Here are this week's topics: sport thoughts; an important man; music remembrances; shade balls; Iowa State fair.

Slow sports action, fast weather. Occasionally, I have the TV tuned to a baseball game, as much for the background clamor as the game. This season the powers that be changed the rules attempting to "speed up the game," i.e. make it less boring? What I have noted, though, is not so much the new accelerated pace as the "on camera" interviews/palavering that play while the game continues in a smaller-than-full screen, testimony I guess to a usually slow paced, less than riveting contest. Is the game not as hide-bound as the ball?
     That's OK, fear not, the NFL pre-season is about to begin. I used to tell my students that a football game presented a good chance to do their math homework: a guaranteed 25 seconds between plays. Of course, my math teachers friends objected and that was before the networks began to use those 25 secovnds to re-run every play! Meanwhile back in Denver, last Monday Dove Valley, the Broncos' practice facility, was flooded and closed to the public the day after one of the front range's not unusual, violent afternoon downpours. High winds, hail, and lots of rain! Completely flooded and further south, you may have seen TV news coverage of cars being swept, once again, down the main street in Manitou Springs, a tourist town just west and upstream from Colorado Springs.

James Earl Carter. In his typical, straight forward style, President Carter announced that the "small mass" on his liver was cancerous and that it had spread; he would be undergoing treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. While there will be interminable debates about his presidency, I cannot help but feel he will be fondly remembered as one of America's great "post-presidents." His humanitarian actions around the globe have been praised at home and abroad.
     As a former naval officer, no doubt the melodious, seafarer's hymn, "Eternal Father, Strong to Save..." (the US Navy and Coast Guard hymn) will be sung when he passes. It is probably little known that Carter's brother, Billy, and his two sisters died of pancreatic cancer, as did his father. His mother died of breast cancer. Indeed, at one time Carter's family had the very dubious distinction of being the only known family with four generations of pancreatic cancer victims.

Music memories. I was sitting at dinner one evening and Elton John's song "Tiny Dancer" was playing in the background. Long ago I coached a petite young lady as St. Mary's Academy who was a runner and dancer; my wife nicknamed her "Tiny Dancer" and to this day her face and memory float up whenever I hear the song.

CA water savers. CA is using so-called shade balls to help conserve water in large reservoirs. The experiment began several years ago and was just implemented with much fanfare and TV coverage in Los Angeles. The EPA has mandated that all reservoirs be covered in some way. Several older reservoirs in the metro Denver area -- one quite near -- are underground. Today shade balls represent a much more cost effective approach.

Round 1. "The Donalds" chopper thundered in, at least for the moment drowning out the other candidates; fair-goers and photographers alike deserted Hillary. Only the indomitable
Bernie seemed to rise above the noise. E. J. Dionne's recent column is instructive.

Thank you for reading. May you have a quiet weather-week.