9 MAR 08: SNOW BIG DEAL
"You ought to get up and look! It's snowin'!" Who needs a weather radio early in the morning, when you have a loud next-door neighbor?
My next-door neighbor turned into a mix of Paul Revere and Paul Goodloe around 7:30 Saturday morning, alerting nearby apartments to snow flurries in the air. Yet for some reason, he didn't knock on my door. Perhaps he noticed my kitchen light was on, as I finished breakfast. Or perhaps he assumed the white guy next to him naturally would be drawn to white precipitation.
But to be honest, I'd forgotten the forecasters had hinted snow flurries were possible - so I hereby thank my next-door neighbor for prompting me to look out the window. The snow which most of Columbus missed in January came down Saturday. But it didn't stick around long enough for anyone to start a snowball fight.
Even with the flurries, I presumed the Saturday church service still would go on. After all, the Pastor spent years in Michigan - and as a visiting minister from Michigan told someone during the morning, people there use the first winter snowfall simply to practice avoiding crashes.
The snow was quite light as I drove through downtown Columbus. Then of all things, I saw people jogging on the Second Avenue bridge! It was a 5,000 meter run, complete with police escorts. The leader appeared to be a young woman wearing little more than a T-shirt and running shorts - a woman who knew that running quickly keeps you slightly warmer.
More people walked than jogged along Second Avenue, in the "5K Classic." It's an annual event to benefit the Open Door Community House. But it was a day when most people were likely to keep their doors closed, and their heat turned up.
As I expected, the church services went on as planned - and the snow increased to the point where it started sticking to the grass. So as people set up a DVD player, I walked to a window with the "blog camera" to take pictures. After all, the Pastor there wanders around all the time during meetings -- as if his deacons don't know how to adjust the thermostat.
In a Bible study class, the pastor admitted he thought for a moment that budding Bradford pear trees were swirling in the wind. But no, that was real snow - the first he'd seen in his five years in Georgia. And no, the pastor did NOT change the topic to talk about our sins being washed even whiter.
But it was a day with plenty of weather changes, and snow which stuck to the lawn at 10:00 a.m. was gone by 12:30. I'd say it was "gone with the wind" - except the sun had come out.
How strange is it that snow fell on Columbus during the morning - yet Columbus State University played a home baseball game during the afternoon? If I didn't know better, I would have thought we'd all moved to Denver....
CORRECTED WEEKDAY: The March snowfall really isn't that surprising to me. After all, Thursday will mark 15 years since the "Blizzard of '93" (also on a Saturday). I lived in suburban Atlanta at the time, and was NOT fazed by several inches of snow. I shoveled off the area around my tires at sunset, drove to then-Hartsfield Airport - and jogged through the transportation mall, almost all by myself.
But there's no good place to jog indoors in Columbus on a Saturday night, when it's cold or snowy outside. The track inside the St. Luke Ministry Center closes for the weekend at 1:00 p.m. And the security guards were NOT pleased years ago, when I jogged a few times inside the nearly-empty Columbus Square Mall -- so I don't even try Peachtree.
By the way, Columbus residents should look on the bright side - you could have been in the OTHER Columbus Saturday. The capital of Ohio had a 20-inch blizzard. If that ever happened here, the only people on the streets would be Fort Benning solders in Humvees.
BLOG UPDATE: Muscogee County high school students had a big TV spotlight Saturday night. Kendrick battled for a girls' state basketball title. Carver played for a boys' state title. And WLTZ picked the worst possible time to show the "Anna Mims Black Heritage Bowl."
We'll be old-fashioned, say "ladies first" and congratulate Kendrick for KO'ing Carrollton 79-67. Kendrick finally took the trophy in Georgia AAA girls' basketball, on its fifth consecutive trip to the "final four" -- which means these Cherokees must be from the same tribe as those baseball Braves.
Kendrick's ladies make up the only team in Georgia high school basketball to go undefeated this season. Well, let me correct that - I don't think any of the players wore make-up during games....
Kendrick claimed the crown thanks to some clutch fourth-quarter free throws by Ashlee Barley. The high school cafeteria crews could learn a lesson from this - and make barley their "bread and butter."
