Union Meeting

I've been thinking about the situation at--of all places--Northwestern. Not so much the situation on the football field, but the situation in the voting booth. Maybe you've heard, maybe you haven't heard, that  Northwestern's football players were asked to vote on whether they wanted to join a labor union. Yes, Northwestern, the Big Ten Conference's version of Stanford of the Pac-10. A bit like having a labor union vote at Harvard or Yale. Or Grinnell. I recall when I was writing fulltime about Big Ten sports. Northwestern's football teams were usually getting their butts kicked in those days, but Wildcat fans would shrug and say, "We'll be your bosses in a few years." The thought of Northwestern's football players belonging to labor union was about as realistic as Donald Trump being a card-carrying member of the Teamsters.  Like  J. Edgar Hoover and Jimmy Hoffa having beers together after attending meetings in the same union hall. I guess I thought the first collegiate football team to consider joining a labor union would be, say, Pittsburgh, Eastern Michigan or Appalachian State. Not Northwestern.

My Neighbor Al, the Health Nut, was up and at 'em earlier than usual this morning. Today was garbage day in our neighborhood, so Al was busy getting his can [his garbage can, that is] out to the street barely before dawn. He thought I might be awake, so he rang my doorbell, wanting to know if I had the Italian Dark Roast brewing in the coffee pot yet. 'Just barely,' I told Al. 'And I'm just barely awake. So what's going on?' I could tell that Al had something on his mind that he couldn't wait to talk to me about. 'I thought I'd seen everything in the paper,' he said, 'but yesterday was one for the books.' 'Pretty big deal, huh?' I said. 'Tell me about it.' 'Well, when I read the paper at Hy-Vee, I saw a picture like I'd never seen in the paper.' 'A picture of what?' I asked. 'A picture of a virtually naked woman!' Al said. 'A naked woman?' I said. 'Well, not completely naked, but pretty damn naked,' Al explained. 'All she had on was a skimpy bikini that didn't cover much of anything. I looked pretty closely at that picture, and it seemed like the woman in the bikini should be starring in one of those commercials where they talk about shavers that ladies can use in areas where there is unwanted hair--if you know what I mean.' 'Interesting, Al,' I said. 'I think I know what you mean.' I maybe got a paper yesterday, but I didn't read it. I was busy doing other stuff. There's never anything in the Monday paper anyway. They should probably quit putting one out on Mondays. It's a joke. After Al had two cups of Italian Dark Roast and went back home, I finally located the paper--and the photo--that Al was talking about. The photo was of somebody named Chelsea Lawson, who is described as a bodybuilder. And Al was right. She doesn't wear much in the way of clothing. I guess the paper's editors, who are trying everything to boost the paper's sagging circulation numbers, now have resorted to publishing pictures of nearly-naked women. They've already tried telling readers who have canceled their subscriptions that they'll give 'em a month of papers free if they'll subscribe for a month. That evidently hasn't brought back any readers. I doubt printing pictures of naked women will help either. Meanwhile, back to reality. I've got to bring my garbage can back up to the house. The guy driving the garbage truck always leaves the lid to the can open after he empties my garbage, and I don't like it when rain falls in my can [my garbage can, that is].

Chelsea Lawson. Photo courtesy of Google.

I'm ready for the rain that the weather forecasts say is on the way. Indeed, I can hear the rumbles of thunder in the west now. Thanks to Mark, my son, the branches, twigs and leaves left over from 2013 are gone from our lawn, the grass has been cut for the first time in 2014, and the fertilizer is on. So now the rain is welcome. If the upcoming summer is anything like the last couple of summers, there won't be a drop of rain in June, July and August, so let's enjoy the wet stuff now. And, oh, by the way, I wasn't just a spectator when all of that yard-work was taking place yesterday. I managed to pick up a few branches and I cut some of the grass with the Honda mulching mower that Mark brought back to life. Because it performed so well, it now wears a label that says, 'The Official Mulching Mower Of This Website.' Today after church and lunch, my Sunday game plan is to take a 2-mile indoor walk, then watch it rain and watch the grass grow and get greeener.

Courtesy of Google

There are thousands, maybe millions, of people around the world who have no time for Lolo Jones' silliness. I'm certainly one of them. I care nothing about what Lolo.Jones, the Circus Act, does or says. She is the most over-hyped, over-rated athlete of modern-day track. When she loses, which is most of the time these days, she makes up one excuse after another. It's never her fault. She's a has-been, a never-was and a never-will-be. After flopping--again--in the Winter Olympics, she needed some sucker to do a public relations number with her, and she found a couple--the paper here and its cheerleader sports columnist, who evidently doesn't have a clue about what a joke she really is. I was having a pleasant morning until someone put a paper in front of me at the coffeehouse, accompanied by the question, 'How the hell did Lolo Jones get in here again? Aren't there a lot more things to write about the Drake Relays than Lolo?' You'd certainly think so. The Drake Relays is a class act. It deserves much better than Lolo Jones.

Circus  poster courtesy of Barnum & Bailey

An Artist At Work

Even though Valley High School has been without an auditorium throughout the school year while a new one is being constructed, the drama and music departments have consistently produced excellent performances. The latest is "Cinderella: The Ash Girl," which staged its dress rehearsal Thursday night in the makeshift Jordan Park Camp facility at 2251 Fuller Road in West Des Moines. Performances will be held at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. It's a lively show, well worth the drive.

A "Mirror" [left] and a "Fly" [right] in Valley High School's "Cinderella: The Ash Girl"

I think I've seen about everything now. Listed in the TOP NEWS list on the paper's website late this afternoon was this item: Where will Willie Atwood play D1 college hoops? Nothing like that for a tease, right? Well, it turns out that Pat Harty of the Iowa City Press Citizen, not of the paper here, says Atwood has picked Arizona State over Iowa and Florida State to play his Division I collegiate basketball. 'The package deal that junior college point guard Trey Dickerson had talked so enthusiastically about since committing to Iowa in March is a no-go,' Harty wrote. 'Dickerson’s hopes of playing on the same team as Willie Atwood ended on Thursday when the 6-foot-8 Atwood picked Arizona State over Iowa and Florida State. Atwood visited all three schools this spring, beginning with Iowa on the final weekend of March. He visited Florida State on the weekend of April 10 and Arizona State this past weekend.' Top news, huh? I'm guessing it was a slow news day.

