I don’t know about you, but…

It seems to me that another month has come and gone in a hurry. But what the heck? They say that time flies when you are having fun!

The Ryder Cup, one of sport’s greatest events, held biannually, was wrapping up about the same time as my last column went to print. I don’t know about you, but…

I am not sure why the so-called golfing “experts” are determined to make the American squad the favorite each time this event takes place. It seems to me that the European team has players that are just as good as the Americans, and also have the resolve to play better in the unusual golfing formats used in the Ryder Cup. Oh well, this little lack of “expert” objectivity was used to make good on wagers on the European team that were made by this little Greek man the last two Ryder Cups.

I don’t know about you, but…

While I really enjoy the competition and intensity of the Ryder Cup, I wish the spectators would spend their energy cheering on their own teams, instead of hurling hurtful and mean comments, and giving rude and mean gestures to members of the other teams. In fact, I wish that were true of all sporting events.

Another major sporting event, the World Series, is being contested as I am completing this column. I don’t know about you, but…

I wonder if it is bad for me to hope that the Toronto Blue Jays take down the mighty LA Dodgers. I guess I just wish that MLB would follow the template of one of the most successful professional sports league, the NFL, and have a salary cap and allow revenue sharing. I mean why should the teams with the most resources have an unfair competitive advantage?

Also, recently Kewanee High School named four Honorary Boilermakers for its 2025 Homecoming. I don’t know about you, but…

This seems like this is the proper time for me to publicly congratulate four good friends of mine, Tim Atwell, Dave Bryner, Kirk Fristad and Dave Spets, for receiving this honor. Kudos also to Superintendent Rebecca Bainey and the Honorary Boilermaker Committee for the way they got these gentlemen (well, at least three of the four) to attend the Homecoming assembly, unaware that they were receiving this award. Maybe from now on she should be known as Sneaky Bainey!

I don’t know about you, but…

It seems to me that sometimes if you have a question, if you ask, you just might find the answer. But sometimes you find the answer without asking. In my last column I mentioned that Oktoberfest was traditionally celebrated in September, but I wasn’t sure why. Well, my brother-in-law Mike Rinella did some research and found the reason Oktoberfest is celebrated in September, rather than October.

Mike, a Kewanee-born graduate of KHS, happens to be a retired educator who, among other things, taught English for many years. Mike graciously agreed to proofread my column each month, which is a great comfort to me since, despite all my years in education, I might be the world’s worst proofreader. Well, Mike found that the celebration began in Germany in 1810 for the wedding of a German crown prince. It was then celebrated in October for several years. But it got moved to September because that month has more daylight, warmer days and less rain than October in Germany. Thanks, Mike, for all your help.

At the end of October, we have Halloween. It is supposed to be a scary time of year, and judging by all the frightful movies on TV this time of year, there must be a large percentage of the population that enjoys being terrified.

I don’t know about you, but…

I am not a big fan of horror movies, especially those that are very gory and graphic in nature. I am just saying that being scared half out of my wits is not my idea of being entertained. Maybe if I weren’t such a scaredy-cat, that wouldn’t be the case.

I don’t know about you, but…

There is nothing about Halloween or horror movies that scares me more than what is going on in our nation and the world. The division in our country seems to get greater every day. One side is always blaming the other and vice versa. Hate also seems to be growing at an alarming rate in our country and the world. People are killing each other for one reason or another, or worse yet, for no reason at all. It is too bad that we can’t use our energies to help each other learn how to live together in peace and harmony, and to use our resources to work together to solve complex problems that everyone on this planet faces for survival. It’s just a thought I have from time to time.

And now for November, our 11th month of the calendar year. In the Northern Hemisphere it is usually considered the last month of autumn.

I don’t know about you, but…

Judging from the fact that it is late October, and the trees in my yard are still full of green leaves, it just could be that autumn might last well into December. I guess it is not important when the leaves fall. I will still spend a lot of my time mulching, raking and bagging leaves until the first significant snow event. And then, if necessary, I will have to finish the job in the spring. Geez, are you kidding me? This job never ends! And doesn’t the end of autumn also mean the beginning of winter? This is just not my favorite thing to contemplate.

Recently I heard an advertisement about an app called Notability that people can get on phones. Notability is a note-taking app for iOS and macOS that allows users to combine handwriting, typing and sketching, with the ability to annotate PDFs, photos, audio recordings, and more.

I don’t know about you, but…

When I heard the ad, I wondered how much easier technology will make it to get an education. I mean what’s next? An app that will write the students’ papers for them. Oh, wait. I believe that already exists. Will there be an app that will take exams for them? I also wondered where the Notability App was when I could have used it some 50 years ago in school? Ha! No, not really.

In Kewanee history, on November 8, 1951, the Kewanee Armory was completed and dedicated. I don’t know about you, but…

I feel this building is another positive in the history of Kewanee. That fact that the date is near Veterans Day, which falls annually on Nov. 11, is apropos. Also don’t forget to thank the veterans you know on Veterans Day. Heck, don’t ever miss a chance to thank any veteran. We all owe them so much.

November’s other important holiday is Thanksgiving which always falls on the fourth Thursday of the month. This year that date is November 27. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving.

I don’t know about you, but…

It seems to me that the fourth Friday of November is also noteworthy. I mean there is Black Friday, Native American Heritage Day and the beginning of the Illinois High School Association State Football Championships.

I don’t know about you, but…

I believe that Black Friday might be spiraling out of control. It seems to start earlier, get more intense, and become larger every year. To me it is just another example of greed rearing its ugly head, and I refuse to have anything to do with it.

I don’t know about you, but…

I think Native American Heritage Day is much overlooked. This holiday is dedicated to celebrating the culture, traditions and heritage of Native Americans within the United States. I believe that this holiday should get more attention, considering the history of the way Native Americans were treated during the development of our great country. I said great, not perfect.

I don’t know about you, but…

I have said it before, and I will probably say it again. I really enjoy following the Illinois High School Football Playoff games which culminate in eight championship games played on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving each year. Good luck to all the area teams participating.

I don’t know about you, but…

It seems to me that I tend to ramble on and on, but now it is time to close. I think I need to spend less time with my aimless reflections and more time taking naps so that I will have enough energy to do all the leaf removal I will have to do this fall (and maybe into December and beyond).

I leave you with this month’s thought: I hear that there are people my age that engage in the activity of mountain climbing. Meanwhile, I feel good just getting my leg through my underwear without losing my balance! Oh well!