(And let's not forget the three-point shooting of Kendrick's Kymberli "First-Class" Stamps....)
Muscogee County had a chance for a AAA sweep Saturday night. But Carver lost to Glenn Hills 64-57. So there was no local basketball double, no Carver football-basketball double - and the high school most likely to get doubles next is the Columbus baseball team.
Carver can take some satisfaction in the fact that it upset top-ranked Dunwoody in Friday night's semifinals. Coach Warren Beaulah's team had a good year -- but you know Beulah High School will want to recruit him away.
Carver reached the final round thanks to several players who also were part of the AAA football championship. One of them was Jarvon Fortson, whose actions had fans on the edge of their seats - especially the football coaches at Florida State, who hoped he wouldn't get hurt.
I'm sad to report the worst local performances in Macon Saturday came from grownups. Did you hear Carver Athletic Director Yvette Harris at halftime? She said the AAA football title "put Columbus, Georgia back on the map." So when did it fall off -- after Northern won the Little League World Series in 2006? After Jordan won the boys' basketball title last March? Or after the Catfish won a pro baseball title in September?
During halftime of the first game, GPB interviewed Kendrick Principal Edward Barnwell - and he had some trouble coming up with positive things to say about the school. When the first thing out of your mouth is the 40th anniversary and not the current student body, that's not a good sign....
Another disappointing moment from Saturday night came from the stands. What's with the "airball" chanting at a high school basketball game? Don't school principals teach good sportsmanship to students anymore? My high school won a state basketball sportsmanship award, during my junior year. Of course, I may be the only graduate who still remembers that....
And while I'm at it: where was WOKS-AM Saturday night? It did NOT broadcast the twin basketball finals, as it did Carver's drive to the football championship in December. I fear basketball is too fast a game for their play-by-play announcer to call, without cracking some jokes.
Oh yes: I did watch a little of the Anna Mims Black Heritage Bowl. A high school quiz modeled after the old "High-Q" came down to Columbus against the "AKA Teens." But why were there so many questions in the final round about the local Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority? Were they testing historical knowledge, or looking for recruits?
(Sorry, but we missed the crowning of the Black Heritage Bowl winner. Young ladies jumping around distracted us from young ladies answering questions at a desk - even if the jumping ladies aren't cheerleaders.)
We salute all the young men and women who showed their ability and talent - and now let's see what else is making news this weekend:
+ The old National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning closed to the public. It will take more than a year to archive all the items, and move them to the new location on South Lumpkin Road -- which makes me wonder if they're using old World War II convoy trucks to do it.
+ Comic superstar Jerry Seinfeld presented two shows at the RiverCenter. So if you went to this, please tell me -- was it the usual yada-yada-yada? Or was it really all about nothing?
+ Presidential candidate John McCain met with supporters at the suburban Atlanta headquarters of Chick-Fil-A. Considering how poorly the cows there spell, McCain must not consider education a big issue.
(Someone in the audience asked John McCain a question about immigration reform. He answered by joking, "This meeting is adjourned." McCain talks about securing the U.S. border -- yet if he loses in November, plenty of Republicans may be ready to deport him to Mexico.)
+ Pete Sampras topped Todd Martin 7-6 6-4, in an exhibition tennis match at the Columbus Civic Center. So why isn't there a tennis "seniors' tour," the way there is in golf? If the players have to wear padded headbands and serve from the service line, things might be even more interesting.
+ Instant Message to KFC at 9th and Veterans Parkway: I can understand the sign on the wall, warning "team members" not to carry cell phones. But when the sign goes on to say, "You will be wrote up" - has anyone warned you about the perils of using bad grammar?
BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $3.14 a gallon at Petro on South Lumpkin Road.... milk for $2.99 a gallon at Circle K.... and temperatures warming up today, thanks to the switch to daylight time....
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Because of our top two big topics and daylight saving time, our scheduled items for today will be held until Monday. And for the next few days, our post time will change to around 8:30 a.m. ET.)
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BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 687 (+ 22, 3.3%)
TRUDGE REPORT, DAY 6: 1.5 miles walked. Total: 12.2 miles run, 2.55 walked
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