Frivolous Friday

Bucket List + Big Foot + Runzas + More

Bucket List Redux

Lois generally approved of my/our bucket list, which I recently published. She did note that it was "pretty ambitious" so we better get started. Agreed. We'll look at a road trip already next summer, I assume, & it may depend on what the Hill Sisters decide about next summer's "assumed" Hill Siblings Reunion and/or family reunion.

I did think of one more road trip that I want to embrace. I have had a fascination with the Civil War for some time, maybe begun by growing up fairly close to a Civil War battlefield in Lexington, MO, which I've visited numerous times. I also visited the Pea Ridge battlefield in northwest AR on a trip to visit Lois' dad in Fayetteville, MO. We visited the Bull Run battlefields in VA on a road trip to visit Paul & Kathy (my brother- & sister-in-law) in the summer of 1983. We visited the Gettysburg battlefield--but all too briefly--during a Hill Family Reunion in the Washington, DC area several years ago.

I'm thinking that I would like to revisit Gettysburg & tour it more thoroughly; also visit Shiloh, Vicksburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg, but probably not all in one fell swoop [I always wanted to use that expression.] & possibly necessitating some solo tours.

There Is No Place Like Nebraska

From Omaha World Herald (2/18):  "Bigfoot is a big deal for believers gathered at Hastings conference. It took 47 years, but this weekend 63-year-old Marshall Garner stood up in public & told the story of when he & a buddy saw a Bigfoot sprinting across a Sand Hills alfalfa patch. He said he'd kept the story mostly to himself due to harassment from his neighbors in Sheridan & Grant Counties . . . But at the 2nd Annual Bigfoot Conference this weekend in this central Nebraska city, the gray-bearded retiree, as well as some of the best-known names in the Sasquatch world, spoke freely. Almost 400 people attended the event on Saturday . . . about 100 more than last year . . . "  COMMENT:  That's right! In Nebraska we save our harassment for people who claim to have seen Bigfoot.

OWH (2/23):  "For one game only:  Chasers will be the Omaha Runzas . . . Get ready to eat a Runza, cheer for the Omaha Runzas & watch the team score some run ... zas. The Omaha Storm Chasers announced TUE that the team will play a game in June as the Omaha Runzas. And the news is drawing positie reviews from fans of both the team & Nebraska's beloved meat pocket . . . "  COMMENT:  I know of at least one Iowanian who will thrill at this news because of his devoted passion for this unique sandwich. I hesitate to name names, [I can neither confirm nor deny that it's my nephew-in-law.] knowing that our friends to the East reserve their harassment for people who love anything related to their rival to the west. [You saw a Sasquatch running across a field near Ventura, IA? Ho hum. Wait . . . What? You'd drive to Nebraska just for a Runza & some frings? * Ha ha ha ha ha!]
* A combo order of fries & onion rings. **
** In my opinion, you won't find a better vendor of onion rings than Runza Restaurants.

Criminal Minds

OWH (2/10):  "Suspected burglar asks officers for jump start. A 20-year-old North Platte (NE) man who was taken into custody in connection with a burglary called authorities for helping starting his getaway vehicle. The man called deputies about 4:25a TUE, asking for assistance w/a jump start, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said. The man told deputies that he was cold & needed immediate help . . . Deputies also received a call from a resident near the same location, saying her home had been burglarized . . . Deputies said the man had several of the woman's items. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary . . . " [Dear Diary, my father always told me that a AAA membership was a worthwhile investment. Alas, if only I had listened . . . ]

Food for Thought

From Norfolk Daily News (2/20):  "Chicken shortage. Fast-food fans were in a flutter MON after most of the 900 KFC outlets in the U.K. & Ireland were forced to close because of a shortage of chicken . . . "  COMMENT:  Imagine the outcry across the British Isles if pubs were closing, due to a shortage of warm beer.