While the Cat’s Away 

My wife Ginny just left to go help our daughter Julie with a big mural up in Sauk City, Wisconsin.

That means I am free to do whatever I want this week. I can wake up alone. I can eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches every day because that is all I know how to make. I can take the dog out, do the dishes, and do the laundry. Hmm. Maybe this isn’t so great.

Greetings

Nǐ hǎo friends. Chī le ma? That is a greeting in Chinese in honor of our friend Feng Xue. Feng recently returned from a trip back home to China to see friends and family.

She was kind enough to stop by the newspaper and share stories of her trip to China as well as Japan. We asked Feng if she would be interested in writing about her trip in the newspaper. So, if you see Feng, let her know you would love to read about her trip.

Speaking of mural art…

 Our daughter has always been an artist. She has been drawing since the day she could hold a crayon. When asked what she was going to be when she grew up she didn’t say doctor, lawyer, or teacher. “I’m going to be an arter,” she would say. Her words came true. She is now a successful arter.

Two reasons I share that with you. One is that you should not try to change who your kids are. So many people would tell us, sometimes right in front of Julie, that she needs to find a real job if she is going to make it in this world. Joke is on them.

The second reason is that we are going to be putting on a mural festival in Danville this coming September and we want everyone to come out to see it.

We are calling it Merge Mural Fest and the art will cover the walls of the parking courtyard behind the newspaper.

We will choose 8-10 artists for this fiesta of color and creativity. So far sixty-one artists from all over the country have applied to be chosen.

Artists will arrive in town on Friday, September 11 and work on their murals through Friday, September 18.

Then we will open the courtyard to the public on Saturday and Sunday to visit with the artists, eat tasty food and hang out with cool people.

For more information on the event go to MergeMuralFest.com. Mark your calendar.

If any of you would like to help and be a part of this, or better yet, be a sponsor, let me know.       

Fair Publication

 By the time you read this you might have received the Official 4-H Fair tabloid. It is being printed as I am writing this.

It’s being mailed out to every Hendricks County household, so if you know of anyone that did not get one, please let us know.

Queen Contest

The official start of the fair for me is the Queen Contest. The annual choosing of the 4-H Fair Queen has to occur prior to the fair so the Queen and her court can be available for all the 4-H events.

This year’s event will be held at the 4-H Fairgrounds on Sunday, June 28th. If you have never attended the Queen Contest, you should come out and join us.

Welcome, Savannah!

Say hello to our summer college intern Savannah Shotwell. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because she was our intern when she was at Cascade High School. Savannah is now a second year journalism major at Franklin College.  

This paid internship has been made possible by a grant through the Hendricks County Community Foundation, Free Press Indiana, and a friend of the newspaper. Thank you all for your support of our summer intern program.

Savannah will be covering local town council meetings and writing feature stories over the summer.

We love having you back, Savannah.

Thought for the Day

Over the last three months Phil Brickler and I have been taking extra copies of The Republican to several assisted living facilities around the county.     

As we go from place to place, I am getting to see another side of life. The side of life we don’t see because we are too busy.

One day as we were pulling up to one of our stops, Phil was sharing stories about his wife. His wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and this was the one year anniversary of the day she passed away.

As I walked into the facility it hit me that although the residents are living busy lives, death and suffering are never far away. They are reminded of it when the ambulance shows up. They are reminded of it when their lunch buddy doesn’t show up for lunch anymore.

It is very sobering. We need to be kinder to each other because one day we might need a lunch buddy.

Until next time. Hasta luego.