Pat Harty

I received a message on Facebook from my friend Jay Davidson, who wondered if I had read what he wrote about the Chicago Cubs. Jay sent his message that after seeing what I wrote yesterday about the Cubs, who are a sorry excuse for a major league baseball team. I told Jay that I'd been searching for what he wrote about the Cubs, but that I hadn't found it yet, and hopefully he would send me a copy of his text. I'm sure it was a thoughtful, extremely well-written post by a man who is a talented wordsmith. I also mentioned to Jay that, the way I'm looking at it, the Cubs are setting me up for a very pleasant May, June, July, August and September. Because I won't have to waste any time at all watching the Cubs play on TV, I'll be able to accomplish some meaningful things. Hopefully, those things won't include falling off the official bicycle of this column or going to Sec Taylor Stadium for anything.

Jay Davidson

It was anything but a happy 100th birthday today for Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cubs [as only they can do] managed to blow a 3-run lead in the ninth inning and lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-5. Before the game, one or two of us thought the Diamondbacks were the worst team in professional baseball. Foolish thinking, indeed. The Cubs are definitely the most-ridiculous, least-talented, poorly-managed team not only in this 2014 season, but perhaps in the history of the sport. Like I wrote earlier, it was a very drab 100th birthday for Wrigley Field. And now I'm thinking it will be another century or longer before the Cubs are able to climb out of last place in the National League Central standings.

Courtesy of Norman Rockwell

I've been on the road a lot lately, and certainly haven't spent any time reading newspapers. Of course, I wouldn't have been reading any papers if I'd been home, either. I did hear from a guy, though, who occasionally reads the paper in Des Moines, but only when he goes to the Franklin library once or twice a week. 'You can't believe anything in that paper,' the guy tells me in an email. 'I'm a fan of the Chicago Cubs, and I checked the National League standings this morning to see if the Cubs were still in last place. They were, but the National League Central standings in the paper were a day old. I heard on last night's telecast of the Cubs' game that they have a 7-12 record, but the paper says they're 6-12. They didn't even have the score of last night's win over Arizona. In fact, the paper didn't have the scores of six major league games that were played last night.' I guess that extra space provided to the paper by USA Today isn't working out so well after all. The scores get in the paper, providing the games are finished by 7 p.m. the day before. Meanwhile, back to the Internet.

*

Another example of how people at the paper don't know what they're doing [and don't know the news they're missing]: The mother of a man I know died last Saturday morning, but her obituary wasn't published in the paper until today. "The damn Des Moines Register was supposed to have her obituary in the paper Tuesday through Thursday [the day of the funeral]," the man told friends. "But they messed up. Then they said what about running the obituary in Friday's paper? A lot of good that would do one day after the funeral."  Just think, that family is being charged a ton of money by a newspaper that screwed up the publishing of the obituary.

The Day I Wore My Cowboy Suit To Pre-School

By RON MALY

I'd like to write about public transportation for a few minutes.

I go way back with streetcars, buses, ships and airplanes, and I've had a number of adventures on all four of those types of travel.

Photo of a streetcar from the 1930s courtesy of Google

It all began when I was 4 years of age, and my mother enrolled me in pre-school classes in Cedar Rapids.

When I was 4, I thought I knew everything.

We had a car when I was 4. My dad bought a new 1937 two-door Chevy, and I rode in it a lot.

The Chevy turned out to be the only new car my dad was able to buy, and I was always happy he could swing the deal.

My brother wasn't born until 1940, so I was still the only star of the show in 1937, when I was 2, and in 1939, when I was 4.

Because my dad needed the '37 Chevy to drive to work at the big city fire station in downtown Cedar Rapids, my mother and I took the streetcar that stopped in front of our home on 18th Avenue Southwest so I could get to my pre-school classes.

I don't think I went to those classes every day of the week. 

Maybe just on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, I stayed home.

Or at least I was supposed to stay home.

But on one particular Tuesday or Thursday, I recall getting pretty darn adventuresome.

I was wearing what my mother and I called my "cowboy suit"--an outfit with fur [no doubt fake fur] on the legs, and maybe even the shirt and vest.

I probably also had a holster and a toy 6-shooter on my waist.

It was never intended that I should wear the cowboy suit to pre-school.

But one day I did.

Like I said earlier, on one particular Tuesday or Thursday, I got far too adventuresome.

With my cowboy suit on one morning, I was outdoors by myself.

I saw the streetcar coming down the hill.

So I proceeded to do what I thought I was supposed to do.

I got on the streetcar.

I must have had the money required for the trip or the driver would never have let me get on.

Actually, I don't know now why the driver even let a 4-year-old kid get on the streetcar at all, whether the kid had money or not.

Anyway, I knew where to get off the streetcar when it arrived downtown, and I knew the building where my pre-school classes were held.

When I arrived at the school, the teacher was immediately alarmed.

She said something like, "Ronnie, you're not supposed to be here today, and you're not supposed to be wearing your cowboy suit to school. I'm going to call your mother."

The teacher contacted my mother on the phone, saying something like, "Mrs. Maly, I'd like to put you at ease. Ronnie came to school today, wearing his cowboy suit, and he's not supposed to be here."

Arrangements were made to take me home, and my mother made it clear to me that if I ever took the streetcar downtown alone, whether I was wearing my cowboy suit or not, something bad was going to happen to me.

In recent years, I've talked about that episode a number of times with my family, but this is the first time I've ever written about it.

You know what?  I also intended to write about the bus trip I took yesterday in this column.

After all, my subject is supposed to be public transportation.

But I've already written enough this morning.

I'll save the bus story for another day.

Down the road, I'll maybe write about some of the airplane and boat trips I've taken, too.

Right now, though, it's time to pour another cup of coffee. 

I'll see you later.

What a Day!

By RON MALY

The weather couldn't have been more beautiful for Easter in Minnesota. Or anywhere else. A wonderful late-morning church service at Eastern Heights Lutheran in  St. Paul, followed by a classic holiday ham-and-walleye dinner with all the fix'ins, then a relaxing afternoon with family and friends on the deck overlooking the nature preserve in Woodbury, where the deer and wild turkeys roam, and the pond where the geese and ducks swim. The sunny, 74-degree afternoon made up for those 20-below, snowy, windy days in the winter. We'll, a couple of 'em anyway.

