3 Quarters Today

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Day 103/365: March Madness, Nebraska Style

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Waneeta-Palisade vs. Sterling
Wauneta-Palisade (Red) vs. Sterling

It’s March madness time! A time where college basketball fans, and those that just like to compete in office pools, fill out brackets to determine the NCAA championship. However Nebraska has it’s own form of March madness. The NSAA High school version.

For 101 years the Nebraska State Athletic Association has organized and crowned the high school basketball championships in the month of March.  You thought Nebraska was just a football state, well it is, except the first two weeks in March. Then basketball fans come out in droves from every corner of the state and every size school and converge on Lincoln Nebraska to cheer their hometowns and watch good basketball.

Twenty four teams from each of the six classes of schools (Class A to Class D2) in both the boys and the girls basketball compete in Lincoln Nebraska. That makes a total of 288 schools, and approximately 3,400 students compete in the Nebraska high school basketball tournament.

Passions run deep in small communities and many schools normally schedule school days off during the tournament so students can attend. This is especially true of schools that normally compete every year.  It’s also an opportunity for alumni who live in Lincoln to attend a “home town” game and have a reunion with classmates and friends.

I attended boys Class D2 games this year and followed Wauneta-Palisade. The high school student body is 49 students. Yes, you read right, 49 students from 9-12th grade, each graduating class contains approximately 12 students. Class D2 is the smallest class of school in Nebraska and as expected is comprised of rural schools in the far reaches of the state.  Class A is the largest with  a much larger student population of 1200-1800,  comprised  mainly Omaha and Lincoln schools.

But, regardless of the size school these students play hard! Each Wauneta–Palisade game was decided in the last seconds of the game with the Broncos making it all the way to the finals and losing by one point at the buzzer to Giltner. It’s always heartbreaking watching the seniors realize this is there last high school game.  But they can’t sit still for long, because spring track season starts the next week.

Yes, in small Nebraska schools we raise all-round athletes, the same boys will play football, basketball, and then track. So, welcome track season!

Day 102/365: Leprechaun Chase

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To put everyone in the St. Patrick’s Day spirit I thought this week called for a little green and a few leprechauns. Last weekend a thousand people took part in the Leprechaun Chase 10K run held at Mahoney State Park in near Ashland, Nebraska. The race started and ended at the Strategic Air and Space museum, located next to the state park, and it was quite the site to see. They were not little green men, but fun just the same. I wonder if they found a pot of gold at the end of the race?

Leprechaun Chase in Nebraska
Leprechaun Chase in Nebraska

I did not run, nor did I walk, I was a volunteer and helped my daughters Spirit Squad (cheerleading) from Elmwood-Murdock high school with their first official fundraiser. The premise of this race is the women get a 5 1/2 minute head start, then the men (leprechauns) chase them. If a women wins they get free drinks, green beer, and if the men catch the women and win, the men get green beer.

Never have I seen so much green in one location. Obviously there was a costume contest and it was difficult to chose between the kilted red bearded Irishmen, or the mass of green above. So, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day I give you the bearded leprechaun below as a bonus.

Lucky Leprechaun

If you have participated in a Leprechaun Chase race I’d love to see your costume or hear about your experience.

Day 98/365: McDonalds Shamrock Shake

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Day 98: The Shamrock Shake Has Returned
Day 98: The Shamrock Shake Has Returned

This year my Connecticut friends on Facebook have been talking about the Shamrock Shake, I bet few knew it was invented in 1966, in a Connecticut McDonalds.  I didn’t. But it didn’t get it’s nationwide acclaim until 1975. I love milkshakes and the thicker the better, give me a different flavor and I’m right there. (Eggnog shakes at McDonalds are also one of my favorites)

The  Shamrock Shake bring back memories of childhood, when there wasn’t a McDonalds in every town and going to eat at the Golden Arches was a treat. Once a year, for a very short time, the traditional chocolate, vanilla and strawberry shake flavors would give way to minty green wonders that made your teeth hurt and give you a brain freeze if you drank it too fast.

There is quite the cult following on social media circles this year the humble shake has over 35 Fan Pages (I stopped counting) on  Facebook  and even it’s own website, Find the Shake, as people track it’s appearance at various franchises.  It appears that not every McDonalds carries this much loved shake and in 2010 there was the Great Shamrock Shake Crisis, as well as the great shake hunt.

The appearance has been enhanced over the years, and I’m sure to some traditionalists that is pure sacrilege. But, I really like the added Redi-Whip and the cherry on top.

What people will do to go back to their childhood. Since we’re going down memory lane, enjoy a video from the early 1980’s

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Significance of Red Doors in a Church

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I didn’t know of the significance of red doors on churches  until I read, Finally A Red Door, on another  Project 365 blog.  Although this door is of a Catholic church in Connecticut the symbolism of a red door in churches spans many denominations. It is definitely a more popular tradition in older churches.

Catholic Church in Connecticut

According to Dr. Richard C Hoefler, dean of Christ Chapel at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, “Christians have entered into worship, into the presence of God, through the blood of Christ.” It is also said that a red door in the Lutheran Church harkens back to the time of Martin Luther, who posted his 95 Theses on the red doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany—the crimson color symbolizes the church as part of the Reformation. (Pastor Kuhlman, can you confirm?)

On the website St. David’s Episcopal Church  in Laurinburg, NC it explains: “Red Front Doors. The red doors symbolize the blood of Christ, which is our entry into salvation. They also remind us of the blood of the martyrs, the seeds of the church.”

Historically a church has been a place of sanctuary, a place where a soldier could not pursue an enemy, much like when one takes refuge in  Christ the enemy, the devil and evil,  cannot pursue and destroy you. Thank you Bonnie for bringing this little known history to my attention.

By the way, this door is at St. Francis Assisi in South Windsor Connecticut.

I am now on a quest for other Red Doors around the country, here is one in Nebraska City at an Episcopal Church

Symbolism in Churches

If you are interested in learning more about symbolism in churches and the meaning of certain design elements in architecture of a various churches the books below are full of interesting information of Christian symbolism.

The Secret Language of Churches & Cathedrals: Decoding the Sacred Symbolism of Christianity’s Holy BuildingsHow to Read a Church: A Guide to Symbols and Images in Churches and CathedralsSymbols of the Church


Day 40/365: Friendly’s Sundae Break

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Day 40: Friendly's Sundae Break

Oh, how this Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae at Friendly’s Restaurant hit the spot. Every part of this sundae from the whipped cream to the smooth ice cream and rich hot chocolate was so delicious and the best part is I shared it with my best friend Laura.

A friend who opened up her door early Saturday morning at 1:30 am and let me crash on her couch, a friend who held my hand through the worst of the day, and a friend who from across 1500 miles still knows when I need a phone call before I do.

We don’t have Friendly’s Restaurants in Nebraska, and every time I go home to Connecticut this tradition has to be fulfilled. There isn’t any other ice cream restaurant like it in the United States. Sure, they serve food, and other restaurants serve ice cream, but none dedicates a whole menu just to sundaes.

A little part of world disappeared as we sat, laughed, and made mmmmm,….,mmmmm sounds as we savored our twin mint chocolate chip sundaes.

Day 40: Couldn't resist another picture...a "Happy Ending"