Saying Goodbye to Georges

I attended my first back when I was a college coed in the late 1970's. My friend Jane Flack scored tickets from her family - great ones in middle, hard to get today. Of course back during the Coach Lynn Nance years - nobody went to the games. Ames High grad Chuck Harmison was on the team, along with Dean Uthoff. He's related to a kid who plays for another team in Iowa right now.

I'm fairly certain Iowa State lost that game. Nobody cared much about basketball when I was a student - wrestling was more the thing. I recall the excitement when wrestlers like Frank Santana, NCAA stud walked into a bar we were in. Paul says he would drink beer right out of the pitcher. Most of the wrestlers I saw had cauliflower ear - not attractive, in my view. So let's get back to basketball.

Iowa State did have some basketball history prior to those 1970's doldrums, in the 1950's and again when Johnny Orr marshaled in the Hilton Magic era and on to the Larry Eustachy years. Paul and I purchased basketball tickets for a few men's and women's games as our children grew up. One year we took them to see ISU play Kansas when Roy Williams coached, staying at the Gateway where the KU team stayed. Jud was thrilled when Roy waved at him as we pulled away from the motel.

Once our children attained independence (and we were no longer driving to high school basketball games twice a week), Iowa State University offered some very reasonable season ticket prices, and Paul and I snatched them up. Can you say Nosebleed? It's a 2 hour drive from Creston to Ames, so we missed most of the weekday games, and it was the Coach Greg McDermott era, so the team wasn't all that great. But we got our money's worth.

Jud and me at the B12 tourney - after we win baby!

After a couple years, the Goldsmiths moved down to the big time! Okay it was only about 10 rows down - so we are no longer second from the top. But aisle seats! Later when we moved to West Des Moines, it go much easier to make more games as it's only a 45 minute drive.

Creighton hired away GMac (Coach Greg McDermott - who was a very nice man but didn't seem to be getting the job done at ISU) and ISU took a leap of faith and hired former ISU and professional hoops player (and son of my college advisor) Fred Hoiberg. The program flourished!

Fred's tenure was a fun ride. For one thing, he is not hard on the eyes and wore great suits at games. The team improved consistently as he learned on the job. There were some exciting finishes - especially as the talent level increased in the ISU ranks. Some of my best sports memories happened in the last two years at the Big 12 Tourney with my friends and my husband and son and Kara by my side. Priceless! Last year after the season, Fred had a chance move on from the college game to achieve his life's dream - to coach professional basketball for the Chicago Bulls. Sad for us, happy for him. Enter good guy coach, Steve Prohm who should be allowed several seasons to get his team and system in place in my opinion.

Fred Hoiberg recruited many talented players who Paul and I enjoyed watching these past few years. One has become one my all time favorites. Georges (pronounced George) Niang will play his last game in Ames on Monday night. I am going to miss him as a player - unique in today's game (so much so that it's become a Bingo card drinking game joke to listen for how game announcing teams will describe his old many YMCA moves) and hard for other teams to guard. I'll also miss the character that he is - not that I know him personally, but through interviews, too countless to number. He's always crediting the fans and he himself is a big fan of ISU and Ames, Iowa. Monday night he'll be asked to give a little speech after the game. I think there will be a few tears shed - by me and many others including manly men. Someday I'll be looking up (from my cheap seat) at Georges's jersey hanging from the rafters.

Before last night's game, we met Mary and Dana at Whiskey River for a bit to eat. It was fun to catch up with them. After the game we met Kevin and Kari at Dublin Bay for a brew and to celebrate a nice victory over Kansas State. ISU games bring us together with pals and we're thankful for that!

Kevin and Kari after Saturday's win

Basementphobia

I avoid our basement. Just ask my family - it's true. Our basement at our current home is light and airy - not dank and dark like the one in our first rental home in Osage. Still - I don't like going down there. It's weird, I know. I'm unsure of the origins my basement avoidance behavior. A past life, perhaps?

Paul and I saw a story on television the other night that featured a couple who was important in the creation of the American Basketball Association back in 1967. The league was an alternative to the National Basketball Association - marketing itself as a more fast paced scoring league. I was ten years old at the time and loved all things sports. I received one of the cool red, white and blue balls for my birthday.

I'm sure I would have been better at actual basketball had they utilized this ball

The memory of that ball took me back to a memory of our basement in my childhood home in Atlantic. There was a tile floor in the room along with a small black and white television. I'd watch the games and dribble the heck out of that ball, around my legs like a little Harlem Globe Trotter.