Wishing You a Blessed Easter

By RON MALY

This is Holy Week and we're doing The Church Tour in the Twin Cities. It helps that a number of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod churches in the St. Paul/Woodbury, Minn., area provide both late-morning and night services at the Easter season. That enabled us to attend both the 11:30 a.m. Maundy Thursday service at Emmaus Lutheran Church, 1074 Idaho Avenue West in St. Paul, and the 7:30 p.m. Service at Woodbury Lutheran.  A feature of the service at Emmaus was Michael Dorner's expert work at the pipe organ with such hymns as"When You Awoke That Thursday Morning," "O Lord We Praise Thee" and the distribution hymn "Draw Near and Take the Body Of The Lord." The reason we went to both services was because our granddaughter Shelby was busy with her classes at Concordia Academy during the day, but was able to join everyone else at the 7:30 service at Woodbury. Lutheran at night.  A highlight has been that another of our granddaughters, Shelby's older older sister, Jerika,  has been in Woodbury all week while on break from her classes at Concordia-Irvine University in Irvine, Calif. There was no school for Shelby on Friday, so everyone was able to attend Eastern Heights Lutheran Church, 616 Ruth Street in St. Paul--with Rev. Steve Benson in charge, Mark Krause at that the organ and piano and Kathy Jacobson the soloist--at the 11:30 a.m. Good Friday service. We'll be going to the 10:45 a.m. service at Eastern Heights Lutheran on Easter.  I hope all of you have a Blessed Easter.

Mike Takes a Dive

By RON MALY

I'm on the road today, but that doesn't mean I'm not keeping up with what's going on back home. My Neighbor Al, the Health Nut, and his wife Diane have my mobile phone number, and they check in with me whenever they think something happens that I need to know. Indeed, Diane called me today, and wondered if I'd heard about Our Neighbor Mike. "I haven't heard a thing about Mike," I said. "What happened, did he get a promotion at the copier place or something?" "No, nothing like that," Diane answered. "It's worse. Mike fell on the ground in his backyard, broke his shoulder in four places, and the doctors already have given him a new shoulder."  "Wow, thanks for telling me, Diane, but I really feel sorry for Mike," I said. "He's not that old of a guy to be needing a new shoulder already.  I think he's only about 54." "You're right about that," Diane  said. " There's just one problem with this whole thing. Now that Al heard about Mike's new shoulder, he wants one, too." Doesn't surprise me at all. He didn't get the name Al, the Health Nut by accident.

It's a good thing I woke up early today, as I do on most Sundays. My Neighbor Al, the Health Nut, was up even earlier. Al was already reading the paper at Hy-Vee when he called on the phone while I was on my second cup of Italian Dark Roast. 'I know you've got a busy day today, so I wanted to mention something to you before you get started,' Al said. 'I brought my laptop with me to Hy-Vee because I always like to check the New York Times to get the latest health news. You may or may not believe this, but I saw a story in the Times that said drinking milk might slow the progression of knee arthritis.' 'That's good to know,' I said. 'My left knee bothered me every once in a while. But I haven't had any trouble with it for several years. Maybe it's because I've been drinking more milk. But I don't drink dairy milk, I drink soy milk and flax milk. In fact, I'm about ready to make myself my usual bowl of raisin bran with pumpkin seeds and flax seeds and soy milk. Maybe that's why my knees have been feeling so good lately.' 'Well, I've got a thought,' Al said. 'Maybe you and I should quit drinking Italian Dark Roast so often when we talk about Iowa and UNI football and how bad the paper is. What do you think about drinking milk instead?' 'Listen, Al,' I said. 'We don't need to go to that extreme. I'll keep drinking plenty of soy and flax milk, but I'm not going off Italian Dark Roast completely. In fact, I'm pouring myself another cup right now.' It's good to have a neighbor like Al.

How'd you like to come home on a Friday and say to your wife and kids, 'I'm having a pretty good day. The boss gave me a $600,000 raise, so now I'm making $2.6 million a year. Anybody want to go out to eat tonight?' Getting back to reality, those kinds of things happen to very few people these days, and the man they call The Mayor at Iowa State University is one of them. The Mayor was re-elected today for what Cyclone athletic director Jamie Pollard hopes is a lifetime. The 41-year-old Hoiberg, whose Iowa State basketball team won 28 games, including the Big 12 Conference tournament, in the recently-completed season, is rapidly becoming one of the best and most highly-respected coaches in collegiate basketball . Pollard, obviously fearful that an NBA team or another Division I university might try to lure Hoiberg away from Ames, acted quickly on the huge pay raise. Frankly, I didn't think Hoiberg was ready to jump to any other job. He's tailor-made for the school where he was a standout player, and I'm sure his family loves it that he's the Cyclones' coach. It's a great match. The $600,000 raise means Pollard has extreme confidence in Hoiberg. My prediction is that Hoiberg will continue winning big at Iowa State, and could bring an NCAA championship to his university one of these years. Nice going, Fred, and wise move, Jamie.

Pam Allen's Grapefruit Pie

By RON MALY

It's been a pleasure having the husband-and-wife team of Reid and Pam Allen at our recent Free Pie Day experiences at the Village Inn restaurant in West Des Moines.

I've known Pam and Reid for many years, starting when Reid was the athletic ticket manager at Drake.

I've always maintained that Reid's crowd estimates at the Bulldogs' games were the most accurate in the university's long athletic history.

After one of our Free Pie Day excursions, Pam treated Mike Mahon and me to a kind of pie to take home that isn't on the menu at Village Inn.

It's called Grapefruit Pie, and it didn't last long once I brought it into my kitchen.

Later, both Mahon and I asked Pam for the recipe, and she was happy to oblige.

"Either you love the pie or you hate it -- so I won't feel bad if you're in the 'hate' category," Pam said to me in an email.

Well, I'll tell you, there's no "hate" connected with Pam's Grapefruit Pie.

For any of the rest of you who want to try it, here's the recipe furnished by her:

GRAPEFRUIT PIE

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked (I used an already made graham cracker pie crust)

4 pink grapefruit

3/4 cup grapefruit juice (see below)

1/4 - 1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin

DIRECTIONS:

Peel grapefruit, removing all pith, and cut out the individual sections.  Cut each section up into bite size pieces.  Drain in a strainer for 4 or more hours saving the juice.  This can be done the day before.

Combine the sugar, cornstarch and 3/4 cup of the collected juice in a small saucepan.  If the collected juice does not measure 3/4 cup, top it off with water.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the strawberry gelatin.  Cool to room temperature.

Spread the grapefruit pieces in the bottom of the baked shell and pour the gelatin over the fruit.  Cover and chill.  Top with whipped cream when serving.

ENJOY!!!!

*

MY BIRDWATCHING VENTURE

I wrote about Pam and Reid Allen in one of these columns several weeks ago because I recalled that they were among a group of central Iowans I  accompanied on a birdwatching venture in July, 1991.

