Bits & Pieces: Welcome back Stars, Walt
Posted: 11/2/2009
By James Mulcahy
Because academics deserve some ink, Shelby County Life is proud to help resurrect Student Stars and to co-sponsor the program with Commonwealth Bank & Trust.
Starting this issue, we'll spotlight two high school seniors -- a boy and a girl -- every month. They'll be chosen by a committee at Shelby County High School; the committee will consider school and community involvement as well as academics.
Each winner gets $100 to open a savings account at Commonwealth -- half the money donated by the bank and half by the magazine -- and the bank will give one of the boys and one of the girls a laptop during Awards Night at the end of the school year. The two names will be chosen in a drawing.
CB&T Shelby County President Belinda Nichols is happy to be a part of this, too.
"When I had to tell them (the school) we weren't going to do this anymore, I just cried," she said.
Starting this issue, we'll spotlight two high school seniors -- a boy and a girl -- every month. They'll be chosen by a committee at Shelby County High School; the committee will consider school and community involvement as well as academics.
Each winner gets $100 to open a savings account at Commonwealth -- half the money donated by the bank and half by the magazine -- and the bank will give one of the boys and one of the girls a laptop during Awards Night at the end of the school year. The two names will be chosen in a drawing.
CB&T Shelby County President Belinda Nichols is happy to be a part of this, too.
"When I had to tell them (the school) we weren't going to do this anymore, I just cried," she said.
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We're also proud of another resurrection: the byline of a locally famous writer. In last month's issue, we teased you with our "He's Coming To Shelby County Life" ad. Well, "he" is here. "He" is Walt Reichert, and "he" will write at least one monthly article for the magazine.
Walt and I worked together for five years at The Sentinel-News, and I have a great deal of respect for him as a writer, a farmer, and a man. In fact, he replaced me as editor when I left the paper.
It's good to be working with him again, and his work is a great addition to an already great publication.
I'm at that awkward age -- not old enough to even consider retirement, but too old to skateboard and survive it. It's to the point that I often opt for the elevator to go up two floors because my knees don't work so well anymore. For that, credit my days of being a catcher in baseball. All that squatting is hard on the knees, but they don't tell you that part.
As a kid, I had a homemade skateboard -- not one of those sleek models the kids have today. With the modern equipment, young skateboarders are apparently able to defy gravity. I wouldn't have tried that stuff. Who am I kidding? Of course I would have tried it.
Actually, I was more at ease on roller skates. Growing up in Lexington, I spent most weekends at Scott's Roller Rink on New Circle Road. I can still imagine Gilbert Scott -- "Scotty" -- at the microphone. "All skate, everyone skate," he'd say. I was pretty good on eight wheels, too. I loved the fast skate, where we could fly around the oblong rink with no thought of being whistled by the skating Gestapo. Getting whistled was the ultimate embarrassment at Scotty's. By comparison, it would be like getting pulled over on Midland Trail during rush hour.
I quickly learned to skate backward, but it took a long time for me to master the turn that got me from forward to backward without wiping the floor with my backside. That uncoordinated twist impressed the heck out of girls, too (not). Until my life-changing voila! moment, it was both ugly and entertaining to watch me try to flip instead of flop.
I've been trying to get my nerve up for another spin around the rink, except rinks have changed a lot since I was a kid. Or maybe I've changed. I also keep thinking about the knees and how skating just might put me on my back for a while, and I don't have time for that. I can still run the basketball court, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Several years ago some local people got approval from the zoning commission to build a skating rink at the end of Stonecrest Court. I wonder whatever happened with that plan.
If somebody really wants to start something with potential, I have a suggestion. Shelbyville is begging for a downtown restaurant that serves home-cooked breakfast -- you know, ham and eggs and biscuits and gravy and sausage -- and it should be served all day, not just until 10:30 or some silly time like that. Any good restaurateur is well aware that lots of people enjoy breakfast at suppertime. That, I think, would be a huge hit among us downtowners, as well as the uptowners and out-of-towners. Sure, we've got the fast-food and franchise options, but I think a meeting place downtown with a hearty breakfast would be a success.
Walt and I worked together for five years at The Sentinel-News, and I have a great deal of respect for him as a writer, a farmer, and a man. In fact, he replaced me as editor when I left the paper.
It's good to be working with him again, and his work is a great addition to an already great publication.
--
I've been thinking about skating lately. No reason, just thinking. It's one of those things, when an image will trigger a memory -- even if they're not really related. The trigger image was a bunch of kids at the Shelbyville Skate Park on Washington Street.I'm at that awkward age -- not old enough to even consider retirement, but too old to skateboard and survive it. It's to the point that I often opt for the elevator to go up two floors because my knees don't work so well anymore. For that, credit my days of being a catcher in baseball. All that squatting is hard on the knees, but they don't tell you that part.
As a kid, I had a homemade skateboard -- not one of those sleek models the kids have today. With the modern equipment, young skateboarders are apparently able to defy gravity. I wouldn't have tried that stuff. Who am I kidding? Of course I would have tried it.
Actually, I was more at ease on roller skates. Growing up in Lexington, I spent most weekends at Scott's Roller Rink on New Circle Road. I can still imagine Gilbert Scott -- "Scotty" -- at the microphone. "All skate, everyone skate," he'd say. I was pretty good on eight wheels, too. I loved the fast skate, where we could fly around the oblong rink with no thought of being whistled by the skating Gestapo. Getting whistled was the ultimate embarrassment at Scotty's. By comparison, it would be like getting pulled over on Midland Trail during rush hour.
I quickly learned to skate backward, but it took a long time for me to master the turn that got me from forward to backward without wiping the floor with my backside. That uncoordinated twist impressed the heck out of girls, too (not). Until my life-changing voila! moment, it was both ugly and entertaining to watch me try to flip instead of flop.
I've been trying to get my nerve up for another spin around the rink, except rinks have changed a lot since I was a kid. Or maybe I've changed. I also keep thinking about the knees and how skating just might put me on my back for a while, and I don't have time for that. I can still run the basketball court, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Several years ago some local people got approval from the zoning commission to build a skating rink at the end of Stonecrest Court. I wonder whatever happened with that plan.
If somebody really wants to start something with potential, I have a suggestion. Shelbyville is begging for a downtown restaurant that serves home-cooked breakfast -- you know, ham and eggs and biscuits and gravy and sausage -- and it should be served all day, not just until 10:30 or some silly time like that. Any good restaurateur is well aware that lots of people enjoy breakfast at suppertime. That, I think, would be a huge hit among us downtowners, as well as the uptowners and out-of-towners. Sure, we've got the fast-food and franchise options, but I think a meeting place downtown with a hearty breakfast would be a success.
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