The Bullock girls and friends spent a lot of time in our walk out basement of that ranch style home. Mom would insist! (smart lady). In addition to the TV room, there was the large "playroom" that had a concrete floor covered by a jute rug on one half. The piano was parked in one corner and there were raw wood shelves along one wall. In another corner there were floor to ceiling cupboards where our parent's "stuff" from their earlier lives were kept. The ceiling wasn't finished and there was a rack in the corner for luggage and a built in rack for dad's lingerie samples, though he also had a couple racks on wheels that were usually in the TV room, flowing with robes, nightgowns and slips of all sizes.

The shelves in the playroom were full of all sorts of things! Cindy had an aquarium for a while - with beautiful angel fish. My Cedar Rapids grandma gave us some of her costume jewelry - we had fun dressing up in that. It didn't take us long to dismantle Mom's beautiful doll cases, dolls and clothing. My Aunt Jeanie donated her record player to us - I remember firing up favorites like Peter Pan on it.

My sister Cindy was very creative and was fun to play with (though bossy). She could direct several of us in building a wood block village, utilizing plastic farm animals for "people", naming every one. We also made boxes into houses using leftover wallpaper samples for decorating for Barbie. The Reinertsons from next door were frequent visitors to our basement building experiences, stopping only for meals.

One of my earliest basement memories is watching Roy Rogers on TV and riding the hell out of my rocking horse. That was some good exercise - I bet it wore me out. I always did love horses after that.

I wish I had this horse back!

 We played with real toys in the basement too - like the Creepy Crawlers Thingmaker and the Incredible Edibles (I'm not quite sure they were...). I had a little time bomb thing that you'd wind up and throw around until it went off - I can't believe it survived those floors!

And slumber parties! The basement was the scene of the crime for each of those. The food would get laid out on the laundry room table. The laundry room was another huge room with laundry appliances including a giant machine called an iron rite, its own walk out door, a phone with an extra long cord, a row of hooks for coats and huge freezer.

During slumber parties we put the "sleeping bags" in the playroom, which was very dark as there were only a couple tiny windows up high. There was no insulation between there an my folks' room so...there was a lot of stamping on the floor when it got late and we were loud - carrying on with "Mary Worth" and lifting people, and so on.

One summer, Susi used the basement as her room when she came home from college in Colorado. The TV room had lots of windows and a door, and she dreamed a bad guy was trying to get her - causing her to scream. That brought Dad running, but he slipped on the stairs bruising his heels as he scrambled going down (it's a funny picture to the Bullock girls, Dad in his jammies bumping down on his heels). A quick check around found no intruder, but by then whole house was awake and Susi will never live it down.

Does any of this explain my dislike of basements? Naw. I'm still not sure where it came from. I'm just weird. Yeah, that's it.

Cool casseroles

I've written about my recent visit with my fab hometown friends. You may also have seen me write of my beloved Aunt Marty, who lives in Denver. I was thinking about all these wonderful ladies lately.

Marty lives in a really nice retirement community called Holly Creek which has many of the usual amenities like a weight room, a pool along with a nice restaurants and party rooms. It also has something unusual - a radio station.

My Aunt Marty is a radio personality. Link to TV story. She interviews people who live in Holly Creek, asking them about their lives. When we stayed with her just before Christmas she was able to relate to us a couple of the residents' rich journeys. Marty also has a memory like an elephant - she never forgets. I bet the people of Holly Creek enjoy telling their stories to Marty and the other radio personalities and the folks living in the communities like hearing each others' stories.

When I was with my friends in Florida, as we hung out together, we talked a bit about our own lives. Some of us lost track of each other for some time, during our twenties and thirties. We're still catching up with each other on what we missed - happy times and sad, scary and brave. I wish we would have stayed in touch back then - so we could have supported each other as we do now, but that was then. My friends are such interesting people with rich, full lives, just like the ones at Marty's retirement community - less 25 years experience. Think how cool we'll be at that age!

My mom was great at making casseroles. She'd add various ingredients, chicken - noodles or rice, a few spices and the next thing you knew, it was a delectable meal, hot and filling. People are like casseroles, I decided on my lunchtime walk today. The casserole is good that first day - but let it sit for a while. The ingredients really mix and the spices start shining through. I guess I was hungry when I came up with the analogy but you get the picture.

Young people are beautiful and interesting - full of potential. Someday they will be lovely leftovers like me.