The paper was looking for offbeat activities in which Iowans participate, and birdwatching certainly can be classified as offbeat.

Because the birdwatching experience I had was 23 years ago, I mentioned to Pam and Reid that I'd forgotten exactly what I wrote about it.

I vividly remember the 19 consecutive seasons of non-winning football I observed at the University of Iowa, but I couldn't recall the nature of my birdwatching story.

I didn't  have a clipping of the story, and neither did Pam and Reid.

However, a friend of theirs had a clipping, and made a copy of it for them and me. In the story, I featured Eugene Armstrong, a Booneville farmer who was regarded as the state's best birdwatcher.

Included in what I wrote:

"Birdwatching is an activity that involves statistics. The longer you're in it, the longer your list of birds. Armstrong said his goal this year is 300 species, and he already has reached 281.

"Birdwatching is done on the honor system. Reid Allen of West Des Moines compares it to golf.

"'Say you hit your golf ball to the left side of the fairway, and I hit it to the right side,' Allen said. 'We finish the hole. You shoot a 5 and I shoot a 6. That's what we write on our scorecards.'"

By the way, I took a photo of Eugene and Eloise Armstrong that accompanied the  story I wrote for the July 8, 1991 paper. 

Darn good picture of 'em, if I say so myself.

*

THE JASPERS & THE 7TH-INNING STRETCH

I think it was on the same day that Pam and Reid Allen talked about grapefruit pie that Reid gave a quiz to Mahon, who was Drake's sports information director for many years, and me.

"Do either of you know what a Jasper is?" he asked.

I thought maybe a Jasper was a bird that Gene Armstrong had maybe seen on a birdwatching venture, but I was wrong.

Actually, the Jaspers are what the athletic teams at Manhattan College are called. 

Like Iowa Hawkeyes, Drake Bulldogs and Iowa State Cyclones.

The Manhattan Jaspers.

So how did Manhattan, which played in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament, become the Jaspers?

Well, Dave Caldwell of the Wall Street Journal points out that "the nickname apparently originated with the college's baseball team in the late 1800s, which Brennan O'Donnell [Manhattan's president] understands first came to be called 'Brother Jasper's Boys,' a nod to the team's first coach.

"That coach, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., was the Catholic school's Prefect of Students, supervising the fans at Manhattan College baseball games while also coaching the team. He is also widely believed to have started a baseball tradition that continues to this day: the seventh-inning stretch...

"Brother Jasper of Mary was assigned to Manhattan College, where he stayed for all but one school year (when he was assigned to a school in Buffalo) until he died of 'congestion of the lung' on April 9, 1895. Brother Jasper is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.

"Amy Surak, the college's archivist, said Brother Jasper was born Joseph Brennan in County Kilkenny, Ireland, on July 1, 1829. He moved to St. Louis, where he entered the Christian Brothers academy. He became Brother Jasper of Mary in 1851.

"'He was a tall, stout gentleman who was noted to be very kind and sympathetic," Surak wrote in an email, "but a strong disciplinarian.'

"As Prefect of Students, Brother Jasper was also the athletic director, band director, resident student adviser, head of the literary society and, most notably, Prefect of Discipline. Besides coaching the baseball team, he made sure that students in the stands sat up straight during the games.

"Brother Jasper started the school's baseball program in 1863, six years before the first pro baseball team was founded. In June of 1882, Manhattan was playing a semipro team known as the Metropolitans (not to be confused with the current semipro Metropolitans) in a park at 107th Street.

"It was a muggy day, and the students became too fidgety for Brother Jasper's liking. Entering the bottom of the seventh inning of what was said to be a close game, he called time out and instructed the students to stand and stretch their legs for a few minutes. He was pleased with the results and had the students do it again during later games.

"Brother Jasper's team also played exhibition games at the Polo Grounds against the New York Giants, and the Giants' fans joined in, launching a baseball tradition.

"President William Howard Taft, who weighed more than 300 pounds, would later be credited with creating the seventh-inning stretch when he stood from his rickety chair at a game in Washington on April 14, 1910..."

    Brother Jasper, center, with the Manhattan College baseball team of 1886 Manhattan College/Wall Street Journal

I was very sorry to learn of the death of Paul Seltz of Clive, a good friend of mine for more than five decades. Paul was a strong Christian and a man I got to know at Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Des Moines. Indeed, he and his wife, Millie, were proxy Godparents at the baptism of our second son, Mark, at Mount Olive Lutheran when winter road conditions prevented two relatives from making the trip from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines in 1961. A son-in-law of Paul and Millie Seltz is Tim McClelland of West Des Moines, who is regarded as the best umpire in major league baseball.

Here is Paul Seltz's obituary, courtesy of Hamilton Funeral Homes:

Paul H. Seltz

a

Paul Herman Seltz, age 92, passed away on the 7th day of April 2014.

He was born on October 28, 1921 in McIntosh, MN to the Rev. Paul J. and Regina Nibbe Seltz.

Paul graduated from Humboldt High School, St. Paul, MN in 1940. He attended the University of Minnesota and St. Paul College of Law.

Paul served in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Ranger from 1943-1946 and was discharged as a 1st Lieutenant in the infantry. His military service included time as an instructor and in the South Pacific theatre, primarily in the Philippine Islands.

In 1947, he married Mildred “Millie” DeHaan in St. Paul, MN. In 1948, they moved to Des Moines, IA. They were blessed with four children: Paul F. "Rusty" (Dee) Seltz of St. Paul. MN, Kathy Lantz of Chesterfield, MO, Karen Seltz of Windsor Heights, IA and Sandy (Tim) McClelland of West Des Moines, IA. They have enjoyed five grandchildren: Justin (Meghan) Lone of Old Saybrook, CT, Sara (Steve) Gresh of Galena, OH, Cole McClelland of Kansas City, MO, Molly McClelland of West Des Moines, IA and Maggie McClelland of West Des Moines, IA. Additionally, they have one great-grandchild, Hudson Paul Gresh.

Paul is survived by three siblings: Rolland (Murt) Seltz of St. Paul, MN, Douglas (Evelyn) Seltz of Mosinee, WI and Mary (John) Hendrickson-Krogman of Cupertino, CA. His sister, Eunice Lawrenz-Smith, and brother, Richard Seltz preceded him into the Kingdom of God.

While a gifted athlete and businessman, Paul retired as President and Board Chairman of National Travelers Life Insurance Company of Des Moines. Paul prided himself on his work on behalf of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, particularly their education and outreach programs.

