Spirits rise as the sails fill... Gone is the sea's glassy surface, and with it the terrible glare. Close the hatches and ports! We're sailing again!

There's a big difference between seeing an opportunity and seizing an opportunity

For several years I've been writing 100-word pieces. More recently I've been putting them together in groups of two and three. I don't see them as sequences, but rather as companion pieces, the way that diptychs often work. The idea comes originally from the paintings of Michael Venezia who places blocks of painted wood next to each other. Proximity is a godsend. The quote is from Wallace Stevens.

In politics, when you`re explaining, you`re losing.

Their No. 1 job is to enhance the character of each of the kids they get in their groups, and to empower them and make them unafraid to take risks. Each child has to matter. If you're coaching a team with 10 kids, the 10th child has to be as important as the first child.

(City clerk) Celia (Drayfahl) can call the Iowa League tomorrow.

In a race like this, a 15-point lead is news. But a 25-point lead is a tremendous advantage.

I hope the kids are excited about next year. I know I am.

It's totally out of character for Sandra to be missing on her own volition.

It was a physical game. The foul count got out of hand in the first half. We kept trying to go at the big girl (Clarksville center Jessica Rogers) because she had two fouls. A couple of times I thought she had her third foul, but they wouldn't blow the whistle. I can't complain because the foul count was in our favor.