The Kansas Jayhawks have another date with destiny on Monday, as they have advanced to the championship round in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. My little bride and I will be tuned in at 9:21 EDT on Monday, as the Jayhawks take on Memphis for the crown.
My only regret is that I can’t call my Mom right now, to talk about the win. She loved them Jayhawks, and would have been absolutely beaming right now.
Memphis/UCLA at 6PM, followed by North Carolina/Kansas thereafter. We’re making lasagna, salad, and bread, something that’s a no-brainer to throw together in advance, and can be ready by gametime. In such a fashion, we can be nourished whilst absorbing all the exciting action.
This is a first for me; my picks for the Final Four are exactly the ones who are there. And I’m in the running to win my little bride’s office pool. Should the Kansas Jayhawks win the national championship, I’ll forget all about office pools. Though their winning would greatly boost my pool-winning chances.
And, in yet another exhibition of enlightened sports scheduling, the Nextel Nationwide Series 1race runs immediately prior to the tip of the opening game.
-k-
[stags]Kansas,kujayhawks,NCAA,NASCAR[/stags]
Man, I’m glad my little bride asked me who’s playing basketball now. I thought the NCAA games started around 6 or 6:30, like they did last night.
We flipped over from the NASCAR race just in time to see the last minute of Texas/Memphis.
With KU/Davidson to follow. This Davidson team is no fluke, having come this far. They have nothing to lose, and with their talent, will be a tough opponent. Please, Kansas, think about that. Think about my office pool.
Rock Chalk!
-k-
[stags]Kansas, NCAA, basketball, Jayhawks[/stags]
I love folks who license their works via Creative Commons. From Flickr, and the kansasexplorer, the newest header graphic to adorn my shabby writing.
This is a picture of Nicodemus KS, a place a scant 50 or 60 miles from my hometown. I can’t adequately explain the significance of Nicodemus, so I’ll quote the Kansas Explorer, in his comment on the photo:
In the decades immediately following the Civil War, thousands of freed slaves were lured to the high plains states, often with lies about the wonderful weather and the rich land. One settlement of former slaves was Nicodemus, Kansas, seen from a distance in the photograph. It was difficult to eke out a living here due to the harsh conditions. Now nearly a ghost town with less than 25 inhabitants, Nicodemus is a National Historic Site, complete with a visitors center. An annual homecoming event draws hundreds of blacks back to their Kansas roots.
People used to come from miles around to what I heard was a great little BBQ/soul food restaurant in or near there. The lady that founded the eatery has since passed on; don’t know if it’s still in business. And, in my list of everlasting laments, I never ate there.
On January 29, 1861, the great state of Kansas was admitted to the Union. It has become a tradition for me to make note of that date on this old blog, to express some of the love I have for Kansas, and sometimes pine for the day that I can go back there to live.
In conversation with non-Kansans, they sometimes mention how they “drove through Kansas” once, and man, was it boring. It usually turns out that they drove (or more likely, barreled) through the Sunflower State on Interstate 70. Now, there are some fine towns and great people along I-70. I guess, though, when your goal is to get through a place, that one gas station, convenience store, or nationally franchised fast-food place looks pretty much the same as another.
So here’s some advice; get off the interstate, go on the two-lane highways, the gravel and dirt roads, and see what you can find. You may come across a scene similar to this picture. Imagine that you’ve found a hill overlooking this field1. The wind blows a bit practically all the time, and this green wheat would reveal colors from light green, to chartreuse, to deep forest green, as the grain waves in the wind. It reminds me of ocean waves, and it’s breathtaking.
As the fields ripen, the colors go to more colors of gold than I have descriptions for; again, I always think of the ocean when I see it.
So, Happy Birthday, Kansas. Maybe I’ll be back there before you are 148.
-k-
Photo Credit: Prairie Pathways
Picture posted with “Click to Embiggen.”
[stags]Kansas, Kansas Day[/stags]
[tags]Kansas, Kansas Day[/tags]