In the early 60's, Paul was proud to be instrumental in the establishment of a Christian Day School at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Des Moines. At Mt Olive, he also served as congregational president and was a member of the Board of Elders. Paul served for 9 years on the Board of Directors at Concordia University, St. Paul, MN and twelve years on the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Foundation Board in St. Louis. He most recently served on the "Alive in Christ" committee of the Iowa District West of the LCMS, to raise funds to start new congregations in the district. He established scholarship endowments at Concordia University in St. Paul and at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, IN.

Paul had many interests. He enjoyed reading; golf and baseball were his passion and he also enjoyed most other sports. He found great enjoyment in keeping up with his grandchildren, their activities, families and career paths.

Visitation will be Sunday, April 13 from 2-6 PM and Monday, April 14 from 10-10:45 AM at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 8301 Aurora Ave. in Urbandale. The Funeral Service will be Monday at 11 AM at Gloria Dei. A private interment will be held at Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, IA.

Memorials may be sent to The Seltz Family Endowment Fund at Concordia University, 275 Syndicate St. N., St. Paul, MN 55104 or Hospice Care of Central Iowa, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265.

Hamilton's on Westown Parkway is handling the arrangements. Online condolences may be left for the family at: www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

People at the paper finally got around to reporting this morning that the rest of Veishea [the 2014 version] has been told to take a hike. Canceled, I mean. Called off. Hopefully, not just 2014, but permanently. The horrible thing has outworn its welcome. For about 20 years, Veishea has turned into a public relations nightmare for Iowa State. Can you imagine what the parents of some kid who plans to enroll at the school next fall are thinking when they see the video of cops throwing students to the ground in little ol' Ames? One too many cars has been turned over by drunken students. This week, a few too many students have been wrestled to the street and pinned to it by cops. Yeah, the paper finally caught wind of what was going on and sent somebody to Ames to report on that mess. More than 24 hours after everybody from Facebook, Twitter, Juno, G-mail, Linkedin and whatever TV station you like to watch reported on it, of course. If you're thinking the paper is trying to put out a front page with no ink in the well and with the reporters wearing handcuffs, you're correct. Actually, I feel sorry for the veterans at the paper, if there actually are any veterans left. The paper's 20-Year Club vanished quite a whlie ago because nobody was allowed to stay that long in the newsroom. They were escorted to the side door by security people after their 19 years, or 19 days, were up. Either that or Gannett. Co. management no longer wanted to pay for the wrist-watches that were supposed to go to people when they made it to the 20-Year Club. The reason there wasn't a word in yesterday's paper about the crime scene in Ames was because it took place at 11 o'clock the night before, and nobody in the newsroom knew'about it or couldn't do anything about it if they did. The paper's deadlines are so early now that Babe Ruth could die again at 11 p.m., and there'd be no story about it for 24 hours or more. The same thing happened with the fire in the Younkers building. It happened in the early-morning hours, and there was nothing in the paper for more than 24 hours. Yet, the paper's house ads [those are the advertisements begging you to subscribe to the paper for a You-Buy-It-for-a-Month-and-We'll-Give-You-11-Months-Free deal] keep saying, "We reported it first." The editors are lying to themselves and to everyone else. They don't get anything to you first anymore unless it's your subscription statement. Back to the mess at Veishea for a minute. I hope that woman whose picture was taken while she was crying because Veishea was canceled wasn't one of the people who was turning over cars the night before.

     Photo courtesy of Iowa State Daily and Google.

Iowa State Officials Did What I Told 'Em To Do Today. They Canceled the Rest of Veishea, 2014. Actually, I Didn't Even Know the Thing Had Started Until I Read That Someone Was Seriously Injured Late Last Night. Iowa State Had No Choice But to Call Off the Rest Of Veishea, and I Hope They Cancel It Permanently. Combining Rowdy People With Alcohol In the Spring On a College Campus Is Never a Good Thing.

This is an earlier story:

Here we go again. Veishea is in the news again--and it's not good news. It's terrible news. Here's the report I saw on Facebook from KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids:

Riots broke out overnight during the Veishea celebration at Iowa State University. The annual student celebration of spring has had a troubled history, and it bubbled up again overnight.

Students in Ames gathered on the streets around campus at around 11 p.m. Tuesday. Police said students flipped over at least two cars then they pulled out two light poles, four stop signs and shattered one of the fire station windows.

Rioters filled the streets, according to police, stretching about a block and a half from Stanton Avenue to Lincoln Way, some of them on top of nearby buildings, throwing off beer cans, fireworks and rocks.

At least one person was seriously injured and flown to a Des Moines hospital after a light pole fell on his head. A handful of other students were also injured.

Police arrested several students and were finally able to break it up about an hour after it started.

"We weren't getting much cooperation early on in getting anyone to leave and you know, when we get the objects thrown at us, it gets pretty dangerous for the officers," said Police Cmdr. Geoff Huff.

Police are asking for the public's' help in identifying those responsible for damage in the riot.

ISU President Steven Leath released a statement early Wednesday. "We are all distraught and disappointed over the events that have unfolded... I can confirm one of our students has been seriously injured... At this time, I ask everyone to keep this student in your thoughts and prayers. My senior cabinet will convene first thing in the morning to assess this situation and evaluate options for the remainder of our official Veishea activities planned for this week."

A riot in 2004 during the Veishea celebration caused more than $200,000 damage and led to the celebration's cancellation in 2005.

RON MALY'S COMMENTS--I can recall a number of years ago when Iowa state officials called such people as then-Iowa State basketball coach and then-Cyclone football coach Dan McCarney at home  in the middle of the night and asked them to help stop the crap that was going on during so-called Veishea celebrations. I said then that Veishea should be canceled permanently, and that's how I feel now. This is terrible stuff  to be happening on a college campus, and it isn't even the weekend yet.

