Archive for September, 2017

Sep 29 2017

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Alex Watter’s Attitude of Gratitude. How Lucky am I?

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The second that I walked into the room with Alex Watters I could feel passion in his voice. Finding out the reason for his passion struck me deep as he talked about his accident he had as a freshman here at Morningside college that left his paralyzed and unable to walk or have function in his hands.

Like most kids, he had plenty of dreams and goals that he wished for the future. He was asked if he never had his accident would he still have wanted to become an advisor for Morningside College and his answer was very abrupt.

“Not a chance in hell!” He said as he continued to say how his dream was to open a restaurant or own a golf course. With his accident he lost the ability to go out and enjoy the feel of golfing a round with himself or friends. “Golf was my place of peace…the sound is therapeutic.”

“When I was 18 all I wanted was golf, money, and girls…and not particularly in that order.”

Being a big food guy he didn’t really have a preference in what kind of food he would serve but he did say that he is a big dark beer guy. His favorite being Dragon’s Milk.

With his accident he chose to continue his life’s path by being an advisor for Morningside College and wanted to make a difference for other people and lead them on their right path.

Working with all these students makes Alex feel like the parent of them as he watches them on the playing field of their sport or thriving in their classes because he knows how hard they worked to get to that spot.

I take his message as he is helping these students realize that they need to take advantage of every opportunity they have because you never know what could happen. He sure didn’t, but for all that he accomplished since then shows how big of a heart Alex Watters has to give this world.

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Sep 28 2017

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Cub Continue to make History

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After breaking one of the longest streaks of not winning a Championship last Postseason, the Chicago Cubs yet again made history this present season by making it to the post season for the third straight year!

The Cubs sent out John Lackey to face his former team and pitched an excellent game for them.

It all came down to the bottom of the ninth where the Cubs were up 5-1 in St. Louis, thanks to Addison Russell’s 3 run homerun to put them up back in the 7th.

Wade Davis, with a 2.34 ERA, came in to close it out. With two outs in the 9th Randall Grichuk of the Cardinals hits deep ball to center field but just doesn’t quite have the distance and is caught for the final out of the game.

The Cubs cinched the AL Central and got to celebrate there accomplishment on their rival’s home field!

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Sep 28 2017

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Observation Exercise

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As I sat in the computer lab Tuesday night the room was filled with the sound of instruments and the sound of typing keyboards.

As peaceful as music can be, the sounds of different compositions  didn’t bring a peaceful sound to me ears. It would have been nice to just put headphones in but I needed to experience the outside world I was in.

The sound of typing and clicking was coming from the two students that were working on projects in the lab. There was little conversation as we were all trying to get our projects done in time for our deadlines.

As I was about to shut down the lab for the night Slater cut me off and said that he had some more things to work on and that he could take care of everything.

“I have spent many long nights in this lab,” Slater said, “so I know how all of this works.”

So I left him to lonely sound of his clicking mouse.

 

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Sep 26 2017

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Senses

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Slimy, but satisfying. The smell that makes you squeeze inside as the sour taste starts in your nose the moment you put it up to your mouth. As you chew the green kiwi, it sweetens your mouth as you chew but leaves your mouth with a dry and tangy taste that makes you want more.

As for the sweetness of the donut, the sugars hit your taste buds and the soft breading satisfies your hunger for a few minutes then leaves you wanting more!

 

IMG_4221

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Sep 26 2017

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Morning Conversation

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Sitting in her normal office typing on her computer I met up with Terri Gaffigan to discuss my poster idea for the upcoming alumni art show. She was wearing her usual casual wardrobe including her round glasses and had the same calm and welcoming tone in her voice that she always has. It is always good to talk to her after my morning lifting session on Tuesday mornings.

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Sep 21 2017

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The Scavenger Hunt

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Scavenging my way around campus I found myself in the computer lab in the Epply building. My task, find a favorite memory and a knock-knock joke from a student, professor, or visitor.

I just so happened to run into Slater Marshall, a cross country and track runner for Morningside college, and Niccole Wolken, a golfer for the Morningside women’s team.

Slater had to think back to his arrival on campus when he transferred into Morningside. His favorite memory was when we first got to campus, nobody told him where he lived. He said, “I got here with a fully loaded car and nobody told me where I was living…so I was homeless for a little while.”

