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Embracing “Mother Pullman”
I don’t know why it took me so long. I was born in Washington, have lived all but nine of my 70-plus years in this state, yet until recently had never set foot on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman. But there we were, in quaint Martin Stadium, surrounded by Cougar fans, on a sun-splashed, late September afternoon in the Palouse, to watch WSU and UW play in the Apple Cup. It was glorious. I’m sorry I was late to the party. And having had many conversations with Coug alums over the years, I understand life at Wazzu…
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BOYS IN THE BOAT
The Three Amigos. The Three Vikings. Three Brothers From Different Mothers. Or, as Bob Swenson suggested, “Oly, Lund and Swen.” Whatever the moniker, the three of us have shared many journeys over the years. It’s a bond built on family and friendship. Kent Oldenburger is my brother-in-law. Bob was a groomsman in Vicki and my wedding, and a longtime friend. For the past 13 years, it was the annual Lund family backpack trip that drew us together. This year, we traded the huffing and puffing up steep mountain trails for a more relaxing passage on Puget Sound’s waterways. Kent owns…
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Summer at the lake
Poem by Bob Swenson It’s another quiet morningFog tiptoes over the waterThe surface is a mirror.Inverted hillsides, clear as day. The coffee’s readyThere’s half & half and sugar.The toaster warms the breadThere’s jam in the fridge. We discuss the plans for the dayAnd wade through the headlines.The world’s a mess.What time is the game? I think I’ll take the boat outOr maybe the paddle board.We’ll play cornhole after lunch. The days are long.It stay light till 9.The water’s warm even where it’s deep. There’s nothing better than summer at the lake.
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Remembering mom
My mom was “Wonder Woman” long before Lynda Carter assumed that title. She did all the laundry, always had home-cooked meals on the table, kept an immaculate house, tended to the garden and flower beds, sang in the choir at church, and had my grandparents and other extended family or friends over for dinner many Sundays after church. She did all that while working full-time beginning when I was 12, in an era when it was rare for mothers to work outside the home. Her jobs at Northern State Hospital and Skagit Valley College in essence made it possible for…
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An initial tall task at UW, and some thoughts on Danny Sprinkle
Had to chance to meet UW basketball coach Danny Sprinkle on Saturday at an annual gathering of mostly way-past-their-prime basketball players, coaches and media-types. Sprinkle spoke to the 70th meeting of the “Northwest Basketball Legends” at the Washington Athletic Club, bringing renewed hope and optimism to a program that hasn’t sniffed the NCAA Tournament since 2019. But first, Sprinkle spoke candidly about the hole he and his staff were faced to try and dig out of when he was named coach on March 25, 2024 to replaced fired Mike Hopkins. “By the time we got the job, I knew there…
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The pursuit of radical generosity
I turned 70 in November. It was a time for celebration while surrounded by family in Arizona. It was also a time for reflection. Let’s face it, I’m old. On the surface “my work is done” and I’m “over the hill.” My career is in the rear-view mirror. I like to tell people that when I was working “I was pulling down good money. Now that I’m retired, I’m good for nothing.” And yet, if I’m honest with myself, that’s actually not true. There’s still time – God willing – to make the rest of my life the best of…
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A memorable, heart-warming day in America’s Heartland
“Thanks for coming,” said an Iowa fan, as Vicki and I walked out of Kinnick Stadium near the end of Iowa’s 40-16 dismantling of Washington on Saturday. “I hope our fans here treated you well.” They certainly did. Better than the visiting team was treated, for sure. We came a long way to watch the visitors from the Pacific Northwest bullied by the always-physical, corn-fed team in America’s Heartland. But while I was expecting the Huskies to be more competitive against slightly-favored Iowa, I’d have to characterize our experience on an unseasonably warm, mid-October afternoon in Iowa City to be…
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Our shared passion for story presentation: Remembering the late, great Blaine Newnham
Any baseball player will tell you they remember the day they were called up to the big leagues. I certainly remember a similar life-changing moment on a journalism scale, when in November 1984 I learned I was going from a small-town newspaper in Roseburg, Oregon to The Seattle Times. I probably skipped at least one stop – like a medium-sized paper – in this move. To put this in sports perspective, this is akin to making the jump from the Class A, minor-league Everett AquaSox to the Seattle Mariners. I was lucky. My pleasant surprise was only surpassed by the…
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Apple Cup apathy: Non-conference vibe takes a bite out of the rivalry
The 2024 Apple Cup by all accounts appeared to be one of the more anticipated matchups of the season. The rivalry game between Washington and Washington State that at one point was in danger of being another realignment casualty, was salvaged among the scraps from the wrecking ball that destroyed the Pac-12, sending UW to the Big Ten and its in-state foe with only Oregon State as a conference partner. But as UW football season ticket holders this past week were invited to an “exclusive pre-sale” of tickets for the Sept. 14 game at neutral-site, Luman Field, the response has…
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Hoosier Hysteria
Never daunted, we cannot falter In the battle, we’re tried and true Indiana, our Indiana Indiana we’re all for you! I-U! BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – Most of the 16,000-plus fans were clearly all for Indiana on a crisp, sunny Sunday afternoon here in the heart of the Hoosier State. That would include myself, admittedly a college sports nut, and wife Vicki, who has become a fan of college athletics largely through osmosis , i.e. married to me for nearly 47 years. I’ve had a long fascination with college football stadiums and college basketball arenas. Iconic Assembly Hall, if not the Holy…
