the sounds of the world’s second oldest instrument. Flutes, she explained in a captivating 90-minute performance, are found on every continent and in almost every culture of the world, dating back some 43,000 years.
It’s easy to see why Tereasa has become so successful in her field after watching and listening to her Sunday afternoon. She practices constantly in her tiny 500 sq. ft. Manhattan apartment, honing what she humbly calls “a little bit of talent” into a regular seat on the world’s biggest musical stage.

Education has come a long way since we went to school. It’s embarrassing that we can get “out-thought” by those grade schoolers, but it happens more frequently than what we oldsters want to admit.
For example: A youngster was asked by her teacher, “What’s the capitol of Nebraska?” The youngster smiled and quickly answered, “N.”
Many years ago I was challenged when our kids would question me about history, or some other classroom subject. I was proud if I could answer. But, as they advanced through the years of their high school classes I realized maybe I should enroll in their classes with the hope of rejuvenating a learning experience that I seemed to have lost. Now with today’s technology I sometimes feel I am a “lost soul” no matter what the subject is, unable to understand what is taking place in my everyday world.
I felt pretty lonely in this situation. However, I found I was not alone.

“Real newspapers. Real news.”
That’s a theme newspapers across the country are touting this week, recognizing changes in our society as we celebrate National Newspaper Week.
Those words pack a punch these days in an era when it’s not as easy as it once was to decipher what is fact amidst the constant flow of information in our world from what is something else entirely. We need and deserve to know what is real, not fake news or opinion-driven stories posted online as the gospel truth.  So much has changed in the way we communicate, share information and tune in to the world around us, but what has not changed is the need for accurate, reliable reporting, especially on the local front where news of the day impacts us more directly.

It’s been claimed classic one-liners offer lots of wisdom produced by very little forethought. I recall observing a high scoring football game where the two teams continued to exchange touchdowns throughout the four quarters of play. I turned to the Betterhalf and a couple who accompanied me to the contest and said the brilliant statement: “Whoever is ahead at the end of the game is going to win.”
That accurate one-liner has laughingly been thrown in my face by the Betterhalf and her friends every football season since I made my original observation.
I find that I am not alone in offering bits of wisdom. I came cross these astute observations:
* Remember, half the people you know are below average.
* Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?
* He, who laughs last, thinks slowest.
* Honk if you love peace and quiet.
* Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.

It’s worth the time to make a special trip these days out into the field or to an area elevator to watch a timeless harvest tradition unfold. Just remember to do it safely.
As the combines start rolling, we are reminded that this is one of the most dangerous seasons of the year in farm country. It’s stressful, and also very satisfying, for producers to reap the rewards of another crop year, a visually enthralling process to watch from beginning to end. It’s also potentially very dangerous for producers as well as all who share the roadways. All that combines to mean we need to be on high alert for the next several weeks.
I found myself breaking Harvest Safety Rule No. 1 this week, gazing out into the field north of Aurora where a combine was slowly cutting a swath of beans. The first time I see that each fall it is mesmerizing.

Times have certainly changed and a recent newspaper story emphasized the point. The article reported that after the first week of school a teacher noticed her itchy scalp and soon discovered she had head lice.
Now someone with head lice was not the root of the story. The treatment of the problem was. To the tune of approximately $225 she had the ailment professionally treated and cured returning back to work within a day or two. It was reported that within an hour she was ridded of louse-y problem using a hot air hair vacuum-dryer similar to a claw-end blow dryer that kills by dehydration head lice and their eggs. Then an oil-based serum was applied to head and scalp to suffocate any remaining debris.

When an emergency situation arises in Hamilton County residents here know they can depend on quality EMS care. On that point, there is no debate.
If you or someone you love is having a heart attack, in an accident or facing a life-and-death situation of any sort, you want to know that trained emergency medical technicians will be there in your time of need. It’s difficult to put a dollar figure on the value of emergency care, though there is growing awareness that the cost of that care is much higher here than other Nebraska communities of similar size.
So how much is too much and who should decide that question? That point IS very much subject to local debate. As an ag-based community, we must also consider that the brunt of the yearly $500,000-plus subsidy funding the Hamilton County Ambulance Department is being collected via property taxes, not necessarily through Medicare/Medicaid, insurance claims and private pay as many might assume.