Randomosity

A collection of reflections on a wide range of topics.....


It wasn't Saturday's thunder, lightning and tornado warnings that told me spring was here - or nearly here. It was the birds chirping merrily at sunrise in the days leading up to the weekend. They've been gone - or silent - for months. Welcome back. You've been missed.

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Catholic Masses leading up to Lent included gospel readings about Jesus feeding crowds numbering in the thousands with only a few loaves and fishes. Much has been said and written about His providing so much from so little.

But I found myself reflecting on how Jesus could speak to thousands at a time and still be heard clearly in a time long before megaphones, microphones and speakers --- all without raising His voice. Imagine someone speaking to a packed house at Koch Arena or the Kansas Coliseum and having everyone in the audience hear it clearly without amplifiers.

Yes, there was the Sermon on the Mount, where I'm sure being on a natural platform helped Jesus' voice carry. And I recall times in the Bible where He would get in a boat and put out into the water a short distance....which I imagine helped project His voice as well. I wonder how many times He spoke on hillsides that served as natural amphitheaters?

The only time I remember Jesus shouting in the Bible was at the money-changers in the temple. And yet countless souls heard His message and had their lives changed.

I guess it's a reminder that truth resonates even when spoken softly.

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I can't shake the feeling that Wichita State got the shaft from the clock handler at the end of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament game against Creighton. Not so much that final 1.9 seconds in which Booker Woodfox made that clutch game-winning jumper...but in the final 12 seconds or so. How much time went off the clock as Ramon Clemente grabbed the offensive rebound that had fallen to the floor following a missed free throw? It seemed like an eternity, but precious little time seemed to melt from the clock.

Of course, all of this is academic if the Shox hold onto the rebound of the forced layup with less than 5 seconds to play.

And Creighton played Saturday as if they shouldn't be there.

If WSU takes the right approach, the end of this season can serve as a nice launching point to next season, when more talent and more experience will be taking the floor. The Shocks should be in the discussion for a finish in the top half of the Valley -- perhaps even the Top 3.

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This has been the harshest winter in recent memory for stomach flus, respiratory flus, allergies....just all sorts of medical maladies.

I'm sure the stress and anxiety about the economy have been major contributors to that, sapping immune systems even as the economy gnaws away at our wallets, purses and retirement funds.

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If the Big XII tournament brackets hold form, KU and K-State will meet in the semifinals. Gotta like the Jayhawks in that one. But a KU final against either Mizzou or OU won't be easy.

Earlier this year, I had KU as no more than a Sweet 16 team, and perhaps even losing in the second round. But now I wouldn't be surprised if they made the Elite Eight. I still think OU could make the Final Four. Mizzou? They could make the Sweet 16.

K-State? Three letters: NIT.

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Happy birthday, Dad. You would have turned 85 today, and not a day goes by that I don't think about you.