Since the Mayans were wrong, I guess we had better start thinking about 2013.
Actually, I understand the Mayans never predicted the end of the world, their calendar just ended. Maybe they got tired, or maybe someone stole part of it. Those things happened regularly when the New World was being explored.
I don’t have much to say about 2013. I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, and I really haven’t thought past seeing “Les Miserables” at the movies in the near future.
Who really wants to think about the future when there is always Congress hanging out there waiting to mess something up? I would like to think they will actually do something productive in 2013, but their track record is bad.
One thing it appears they will be confronted with is some kind of proposal regarding assault weapons.
The National Rifle Association doesn’t want a ban. You know their motto: “An assault rifle in every home and an armed guard at every school door.”
I cannot believe a country where we have brilliant minds that put men on the moon and created the Bowl Championship Series cannot come up with a better option.
I cannot conceive of going to school where there is an armed guard. It has taken me a long time to accept school resource officers are a necessity.
All we really needed when I was in school is one of those scary elementary teachers standing there flashing us the look.
Something is wrong when we can’t fix our problems except by putting more guns in more people’s hands. The Wild West is past history, but, honestly, it is beginning to look like our future, too.
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On a more positive note, I’m looking forward to seeing the new sign built in 2013 at Rogers High School’s football stadium. That’s because the Rogers School Board took action last week a lot of people have lobbied for a long time: They named the stadium for Whitey Smith.
It is a much deserved honor. Obviously the board thought so because they stepped way out of their comfort zone by naming a facility for someone who has never worked for the district.
Of course, Whitey probably has worked harder for the district’s students than some of the people who collected checks from the district over the years.
He and his Chicken Cookin’ Crew have toiled over a hot barbecue pit for years, cooking chicken for kids in the Rogers School District to sell. Goodness knows how much money has been raised to send kids on trips, buy uniforms and provide money for miscellaneous expenses.
A few years back, Whitey was recognized by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association for his good work. Those who nominated him were tasked with trying to determine how much money had been raised through his efforts. The best we could do was multiply the number of cooks by the average amount raised. The figure came to about $1 million. I estimate it is more like $1.5 million by now.
That’s a lot of chicken. It is also a lot of heart, and Whitey’s got a lot of it.
I don’t know what district officials have in mind for the sign. I’m guessing flashing lights are out. I would like to ask them to consider this: “Whitey Smith Stadium — It’s For The Kids.”
If you have ever asked Whitey why he gets up early and stares down raw chicken at the crack of dawn, he will look at you and reply, “It’s for the kids.” In all the years I have known him, he has never wavered on that.
It’s a motto a lot of people would do well to try to live up to.
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That was Winter Storm Euclid that hit us earlier in the week. I know. What winter storm?
The Weather Channel has taken to naming winter storms because of the belief it is easier to follow named storms.
I’ll accept that, but Euclid? What did he have to do with weather? He is the geometry guy.
Why wouldn’t you name a winter storm Frosty? Or Rudolph, Donner or Blitzen? Instead, The Weather Channel list includes Gandolf, Lago, Magnus and Q. Just Q. Must have escaped from a James Bond movie.
It will be interesting to see how far through the list of 26 names we make it. I’m ready for it to stop now.
Leeanna Walker is a local editor of the Rogers Morning News and Springdale Morning News. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NWALeeanna.