This news was sent to me today by Matt Weitzel of Iowa's sports information staff: University of Iowa basketball coach Fran McCaffery announced Tuesday that Darius Stokes and Kyle Meyer have decided to transfer from the program and have been granted a full release from their scholarships. Stokes (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was with the Iowa program for four years -- three as a walkon and earning a scholarship this past season. Stokes is scheduled to graduate in May and is eligible to play his final season of collegiate basketball immediately upon transferring. The 6-foot-7, 208-pound forward averaged 0.4 points and 0.7 rebounds in limited action off the bench in 38 career games. “Darius is a tremendous individual who helped our program in a variety of ways the last four years,” said McCaffery. “In addition to improving his skillset each year, he provided incredible enthusiasm and energy in practices and on game days. Darius would like to take advantage of graduating in May and continuing his career at an institution that will provide him an opportunity for more playing time. We are thankful and appreciative of his commitment the past four years and wish Darius all the best moving forward.” Stokes is the son of former Iowa standout Greg Stokes. Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) played one season with the Hawkeyes after redshirting as a rookie in 2012-13. Last season, Meyer averaged 0.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in limited time in 12 games as a redshirt freshman. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward will have three years of collegiate eligibility remaining. “Kyle and I had a healthy discussion at the conclusion of the season,” McCaffery said. “Ultimately he has decided to pursue more playing time and a larger role at another institution. Kyle has great work ethic and tremendous character, and will be a valuable teammate wherever he decides to go. We appreciate his hard work and positive attitude the last two years. Kyle has a bright future and we will assist him any way we can.” Iowa will have 10 letterwinners return in 2014-15, including three starters. Nine of the 10 letterwinners are upperclassmen.

Steve Roe, Iowa's sports information director, sent the following information to me this morning in an email: The University of Iowa football coaching staff will conduct a Coaches Mini-Clinic Saturday at the Valley Community Center in West Des Moines. The clinic will feature coach Kirk Ferentz and all members of the Hawkeye coaching staff. The clinic is free for all high school coaches and will be held from 9:45 a.m. to noon. The Valley Community Center is located at 4444 Fuller Road in West Des Moines. No pre-registration is required, as coaches can sign in Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. For further information, coaches can contact Ben Hansen or Terry Armstrong (319-335-8943) at the Iowa football offices. The clinic will precede Iowa’s open practice at Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, which is set to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday will mark the midway point in spring practice for the Hawkeyes, who are visiting West Des Moines for practice for the second straight spring. There is no admission charge for Saturday’s practice, but tickets are required. Less than 500 free tickets remain for the event. After 4 p.m. Tuesday (April 8), all remaining tickets for the event will be available at the Hy-Vee Food Store location at 555 51st Street in West Des Moines. Iowa will conclude spring drills with the annual spring game on Saturday, April 26, in Kinnick Stadium (2 p.m.). The Hawkeyes, who posted an 8-5 overall record a year ago while concluding the season in the Outback Bowl, open the 2014 season Aug. 30, hosting Northern Iowa.

I wrote yesterday that I hoped neither Connecticut nor Kentucky would win tonight's NCAA barasketball championship. There was no particular reason for me to care for either team. I've disliked Kentucky's program ever since Adolph Rupp coached there, and I like it even less now that John Calipari is there. I'm in the habit of hoping underdogs win championships, and Kentucky is certainly no underdog. For that matter, neither is Connecticut, which is the team that knocked Iowa State out of the tournament with an 81-76 victory in the Sweet Sixteen at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Every season, Kentucky's Calipari has a teamful of blue-chip, broad-shouldered freshmen who look like they're 35 years of age and have been in the NBA for 15 years. That said, I guess I'm kind of happy that Connecticut won the title with a 60-54 victory in Arlington, TX. The Huskies' roster certainly doesn't cause a person to use the term student-athlete because Connecticut has a sorry history of not having players in its program who leave the campus with degrees. But I'm glad the Huskies' Kevin Ollie outcoached Calipari, who admitted to TV viewers after the game that he went into the last half thinking his team would win. Ollie and his players wouldn't let it happen. Good for them.

Julie Hermann is my kind of athletic director. She calls 'em like she sees 'em. Hermann is fairly new at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey that will be a member of the Big Ten Cnference next fall. She's in the news now, the Associated Press reports via ESPN.com, after telling a class earlier this year that it would be "great" if New Jersey's largest newspaper went out of business. [That would be like the athletic director at Iowa State saying it would be great if the Des Moines Register went out of business]. Rutgers said in a statement today that Hermann's remarks to a media ethics and law class in February came before she knew about massive layoffs at the Newark Star-Ledger. The paper's parent company, Advance Publications, said last week that 300 employees at its newspapers and websites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including 170 at the Newark paper, will lose their jobs. [Sounds like the Gannett Co., owner of the Register and the Iowa City Press-Citizen, right?] "If they're not writing headlines that ae getting attention, they're not selling ads--and they die," Hermann said. "And the Ledger almost died in June, right?" A student responded, "They might die again next month." Said Hermann: "That would be great. I'm going to do all I can to not give them a headline to keep them alive." Hermann also said one person at the newspaper has "one mission, that's to get any AD at Rutgers fired." In a statement, Rutgers said Hermann's statements were "intended to give the students some understanding of the challenges she has faced" and were not expected to be made public. Hermann did not apologize. The Newark newspaper was the first to report in May that Hermann was accused of being verbally and emotionally abusive to volleyball players she coached at Tennessee in 1996. At Rutgers, she replaced Tim Pernetti, who was forced to resign because of his handling of men's basketball coach Mike Rice's situation at the school. Rice was fired a year ago after it came to light that he had verbally and physically abused players.

Julie Hermann, courtesy of U of L Card Game, com/ESPN.com

A few items on a Sunday when I'm wondering if and when there will ever be a spring of 2014. As usual, I shook hands with the Rev. Kendall Meyer, who is in his second month of being The Official Pastor of this column, on my way out of church this morning. Sometimes, whether it's the baseball season or not, Kendall and I talk about the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs on my exit from church. 'Have the Cubs won a game yet?' he asked me today. 'Yes, just one,' I answered. Kendall, a life-long Cardinals fan, knows I've been suffering along with millions of other Cubs fans for a very long time. 'Well, you can always come over to the Cardinals' side,' he told me today. 'Why not join a winner?' My answer: 'Kendall, things have to be a whole lot worse than they are now for me to hope the Cardinals win.' Now I have an update. The Cubs won their second game of the week-old season today by thrashing Philadelphia, 8-3. Their record is now 2-4. St. Louis lost at Pittsburgh, 2-1, and is now 3-3. I see that 79,444 basketball fans were in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, last night for the first two games of the NCAA Final Four event. That's an all-time record for a Final Four, and it was the largest crowd in the that particular arena for a basketball game. Consequently, the NCAA made a lot of money, none of which goes to the players. No wonder collegiate athletes are trying to join labor unions. AT&T Stadium is where the Dallas Cowboys play their home games. I got plenty of views of it while watching last night's basketball games on TV. I'm sure glad I didn't buy a ticket because I saw plenty of seats that I would label as terrible. They were high [the seats and maybe also the people sitting in them] and behind the basket. Fans sitting there looked like they were in a different zip code than the court on which the teams were playing. Tomorrow night's championship game between Kentucky and Connecticut is a ho-hum deal for me. Frankly, I hope neither team wins.

