Was the Fourth with you yesterday?
Will you be all about Cinco de Mayo today?
Star Wars Nation, led by Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford, loves to proclaim “May the Fourth Be With You” on, yes, May 4.
Locally, the afternoon KTBS/KPXJ News audience was treated Monday to a light sabre standoff between sports anchor Alex Anderson and weatherman/angler Patrick Dennis, who unlike Anderson, does not have his own Storm Trooper gear.
Alex is so into Star Wars that it’s his wedding anniversary. His lovely bride Mishka is all in, too.
Wonder if any local TV folks will sample some chips, salsa and margaritas on air this afternoon?
May is a fine month for festivities. The monster New Orleans Jazz Fest just wrapped up a two-week run Sunday. Alert: Mother’s Day is Sunday. Next weekend brings the Natchitoches Jazz Fest, and Mudbug Madness in Shreveport is on the horizon. Memorial Day is a national weekend celebration of bravery and patriotism.
We’ve just had the Run for the Roses. New Orleans columnist Jeff Duncan points out that the upset winner of the Kentucky Derby, 23-1 shot Golden Tempo, and the third-place finisher (Ocelli, which went off at 70-1), both trained and raced at the Fair Grounds in the Crescent City over the winter.
Next weekend: the PGA Championship at fabled Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia, with Shreveport native Sam Burns hoping to continue his recent string of impressive major championship performances.
There’s the playoffs in the NBA and NHL (KTBS’s Anderson is over the moon with his beloved Buffalo Sabres in the second round). College softball’s postseason is about to be kicking into full gear.
LSU Shreveport baseball is back in the NAIA Tournament, with homefield advantage next week in the Opening Round and a berth in the World Series at stake.
The LHSAA is conducting its golf and track and field championships this week, after wrapping up softball on Sunday. Baseball is drifting into semifinal series this week with state titles on the line next weekend.
Recently described as a “sporty sport” guy by a new friend, who is not a “sporty sport” gal, I’m into nearly all of the above – and MLB, to see if Paul Skenes and my Pirates can stay competitive into the summer.
I believe there’s not much better than a margarita at Superior Grill, so Cinco de Mayo is among my favorite fake holidays. (And an excellent excuse, right?)
I’m old enough to treasure standing in line in Monroe in 1977 to see the original Star Wars – then driving back two nights later on a two-hour round trip to line up and see it again.
But of all the cool stuff unfolding, or just in the books, there’s one occasion that ought to get a lot more attention.
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week.
In sports, we put a lot of focus on coaches. Coaches are, typically speaking, really good teachers – not just when it comes to the sports they steer, but in reaching their players, and very often, the young people they teach in classrooms.
My cap tip today is not reserved just for those folks. It’s for the men and women who stand in front of kids of all ages and try to bring out their best.
There are professions that are vastly underrated. Teaching is in any top five.
Teaching from Pre-K to elementary to junior high to high school continues to get more challenging. Cultural changes, societal mores, educational policies and procedures, nothing stays the same. Or gets easier.
Past reading, writing and arithmetic, more kids get vital guidance from their teachers (and coaches) that we realize. Too many biological parents don’t step up and set the tone for their kids, and nearly every youngster wants and needs encouragement, help and positive reinforcement.
Not every teacher is a role model. But most of them are, to some kid. This week, more than usual, we all should show some respect and appreciation to people who are VIPs in countless lives.
Buy ‘em a margarita, even.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com