A week after I returned home from vacation, I am still constantly reminded of my trip. Turns out that, like the memories, the sunburn that I acquired while lying on the beach for a couple of days doesn’t quickly fade away.

For nearly thirty years, I’ve been a season ticket holder for Nebraska volleyball matches. I also used to cover the sport.

A good buddy has a favorite saying: “We’re all smart. We have smartphones.” It’s funny, and I’ve used it several times.

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. One of those trips involved a flight to Coleridge, in northeast Nebraska, after a tornado had destroyed two farm homes and damaged several residences on the north edge of the town.

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. It’s simple, it’s direct, and, in specific situations, it is a gentle hint.

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. That’s because the opportunity to actually interview an elected officer or state agency director, face to face, with no questions off the table, are getting as rare as a snowstorm in June.