Number five got hitched

Craig, the fifth of the country cousins got hitched a couple weeks ago. Woohoo! Amy and Jud spent a lot of time with their cousins when they were young. Paul's brother Larry and family lived at the farm where Paul grew up. When we went to Earlville to visit Paul's folks, we'd stop at the farm and the kids would hang out with their "country cousins". They'd play video games and ninja turtles. It was pretty cool that Craig, Karl and Kurt (the two older guys, Brad and Chad may or may not have participated - they were a little older and may have been too cool) took Amy and Jud out and about to the creek and climbing in the barn. Good farm stuff and good memories.

Fast forward a few years...kids grow up and all of the country cousins have gone on to go to college, gotten jobs and four got married. There are even several adorable grand nieces and nephews involved. Karl actually teaches chemistry at Valley High School here in WDM - I wish I could have had a teacher like him. The other guys live closer to their folks - in the Waterloo/Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area.

Craig took a while to find just the right partner. Her was busy with his job at Rockwell Collins and training for and doing triathlons. And Erin was it! The wedding took place at a fancy barn venue just north of Iowa City in later January - and they really lucked out. The weather was perfect.

And as a side note, an HGTV film crew was on hand to record the couple right after the wedding. The team had been working with Craig and Erin the past few weeks as they readied Erin's fathers house for sale. He had passed away in 2015. They said they'd let us know when/if this pilot airs on the channel. Don't worry - when I find out it's airing, I'll let you know!

Goldsmith sibs

All of Paul's brothers and sisters made it. The ceremony was simple and perfect, and so they were married surrounded by family and friends. The reception afterwards was fabulous - super prime rib and a s'mores bar and pie! So good.

Time with family, experiencing the joy of a new marriage - so good! George and Laura would have been so proud. Congrats to Craig and Erin.

Toto Too

I'm just back from the not so Sunshiney State of Florida where I met my homegirls. I had the unfortunate luck of being first to fly home. I felt like the Wizard of Oz when I hugged each of my friends on the curb by American Airlines - ready to bestow gifts like a heart and a brain. Pam could use a new foot, after all. Thinking back now, I know that it was I who received gifts from each of those fabulous ladies.

• Pam is so wonderful at talking about anything that comes to mind. She's funny and self-deprecating, putting everyone totally at ease with discussing health, finance, love.
• Paula exudes competence and is so casual and fun to hang out with. I love how organized she is and we like to talk Big 12 sports.
• We all love dogs but Sally is our pet rescue girl. She's so intelligent and caring. I love the stories she tells about co-workers or her grand-nephew.
• Julia is such a quiet and calm person among a loud group. I can't imagine her ever snapping and throwing Christmas cookie dough against a wall (who might have done that??) She brings a unique perspective that I much appreciate.
• And then there's Robyn. She's the one who sneaks off and orders a round of desserts to be delivered to your table, making you feel special (and satisfied!). Robyn makes a point to tell people what she appreciates about them. There are so many things to love about Robyn.  

The weather wasn't that great during the time we were in Florida. Though it was warmer than Iowa, it was chilly, windy and rainy. Guess what? We still had fun because we were with each other. I could have fun in a cardboard box with these girls.

You might remember that I just got together with most of these girls just last August in Oregon. Yep - we can't stay away from each other. Paula decided to use her timeshare in Robyn's hometown of Orlando. Rob's lived in Mickey's city for thirty years or so. I've not been there since the kids were twelve and nine - so it must have been 1998. Wow - how it's grown into a sprawling city. Much bigger than the Magic Kingdom.

We bunked in a large condo with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The clubhouse was gorgeous, featuring a pool on the top floor. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. It was chilly! But not as cold as it is here in Iowa. There were other pools - and even a lazy river on the campus. It would have been hard to enjoy it wearing long undies.

at the game

We shopped on Park Place - in Winter Park. Then we visited Robyn house and met her beautiful puppy Oliver. Her bungalow was adorable. That night, we got to attend a professional basketball game as Robyn got us great tickets to the Orlando Magic/LA Clippers game. She has connections (Mickey Mouse - no, not really), so they were great seats. It was really fun.

On Saturday we shopped at an area that had antiques and cute little stores. That was where Robyn went to town on buying dessert. Red Velvet and chocolate - how could you go wrong! That night we stayed in and played Cards Against Humanity. Robyn kicked butt. We had fun chatting and laughing the whole night as we celebrated our dear friend Julia's birthday.

All too soon it was Sunday and time to leave. My balloon flew off - back to Iowa. Man I'm tired of winter, but my time with my pals helps.