I love birthdays. In fact, I love them so much that I really see no reason why the celebration should only be contained to one day each year.

Back in the day, reporters used to be able to hitch a ride with the governor or National Guard to the site of a disastrous tornado or flood.

I have a small list of items that I hope that I am lucky enough in life to get to experience; however, for many of those items on the list, luck is the only way that I will be able to check them off. A prime example is jury duty.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has always insisted that he’s “not a politician,” but more of a regular guy. “Speech-i-fying” isn’t his cup of rhetorical tea.

“Play’s at first!” Whether you are on the first baseline watching a little league baseball game in a Nebraska burg or sitting in Kauffman Stadium, there is not likely a more familiar announcement amid the celebration of America’s pastime.

The perfect picture. That is always the goal.

A crusty, old state worker once told me that “the story of government is not what is said is not so, it is what is so is not said.” Wise words that seem to get wiser by the year.

Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn Express, Cobblestone were all represented. Piled amid the discarded receipts for stamps, groceries, and nights on the town, plus loose change and an assortment of pens whose ink had long ago run dry, was the pile of hotel key cards.

Memorial Day has come and gone, so it’s time to hit the road. As a lover of Nebraska stuff (you know, corn, the Huskers, Busch Light) I’ve never understood why more people don’t vacation in our state.

I was on to the next burg, county, or time zone, whichever came next. He, on the other hand, was in no hurry.