Stunned

By RON MALY

I wonder what John Wooden would be saying about this. 

Or Maury John. 

Actually, I began doing a lot of wondering

while fumbling through the DirecTV directory on my Sony this evening. 

I knew it was Saturday [or at least I was fairly certain it was Saturday] and I knew the NCAA Final Four basketball games were supposed to be starting. 

But I couldn't find the opening game between Florida and Connecticut anywhere on the TV screen. 

I thought it was a bit strange that, at 5:30 p.m., channel 8 was running a CBS national news show, and I thought it was even stranger that, at 6 p.m., KCCI was doing its local news.

 "Where the heck is the NCAA tournament?" I asked myself. One of the many good things about being at my stage in life is that I don't have to pay a lot of attention to things  things I cannot control, or don't want to control. 

So I certainly didn't check my iPad, my desktop and my laptop to make sure today's games would be on CBS-TV. 

After all, for the past 33 seasons, the entire Final Four had been on CBS.

Finally, I turned on my iPad when I couldn't find the Final Four, googled  "2014 NCAA tournament" and found out tonight's games were not on CBS.  

When my answer came that the games were on something called truTV and TNT, I was stunned.  

So, finally, at halftime of the first game--with Connecticut ahead of Florida, 25-22--I located the game on truTV, which happens to be channel 246 on DirecTV. 

I certainly  had watched games on truTV earlier in the tournament, and on TNT and CBS, too. 

But I had no idea the Final Four semifinal round games would be farmed out to truTV and TNT, and  that CBS wouldn't get into the act until Monday night's championship game.  

Like I said, I wonder what John Wooden, who all but owned the NCAA tournament when he coached at UCLA, and Maury John, whose 1969 Drake team lost to UCLA, 85-82, in the semifinal round and eventually wound up third in the Final Four, would think if they were told they'd be playing on truTV. 

I, of course, wasn't the only one who was stunned tonight.

So was Florida, which had its 30-game winning streak halted by Connecticut, 63-53.  So it'll be the Huskies who play Kentucky for the national championship Monday night.

Kentucky rallied to beat Wisconsin, 74-73, in tonight's second game.  

That, of course, was a result that broke the hearts of every Badgers fan, every Big Ten Conference fan and everyone [and there are plenty of us] who can't stand it whenever Kentucky coach John Calipari  wins any game.

My Golf Clubs Will Stay In the Garage

By RON MALY

First of all, I want to point out that I haven't played golf for at least two or three years, and I have no plans to hit the links in 2014. 

I certainly have nothing against the sport, but I decided long ago that I had neither the time nor the talent required to play a round of golf  that I actually enjoyed. 

I mean, I'm so bad on the tees, the fairways and the greens that I'd need to live another 50 years to be able to shoot my age.

I thoroughly enjoy walking in the sun for two or three hours on a spring, summer and fall day, but having a golf club in my hands wouldn't make me any happier. 

I also don't watch golf on TV, and I don't read about golf.

I certainly know who Tiger Woods is, but I don't give a damn that he's not going to be playing in the upcoming Masters tournament.  

In addition, I've never read Golf Digest magazine, and I won't be reading the upcoming  issue that's got a photo of Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of former hockey standout Wayne Gretzky, on the cover.

The reason I'm bringing all of this up is that some golfers on the women's professional golf tour view the Golf Digest cover as a lack of respect.

They wonder why Golf Digest put Paulina Gretzky on the cover to sell magazines, just like Sports Illustrated puts women in bathing suits in its magazine one week every winter to sell magazines.

I understand where these critics are coming from.

They wonder why Golf Digest put Paulina Gretzky instead of a female golf professional on its cover.

People have been upset for years with Sports Illustrated, but the magazine continues to pay women to pose in bathing suits, and women keep accepting the money for taking off their clothes, or most of their clothes.

Some things never change.

I don't subscribe to Sports Illustrated, and read it only if it's in the barber shop when I go there for a haircut.

And, like I said earlier, I have no plans to read Golf Digest, whether Paulina Gretzky is pictured on the front or not.

And I have zero desire to get the golf clubs out of my garage for the first time in two or three years just because Paulina Gretzy is wearing a white outfit on the cover of a magazine. 

So you don't have to waste any money on a copy of Golf Digest, I've included the cover photo here of Paulina Gretzky, courtesy of the magazine.

If you don't want to look at it, cover your eyes.

I have to be honest. I've looked at the picture.

 

Italian Dark Roast and Vitamin D

By RON MALY

My Neighbor Al, the Health Nut came over for a cup of Italian Dark Roast early this afternoon while I watching the Cubs play the Pirates on TV in the final game of their season-opening series at Pittsburgh.

"I thought I'd better check on you to make sure you didn't overdose on something early this morning," Al said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. 

"Well, I saw on the Internet a couple of hours ago that the Cubs lost to Pittsburgh in 16 innings in a game that ended at about 1 a.m.," Al said. 

"Being the Cubs fan you are, I thought maybe you'd take that 16-inning loss pretty hard.  I didn't know some of those stumblebums who play for the Cubs had enough energy to play 16 innings."  

"Listen, Al, I quit worrying about what the Cubs do a long time ago," I said. "It's been a ton of years since they won a World Series or even been in one, so there's no sense losing any sleep or brain cells trying to figure out what's wrong with that idiotic franchise.

"Believe it or not, Al, I was awake when the 16-inning game ended. I figured that as long as I'd seen 13, 14 or 15 innings, I might as well hang with the game until it ended. The fact that Pittsburgh won didn't surprise me a bit. The Pirates are a much better team than the Cubs."

While Al and I were drinking our Italian Dark Roast coffee, the Cubs' afternoon game today against Pittsburgh was on TV in my family room. So he and I were able to see the Cubs finally win a game. They blew a 3-0 lead, but managed to hang on and win, 3-2.  So at least they won't have a 0-162 record in 2014.

Al isn't much of a Cubs fan, and he doesn't follow baseball like he once did.  Ever since he got on this health kick, he doesn't pay much attention to sports  other than UNI football, He's been a UNI fan ever since Stan Sheriff coached there.

"Anything new with you?" I asked Al.

"Not much with me," Al said, "but I see you've been hanging around with your bigwig buddies from the University of Iowa, and eating hors d' oeuvres with them. I read what you wrote in your latest column, and it sounds like you had a great time.

"I saw that you also wrote that you'll be going to the Scottish Highlanders' reunion later this year in Iowa City.  You sure get to have all the fun."