Niccole’s story was a little different. It was also her freshman year here at Morningside and was playing in the band during the Morningside/Whitewater game. In the middle of the down-poor they still had to perform at halftime so her director had them put garbage bags over where bodies, holes to put their heads through of course, and continue to play in the rain.  “I had to stand out in the cold rain to play my saxophone…and we didn’t even win.”

I then brought up the knock-knock joke and I was only able to get one out of Slater. He said that he only knew one knock-knock joke.

Slater: “Knock-knock”

Me: “Who’s there?”

Slater: “Poop”

Me: “Poop who”

Slater: “Gross!”

I was confused at first but after repeating it faster in my head a second time I understood and gave it a good laugh.

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Sep 21 2017

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Little girl gets hit by line drive

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An incident in the 5th inning, of the already devastating Yankees Twin’s game, brought the game to a holt and a hush among the entire stadium.

Todd Frazier, the Yankees 3rd baseman, hit a screeching foul ball over the third base dugout striking a little girl in the stands sitting with her grandfather, a season ticket holder.

The bleeding girl was carried by her grandfather to the exit and soon after taken to the hospital. When they finally came out to talk to reporters they said that it was too early to know if they needed surgery yet.

This was the 3rd time this season that a fan was struck by a ball or even a broken bat. So maybe its time to check into extending the nets further down the baseline.

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Sep 15 2017

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Friends leave behind friend after an elegit shark attack after boating accident.

4 students at Armstrong Aeronautical University, Dayton Beach, Florida went out sailing in a 16-foot catamaran.

At about 5 pm the boat leaked and capsized leaving the students hanging on one of the pontoons throughout the night.

At dawn they chose to swim to safety even though the nearest shore was four miles away.

3 of the 4 students made it to shore with one claimed to be bitten by shark and left behind, another badly bitten by Portuguese man-of-war, and the other two were examined and released from Halifax hospital, Dakota Beach.

 

55 dead after plane crashes while approaching Chicago airport.

Some of the 6 survivors gave statements along the lines of the pilot having a few too many cocktails before the flight.

This happening a month after the deadly train crash killing 45.

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Sep 11 2017

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The Tribe keep the Streak Going

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With their 11-0 victory against the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Indians extend their winning streak to 19, which is the longest winning streak since 2002. The defending AL champions are looking to be right on track to be one series better than last season.

With multiple players hot on the team, it is hard to believe that they won’t get the record of 20 games held by the “Moneyball” A’s of 2002. According to ESPN, the longest unbeaten streak in Major League Baseball history belongs to the 1916 Giants, who won 26 in a row (that included a tie).

As much as the Indians are enjoying their domination on the field they are also having fun with their fans as Fransico Lindor has been spotted hanging out with children and making the autograph session a bigger experience for the fans than it already is by being involved with their short time with him and the rest of the players.

Just as he was spotted smiling with the kids, in last nights’ game against the Tigers he was caught smiling as he was hitting a moon shot for his 29th home run of the season. Trevor Bauer won his 9th straight decision and Cody Allen came in to close it out.

“Forget about the curveball Ricky, give him the heater” –Lou Brown (Major League 1989)

Throughout this 19 game win streak the Indians hit 37 homeruns. Not only have the Indians been winning these games, they have been dominating. Only 3 out of the 19 games were one run games. Outscoring their opponents by 100 runs, six of the games have been double digit scoring and another six have been shutouts.

Hellickson on Indian’s win streak: “It’s hard to fathom. There’s so many good starting pitchers and so many good teams that it really is hard to even think about winning that many in a row. But when you’ve got that rotation and that bullpen, then that offense, it’s a pretty complete team. I can see how they’ve done it.”

But the beauty of baseball is that anything can happen.

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Sep 07 2017

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Local Firefighter sent to hospital.

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A normal day turned to trouble for local twins Suzanne and Samantha Decker when their Calico cat got stuck up in a 50-foot oak tree at 102 11th Ave.

Bob reached the cat and as he was climbing down the tree when a weak limb gave out and Bob and the cat dropped the last 15 feet.

The cat made it ok but Bob not so lucky. He had to be taken to St. Luke’s Hospital where he found out he had a broken leg. Doctors said he is doing, “just fine” and he should get back to work soon.

As for the cat; thanks to Bob, he is doing great!

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