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Hope alone doesn’t go very far.

Hope alone assumes we need only to sit back and wait for good things to happen. That our communities are predestined to succeed merely because that’s the expectation. There’s also a hint of resignation, like everything is just outside our control. We hope because we cannot see ourselves making a difference.

But Nebraskans don’t like warming the bench.

At Nebraska Community Foundation, we embrace the phrase “active hope” – which functions both as a noun and a verb. In its noun form, it’s “proactive optimism for the future.” As a verb, it means “creating one’s own destiny.” With active hope we affirm our role in making our future, and we’ve needed a whole lot of active hope recently.

If you thought 2021 was going to be better than 2020, the year of the Pandemic, let me know how that worked out for you.

Coronavirus has turned out to be a cruel mistress. Just when it looked like masking and vaccinating was going to win the day, along came the Delta Variant. And some others the names of which I can’t remember because I don’t spend my days glued to the television set or wading in the muck and mire of social media. But I’ve heard they are out there, just in time for booster shots and flu shots.

I’ve lost friends over this thing, people I haven’t seen since March of 2020. Simply because I’m vaccinated, and they believe that vaccinated people give off some kind of hideous protein residue that will harm them. Really? You can’t make this stuff up.

Looking back in the rear view mirror of what was the fall sports season seems as if it is a distant past, at least it feels that way as I pen the Bull for this week. The fall activities season just blew by like the roadrunner always did to Wylie E. Coyote.

It’s just hard to believe that at the end of next week we’ll be filing through the doors at local gyms for basketball games and wrestling matches.

It’s definitely time to change gears and get our basketball and wrestling game on here at the Clay County News.

One wouldn’t think that our transition from one season to another would be that hard. I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but the pace of the winter season is definitely different, with many weeks filled with any number of options for basketball game coverage and wrestling, not to mention throw in other activities, especially as we head into the Christmas holiday in December.

When you grow up with someone in your life, it’s hard to comprehend them no longer being there when they pass away.

Once a week, if not more, I could count on a phone call from Grandma Mimi. She’d always say, “I know you’re busy but I just wanted to see what you were up to,” and “nothing is going on here, just watching some TV.”

And then she’d tell me about how the “Sound of Music” or the “Wizard of Oz” was on again, and remind me that those used to be a couple of my favorite movies as a kid.

Every once-in-a-while she would send us what she called happy cards. They were always colorful and complimented with a fun saying or quote, and usually an animal on the front.

I’m going to miss those.

From roughly Nov. 1 through Nov. 11 I was sick. COVID caught up with me and it put me out of commission, and in that time I missed a lot.

For the most part, I’m used to my weekly routines and the routines that come with each month. Sometimes things become extra busy, but you take that day by day and you get through it.

However, it didn’t dawn on me just how much was going on in the county currently, until I wasn’t able to help cover anything. I was what I would consider basically useless.

Which, on one hand sleeping for four days straight out of a week-and-a-half was probably good for me, but on the other hand I like to stay busy.

There were soup suppers I missed and one act performances from Sandy Creek and a dress rehearsal for Harvard I didn’t get to go to.

I won’t get to see Sandy Creek’s One-Act until districts, but I’ve heard it’s good and I’m excited to see it!

Positive vibes...I know for me, it’s time to find some...get some. As we head into the upcoming holiday season, with Thanksgiving just eight days after this issue, and Christmas just 38 days away, isn’t it time for something positive to take over to move forward with?

We’re just coming off a magical, even historical, run by the Sutton Fillies in the state volleyball tournament. Winter sports officially had its first action beginning on Monday, and if we can’t find the positive, maybe society spends too much time focusing on the negative and not near enough time finding the good, even praying for those, that during the holidays might be struggling with each step they take each day.

I reach out this week with my holiday wishes a little early, as many of you won’t receive your paper until after the family gathers for Thanksgiving if you are so lucky to gather as a family this year.

Searching for a way to capture the look, the feel, and aura of the impact of a state runner-up title that the Sutton volleyball team gained this past weekend for me was an easy one. As a matter of fact, the impact of this group of Fillies was only cemented in my mind after Saturday afternoon’s runner-up finish in the Class C-2 field. In all honesty, the feeling that hit

In all honesty, the feeling that hit me about this team was near the end of their five-set thrilling win in the first round over Clarkson/Leigh.

You see, the Fillies truly became the heartbeat and pulse of a community, an entire school district, and their fanbase last Thursday night. As the Fillies went, so did their followers. After going down two sets to one

After going down two sets to one against the Patriots, something changed. It was as if Sutton connected themselves to a charger and energized their motors, as if to say to the Patriots, “this isn’t going down like this anymore.”

The thing about cats is that they are crazy.

Now, I’m not about to dive into a battle of which is better between cats and dogs, because I love them both for different reasons. What I am here to talk about are my cats.

First, there’s Fleetwood, the black and white longhaired good boy. He came from a litter Loetta’s foster cat had. Then, there’s Oliver, the short-haired orange cat. Many people assume Oliver’s name is Mac (you know, Fleetwood and Mac), which would have been fun but I have a tendency to name things after Disney/Pixar characters.

Now, I got Oliver about three weeks after getting Fleetwod, and he was malnourished. He’s one of those animals who just kind of falls into your lap and you tell yourself you’re just going to keep them until they are healthy.

The statewide election is a year away, but it appears former Governor Dave Heineman could win that office again. If he decides to run.

Predicting something that major this soon is risky, but I have consulted several colleagues who agree that the current candidate pool makes such a win possible. There’s always the Republican primary in May, but Heineman knows how to win primaries.

Heineman, who had also previously served as state treasurer and lieutenant governor, has said he is still meeting with constituents statewide. But he would bring considerable name recognition to the race, as well as a keen knowledge of how to win. In 2006, he defeated Nebraska football coach and U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne to win the GOP primary for governor in what some considered to be a political upset.

America is the greatest country in the world because our Constitution recognizes God-given human rights and protects individual liberties. Our Republic has endured for nearly two-and-a-half centuries due to the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of our military veterans. Veterans Day is an opportunity for Nebraskans to thank the veterans who’ve heeded the call of duty to protect our way of life. There are around 127,000 veterans living in Nebraska. They’ve served America in every corner of the globe.