Al's mention of hors d' oeuvres was in the regard to University of Iowa president Sally Mason's very nice reception that we were invited to a couple of nights ago at the State Historical Building.

It was exciting to hear about the bigtime progress Iowa is making with its $1.7 billion fundraising project that's going to benefit a lot of people.

"Iowa put on a first class show that night," I told Al, "and all Iowans should be aware and proud of what's going on at the university these days.  They've got some very impressive projects."

Whenever I see Al, I ask him how he's feeling. After all, he got the name [from me] My Neighbor Al, the Health Nut because he watches what he eats and drinks, he takes fish oil tablets and other vitamins, and he does all  the other stuff he can to stay in good shape for a guy his age.

"I'm feeling pretty well," Al said, "and I feel even better after reading a story in the New York Times this week about vitamin D."

"What did the story say?" I asked Al.

"It said that people with low vitamin D levels are more likely to die from cancer and heart disease," Al said.  "I heard about the benefits of vitamin D several years ago, so I pop two vitamin D pills every morning. I told you to do that too, didn't I?"

"You sure did," I said. "Like you, I take two vitamin D tablets every day, but I quit taking fish oil.  I make sure I eat a lot of fish, though. And I'm in my third year of not having a cold."

"Keep it up," Al said. "And the next time you see those bigwigs from Iowa City, tell them to do the same thing. My goal is to keep as many people as possible healthy, whether they're fans of Iowa, UNI, Drake, Iowa State or any other collegiate team in this state."

"Well said," I told Al. "I'll pour you another cup of Italian Dark Roast."

The Hawkeyes, Again

By RON MALY

We had a decision to make.

Several weeks ago, we were invited to the  University of Iowa Presidential Reception that was held last night at the State Historical Building.

Then, a few days ago, we were informed that one of our granddaughters would be appearing with her standout high school jazz choir group in a competition the same night at a school in Story County.

Nearly 100 percent of the time, when we're faced with scheduling conflicts like that, we attend the events in which our grandchildren participate.


Family, of course, always comes first.


Well,  almost always.

This time, we stayed with the commitment we'd made to the event at the State Historical Building. 


That was fine with our granddaughter and her parents because the jazz choir performance was one we had seen and heard earlier in this school year.

The presidential reception featured Sally

Sally Mason

Mason, Iowa's president, speaking to a large roomful of University of Iowa alumni and friends in connection with a $1.7 billion fundraising project that is making huge strides.

It was good to see and visit with lots of friends--some of them longtime friends, some of them new friends--at the gathering.

The first person who greeted me was Dave Triplett, the former Hawkeye football player and assistant coach who is now a university fundraiser.

Triplett played his high school football at Dowling of West Des Moines, then was in the Hawkeye program from 1968-1971 as a wide receiver. 

He led the Hawkeyes with 28 catches for 428 yards as a senior, and won the Forest Evashevski Scholarship Achievement Award. He was an academic all-American as a senior.

Dave Triplett

"I saw that you were going to be here, so I wanted to make sure we talked," said Triplett, recalling my newspaper years when I covered his Hawkeye teams that were coached by Ray Nagel and Frank Lauterbur.

Also introducing herself to me was Catherine Zaharis, business director, Finance Career Academy in the Henry B. Tippie School of Management at the University of Iowa.

Catherine got my attention right away by telling me she went to school with one of my sons and that  she's a regular reader of the columns I write on my Internet websites.

That got me thinking for a second or two.

"Well, then, I guess I'd better clean up my language in some of that stuff I write, knowing you're reading it," I responded with a laugh.

Catherine Zaharis

"Just keep writing the same way you've always been writing," Catherine said with a smile. "Don't change a thing."

That's good enough for me, and great visiting with you, Cathy.

A half-dozen other university officials asked for my Internet website addresses because they, too, want to see what I'm writing these days.

The best way people can please a writer, of course, is to ask where they can get his book [I've written three Tales from the Iowa Sidelines books, including the original version and two updates, on Iowa football], and how they can get to his Internet columns on their computers. 

Before Sally Mason spoke, a video was shown that told the University of Iowa story and explained the goals of the present $1.7 billion fundraising project.

Among those shown in the video was Willard "Sandy" Boyd, who was Iowa's president twice--from 1969-1981 and then on an interim basis in parts of 2002 and 2003.

Sandy Boyd

Boyd, who celebrated his 87th birthday March 29, still teaches law at Iowa, and there's a building [the Boyd Law Building] named after him on the campus.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Although Iowa's football program encountered some difficult seasons when Boyd was president, he did something that impressed me.

I always seemed to be in the middle of what was going on in the Hawkeye athletic department in those years. 

Indeed, I was writing plenty about a football program that endured 19 consecutive years of non-winning records.

To my surprise, Boyd one day stopped by the newspaper building in downtown Des Moines where I worked to visit with me about the state of the Hawkeyes' football program.

I had a wonderful conversation with him, and he made sure he told me there would be better days ahead on the field for Iowa.


Obviously, that happened when Hayden Fry was hired during Sandy's years as president.

Boyd's visit with me in the newsroom marked the first time I'd had the privilege of a one-on-one meeting with a university president. 


It's not every day that the president of a Big Ten Conference university stops by for an upbeat visit with the guy who's covering his school's football team.

I mentioned that meeting which took place many years ago last night to some of the Iowa officials I visited with, and one man said he's going to line up a future conversation between Sandy and me.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to it.

And also needless to say, I had a wonderful time at last night's reception. 

We'll be catching up with our granddaughter, the singer, when she and other members of the high school jazz choir and show choir perform in the future.

[Photos and illustrations courtesy of the University of Iowa].

II'll be checking my calendar to make sure I've got no conflicts for late-August. That's because my mail today included an invitation to the University of Iowa's Scottish Highlanders reunion, which will be held Aug. 28-31 in Iowa City and Coralville. By the way, this is no April Fools' Day joke. Because I played the bagpipes and marched with the Highlanders only once, I guess I'm considered an alumnus of the group that performed at halftime of the Hawkeyes' home football games from 1937 through 1980. During one particular 19-year dry spell in Hawkeye football history [the team didn't have a winning record in any of those years], one of my bosses thought I needed a break and assigned me to play the bagpipes and march with the Highlanders during a game, then write a story about it for the Sunday paper. We did fun stuff like that in those days, and I'll go into further detail about how it all came about when the reunion gets closer. Meanwhile, I've got to make sure I clear the decks for the last week in August. If I know the Highlanders the way I think I do, I'd better be well rested for the get-together on the opening weekend of the football season.