Late April. It’s the sprint to the end of the school year.
Graduation parties are set. Invitations have been sent out. The spring sports seasons are in full gear with the post season closer than most realize.
There are music festivals, banquets, concerts, field trips and meetings. The final month of the school will simply fly by and be over before you realize it.
The last day for seniors is May 11. That is just 14 school days away. Then for one week the juniors get a practice run at being the top dog in the school. The final day for 428 is May 18.
Buckle up for that final furious sprint to the end of another school year.
Prep thoughts
What a showing by the Great Bend softball team. The Panthers are proving they are with the teams to beat in the Western Athletic Conference after rolling by Dodge City in pair of games Tuesday to improve to 4-0 in the WAC. That was a Dodge City team that had won six straight.
Garden City is the only other unbeaten team in the WAC. Those two will get after it Thursday in Garden.
Former Barton athlete/coach update
Jay Sirianni spent three seasons as an assistant baseball coach at Barton from 2002-04. Sirianni has baseball in his blood with his father coaching college baseball for 20 years.
Jay is now in his third year as the pitching coach at Sam Houston State. His pitching staffs has been solidly some of the best in the NCAA. Five of his pitchers have been selected in the MLB draft through the first two seasons.
Currently, the Bearkats are 26-11 overall and 13-2 in the Southland Conference with only a pair of losses to Stephen F. Austin as the only conference blemishes. Here’s to a strong finish for the Bearkats – even though they can’t spell it correctly.
Around campus
If you get a chance get out to the Shafer Gallery and current student exhibit that showing. A reception and awards will be presented tonight form 6-8 pm. The show will be up until May 12. It is a chance to see what some of the students at the college have done over the past year. I think you will be very impressed with the work the students create.
And finally
Every once in a while something can happen that gives you an indication of how your day will go. An omen, so to speak.
I’m not really talking about hitting five of the six stop lights green. Although I do think that played a big part in KU winning the 2008 National Championship. I hit all six green on the way home from work that day. You’re welcome Bill Self.
No, I’m talking something that only happens once in a while.
Such as realizing it just might be a bad day when you are putting toothpaste on your toothbrush and you push down with the tube and catch the last few bristles and it slingshots toothpaste into your eye.
That burns. I just did it earlier this week. I can’t be the only one this has happened to.
One of the first things I do when I get up in the morning is turn on the coffee pot. I even get it ready the night before so all I have to do is turn it on. It’s a bad sign is when you return from your shower and the pot is either a) full of what is now hot water or b) still empty.
I have forgotten to add the coffee before and water runs through an empty filter or I forget to put in water and it is just a hot empty pot. I know some of you have done this as well.
I don’t think I have ever shot toothpaste in my eye and had an empty coffee pot on the same day. That might call for going back to bed.
But there are good signs as well.
One of my favorites is walking or just sitting and your ears pop and suddenly you can hear better than before. You thought you were hearing just fine and all the sudden you hear even better.
Oh well, like the saying goes ‘here’s toothpaste in your eye’.
Mike Marzolf is a guest columnist for the Great Bend Tribune and his views don’t necessarily reflect those of the paper. He can be reached at MarzolfM@bartonccc.edu.
