Let the Madness begin, but first…
Most of you know I have a love/hate relationship with technology.
I don’t know about you, but…
When it comes to television viewing, the more technologically advanced we get, the more things we are able to watch. The problem is that with that, the harder it is to get to these things. I am not a major fan of watching TV shows. I dislike commercials and like watching multiple programs simultaneously. I am constantly flipping from one program to another. That is difficult to do while streaming. I also like the ease of using the DVR available with my cable service to record important shows I might miss.
I don’t know about you, but…
I dislike the fact that greed has made it so that some sports programming is only available through streaming options that I may have to pay extra for, in order to access the programming.
I don’t know about you, but…
I am a big fan of Robert Duvall’s work and was sad to hear of his passing. Of course, his work in The Godfather movies is iconic, but I am a fan of westerns and also enjoy his work in Lonesome Dove, Joe Kidd, True Grit, Open Range, the lesser-known Broken Trail among others. The scope and breadth of his work is truly remarkable. Rest in peace Robert Duvall.
I read recently that conservation organizations and historical organizations sued the Trump administration for the removal or censoring of exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge. I don’t know about you, but…
I have a problem with the fact that anyone would want to change historical and scientific facts simply because they don’t like them or agree with them. I love our country and think it is the best place in the world to live, but let’s face it, our history is full of incidents and occurrences that we wish would have been done differently.
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe that if we don’t own up to some historical facts that we wish would have played out differently, we might not learn from them and may be doomed to repeat them. I am reminded of the quote from Anne Frank: “What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it from happening again.”
I don’t know about you, but…
I find it hard to understand the rationale behind the Trump administration’s rescinding of key climate change regulations and its revoking of the 2009 “endangerment finding” that allowed the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants. I understand that affecting meaningful change in the health of our planet’s environment will be difficult and quite costly. I hope that the actions of the Trump administration weren’t motivated strictly in the hope of boosting the country’s economy.
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe that the health of our planet can be compared to the health of the human body. We may do things to our bodies that are harmful and can make us unhealthy, but as soon as we remove that which is harmful, our bodies have the ability to reverse the harm and begin to heal themselves. But often if the harm gets to a certain point of no return, the damage cannot be reversed even by medical science. I hope that our planet does not reach the point of no return that many scientists predict will happen sooner or later if we don’t stop harming our planet.
The 2026 Winter Olympics have just completed with a scintillating and nerve-racking overtime win by the US Men’s Ice Hockey Team over Canada’s team.
I don’t know about you, but…
Other than ice hockey, the sports of the Winter Olympics simply aren’t my bag. Now don’t get me wrong. I still watch other competitions because I don’t get to view them often, and I simply enjoy the finality of Olympic competition because it is a competition that only comes around once every four years. I guess it is the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
I don’t know about you, but…
To me, March is for Madness. I always enjoy the Illinois State High School basketball tournaments. I also look forward to the National College Athletic Association tournaments that are synonymous with the month of March. As I have said before, it’s absolutely one of my favorite times of the year.
I don’t know about you, but…
To me, March is also for Spring Training. I will be making my fifth trip to Florida for Spring Training sometime in March. Now even though my beloved Cardinals are on a down cycle, I will still enjoy my time there. I will take in a few games, visit the backfields to watch some of the newly acquired prospects, spend some time at the beach, consume some good food (I hope including fresh seafood), and generally enjoy the great weather.
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe that if you are a fan of one of the Major League Baseball teams, and if you have the time and means, you should take a journey to Spring Training. Whether that means going to Florida or Arizona, it should be on your bucket list if you haven’t made the trip already.
March has been designated as National Nutrition Month, which is a campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to educate people about healthy habits.
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe every month should be a good nutrition month. Now as you know, if you are a reader of this column, I love to eat. Maybe I eat too much for my own good, but I think that my diet is healthier than that of the average American male.
At the Christakos household we try to eat foods that are purchased from outside aisles of the supermarkets (fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and seafood, eggs and dairy and other non-processed foods). Now don’t get me wrong, we do consume processed food when time and convenience dictate that we do, but we do try to limit the use of these products.
Two notable happenings in Kewanee history that occurred in the month of March came to my attention recently. On March 28, 1926, the first hard road (Route 34) reached Kewanee. And on March 28, 1931, Kewanee had the first lighted baseball field in America.
I don’t know about you, but…
I can’t imagine how hard it would have been to travel to Kewanee over 100 years ago. Heck, it isn’t the easiest place to get to in 2026. I mean when you really think about it, it isn’t on the way to too many places. I guess if you were on your way from Galesburg to Princeton, or from Canton to Morrison, you might pass through Kewanee. Otherwise, if you travel to Kewanee, it must be your primary destination. And can you imagine travel to or from Kewanee on non-paved roads? Geez!
I don’t know about you, but…
I find it fascinating that Kewanee would have the first lighted baseball field. I am aware of Kewanee’s rich history with baseball and softball, and that many Kewaneeans love baseball. But I never knew that the town was a pioneer of night baseball in America.
I don’t know about you, but…
To me, watching baseball games on television (especially day games) and taking long trips in cars (when I am not driving and am traveling on paved roads) are great times for taking naps.
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe that it is time to close this month’s column. I close with a quote from the celebrated American poet, Robert Frost. I believe that it is an appropriate thought, considering some of the content of this month’s column. Frost said, “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” I think he may be saying that no matter what we believe or what we face, life moves forward. Be careful out there. It can be a dangerous world.
