Tuesday came and went with very little fanfare. Some, but not a lot. 

It was Veteran’s Day. Formerly known as Armistice Day. It was originally meant to honor those who served in World War I. The armistice that ended that war was signed on Nov. 11 at 11  am – 11/11 and 11 am in 1918. We began observing Armistice Day in 1919. Originally it came with two minutes of silence at 11 am.

In 1954, thanks in part to Kansan and then president Dwight Eisenhower, the name was changed to honor not just those in WWI but all veterans who served in war. At the time that included World War II and the Korean War veterans.

At the Mike would like to say a big Thank You to all who have served to keep America the Land of the Free because, thanks to them, it is truly the Home of the Brave. 

Again, Thank You!!

Prep Sports

Two area teams. Two wins. The playoffs keep rolling along for Great Bend and Hoisington. The 2-0 week pushed our season mark to 59-9 on the season. A clip of 87 percent. 

This week those same two teams will once again be at home in sectional play as both try to advance to the sub-state round.

Great Bend gets its rival for the fourth time in two seasons as Hays makes the trip to Memorial  Stadium. Earlier this year in Hays, Great Bend pulled away late for an impressive 43-19 win over the Indians. 

It was the post-season last year that Hays ended Great Bend’s season with its first loss by a 19-14 count on a wet night at Memorial Stadium. That is the Panthers only loss in the last 20 games.

I think it remains the only loss in 21 games. Great Bend continues to roll along. Two playoff games. Two huge wins - 49-14 and 49-7. The closest wins this year was by 19 points. Great Bend has beaten their foes by more than 30 points in seven of its 10 wins. Dominating.

The Panthers have a chip on their shoulder after the playoff loss last year. Look for another double digit win here and a spot in sub-state against Salina Central or Salina South.

As far as Hoisington is concerned, the Cardinals have been equally as dominant as Great Bend. The Cards' closest game was a 14-point win over Cheney,  a team still playing in 3A. In the past five games, the average score has been 63-12. 

Garden Plain will be a much tougher foe than the Cards have seen over the past five weeks. The Owls only loss was a 28-7 setback to Cheney back in week three. They are fresh off a 31-14 win over a hot Beloit team and are averaging nearly 300 yards a game rushing the football.

But give me Hoisington here as a showdown with defending state champion Southeast of Saline awaits with the win.

And Finally

It was a simple Tuesday evening. I was sitting in my couch/recliner watching TV and relaxing. My lovely wife Crystal is scrolling through her phone making noises. I think she might have been talking to me, perhaps. I’m not sure.

Then she says ‘I want to go look at them’. At this point I figured she was indeed talking to me. So I started to pay attention, as a good husband should do. Anyways, I found out she was talking about the Northern Lights. People were posting things on Facebook.

Now I knew they were going to be visible Wednesday night. But this was Tuesday. ‘I want to go look’, she said once again. So we climbed in the car in the middle of the night to go look. Well, it was like 8 pm but it was dark outside. And I did have my pajama pants on. Same thing.

I throw on a hoodie and away we go. We head just north of town, find a spot and park. You could kind of see them with the naked eye, but through the lens of the phone camera, wow. Just wow. It was pretty dadgum cool. We watched for quite the while. Well, she snapped photos and talked in amazement. I agreed and looked at her pictures.

But perhaps the coolest photo she got Tuesday was from our driveway on the south side of our  house in town. As you stood behind the house, you could definitely see a pinkish/red tint with the naked eye. But as you moved to the open space to the west of the house, it dissipated. 

The house shielded enough of the lights in town to create the red glow. I walked back and forth several times in amazement of how different it looked just due to the house shielding the town lights. Crazy.

I had seen the Northern Lights before, but it has been a while back. It seems like the last few times hype about the Northern Lights built up, it was disappointing in the end. But not this time.

So, yeah, every once in a while it is a good thing to pay attention to the wife. At least it was a good idea in the middle of the night on Tuesday.