HERE WE GO AGAIN!

     If you thought the Kornerman was a bit confused, disoriented regarding the last edition, HANG ON!
     That edition was titled, "Where is this Going?" and yes, we could probably use the same banner again this time.
     So many thoughts, some good but, alarmingly, quite a few bad but then, isn't that the world we are living in these days?
     One at a time.....good or sad......that's all we can handle.
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     Let's try some "happy" to begin with.
     (1) A neighbor, Jim Ballantyne, BHS-77, waved as he drove by. But then, I noticed the back end of his big truck backing up to a spot right in front of our house. He yelled from the cab, "hey, I got a clipping in the mail and I think I've got it figured out where it came front." I, of course, immediately denied knowing anything about it BUT yes, he was one of the recipients of a Bumble B clipping and I was the sender.
     The clipping told of a Jim Ballantyne, in a Boone High School baseball game, hitting a single to drive in, not only the tying run, but the winning run.
     He admitted that the clipping was a "fun thing" to receive and a real memory maker.
     (2) Here's where the real fun begins. Some, maybe even many of you viewers, will disagree.
     Another happy note was just announced. Because of a Big Ten Conference edict, there will be no Cy-Hawk football game this season. Officially, the conference said no Big Ten teams will play non-conference games this season. That means a season opener that pits Northern Iowa against the Hawkeyes is also "gone."
      The Kornerman has said many times that I have never liked Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa and Drake "knocking heads." The simple reason is......I don't like ANY of those Iowa teams going down to defeat, particularly at the hands of "their own." Regarding these matchups, the Kornerman has a "sick" feeling during all the pre-game banter and a "sick" feeling after the game, regardless of who wins. I can do without that.
     The same could be said for any smaller school teams in the state that matchup, although I have to concede that due to travel restrictions, interstate conference affiliations etc. many of those matches simply have to be played in a normal year.
K-----K
     Now, the flip side of the coin........the sadness our community has been experiencing.
     Yes, death is a part of life but doesn't it seem like we, in Boone, Iowa, have had more than our share of grief recently?
     Obviously, I'm not going to get into a lot of names but its just sad to lose so many good, solid citizens with good families and exceptional service to our community. They're just very sad losses and I'm feeling it and I'm sure you are too.
     In sadness, I was buoyed by a note from George Eckstein, BHS-58, who just lost his wife, Becky. He wrote, "you have lost a number one reader of your blog. She loved to follow Boone through you." So, although very saddened by this passing, the Kornerman is determined to continue our efforts on behalf of others who, like Becky, found the Korner, somewhat, important to them. We all need some reassurance on occasion and I so much appreciated George's note.
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     BREAKING NEWS: More sad news for the Kornerman and BHS students of the early 1950's. Larry Gillespie, 96, of Des Moines has passed away. Larry was my BHS basketball coach in 1952-53 prior to moving on to Des Moines Tech. He was appreciated as a good, strong personality and basketball coach and taught many good life lessons. I had lots of admiration for him.
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     A couple of recent deaths provided some memories from years ago.
     The Kornerman noted the recent passing of Dorothy Jensen, 95, of Leesburg, VA. Her husband of 73 years, Lawrence, had passed away earlier.
     The Jensen's farmed in the Madrid area and I got to know them well as I followed their kids, Dick and Barbara's, MHS athletic careers while I was Sports Editor of the Boone News.
     Dick was 6-8, an all-state basketball player and a 1965 state cross country champion.
     He was tall and he could run and University of Iowa basketball coach Ralph Miller noticed.
     At Iowa, Dick played on a Hawkeye team, "the Six Pack," that is often termed the best in UOI history. That team was an unbelieveable 14-0 in winning the Big Ten championship, reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and finished the season at 20-5.
     Fred "Downtown" Brown and John Johnson were All-American players who later became NBA All-Stars. They were joined on that Hawkeye team by Jensen, Chad Calabria, Glenn "Stick" Vidnovik and the late Ben McGilmer.
     A very high-scoring unit, Jensen played center and was relied more on rebounding and defensive play while the others provided the points.
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     Another memorymaker was the recent death of Ron Flockhart, 88, BHS-51, who passed away in Morristown, TN.
     Ron married classmate Kay Honohan Flockhart and Ron's work with food companies carried the family to numerous states. In retirement, the couple settled in Morristown.
     Kay's parents were well know east Boone County farmers, Harold and Ev Honohan. Ev was heavily involved in numerous area organizations and was known for voicing her opinion on many subjects. Daughter Kay was just the opposite.
     She was shy and always involved in the arts in high school and college. That love has continued to this day as both she and Ron were members of a Morristown theatre group.
     After high school graduation, the couple weren't often Boone returnees, especially after family members passed. However,  I do remember one occasion when they were here for a class reunion and/or to visit with Ron's brother in Stratford. They stopped at the BNR to say "hello" and, somewhere, I have a picture of the three of us.
     It just seemed, "for sure" that, with Kay's theatrical background, their daughter, Calista Flockhart, would, someday, make a name for herself as an actress....and she did.
     While some older Boone residents may remember a very young Calista spending summertime in the Boone area visiting her grandparents, others might remember her TV roles in "Ally McBeal," "Brothers and Sisters" and "Super Girl."
     Oh yes, since 2010, Calista has been the wife of Indiana Jones.....aka Harrison Ford.
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     BOONE CONNECTED DEATHS: Margaret Ann "Peggy" McVay Sharp, 76, Boone/Eastern Star...........Kathleen Wheelock, 72, Boone, BHS-66.
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