Storms, tornadoes damage homes, businesses in Midwest, South

ON THIS DATENorthwest wins second consecutive state title

PLAINS TWP. &mdash; In August of 2017, the paper was doing profiles of our staff, listing 10 things you may not have previously known about each staffer.
				It was fun at first, but then some of the bullet points were a bit difficult to talk about, much less reveal them to the public.
				But onward I went, listing 10 thing that most people, even my closest of friends, were unaware of, to say the least.
				I revealed how my dad influenced me to become a fan of New York sports teams &mdash; Yankees, Knicks, Giants, Rangers. Dad also followed Notre Dame, but he respected Penn State as well. Me too.
				And then there was the big reveal of my zest to serve annually as a judge in the Plymouth Kielbasa Festival. Fact is, the whole Kielbasa Festival is fun, and Plymouth really does come alive for the weekend.
				And then I told how much I love my big-screen TV. What a difference in viewing. &ldquo;Two and a Half Men&rdquo; is always on, followed by &ldquo;Law & Order,&rdquo; sports of all sorts, movies, &ldquo;Seinfeld,&rdquo; of course, &ldquo;Leave It To Beaver,&rdquo; &ldquo;Bull,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Blacklist&rdquo; and not much more. I actually long for the old cartoons. I&rsquo;m sure they are on, but I still can&rsquo;t find them. Netflix is also a source of great viewing. And now, during this pandemic, TV viewing is critical to remaining sane and somewhat happy.
				From the world of fashion, I revealed that I hate short-sleeved shirts. I own few and never wear them. Can&rsquo;t say why; I just don&rsquo;t like them. Not a big fan of shorts, either.
				And then there is this &mdash; I love the beach except for the sand and saltwater. That pretty much says it all. I can tolerate the beach, but I&rsquo;ll stay on the Boardwalk or at the motel pool.
				Volunteer in the community is also important to me. I am &ldquo;the announcer guy&rdquo; at Victory Sports for adults with mental and/or physical challenges. I always have been involved with various organizations, such as Teeners&rsquo; League Baseball, Make-A-Wish, my church and many more.
				And you can tell from my writings that I am very sentimental, always longing for &ldquo;the good old days.&rdquo; The current condition of the world always seems to get me down. Glad I grew up when I did and where I did (Plymouth), and I am thankful for having the two best parents I could ever have hoped for. They remain with me every day, and I always think of them when faced with difficult decisions &mdash; like the coronavirus pandemic.
				I have always valued family and friends, and I look forward to spending time with them, whether it be a holiday celebration, a wedding, a fishing trip to Canada, a Fantasy Football get-together, a Super Bowl party, a golf tournament, or an oldies dance at Irem Temple.
				All I know is that I&rsquo;ve always tried to live as my parents would have liked and would be proud of. I will tell you I pray every day. A few final things: I regret never having children, and I long for peace of mind and comfort of the heart. And I hope to have enough time left to write a couple of books.
				And the number one factoid is I miss my cat, Lily, who died April 22, 2017, at the age of 19-1/2. I thought about getting another cat; then I had a dream and Lily appeared. She wasn&rsquo;t too happy about my plan.
				Stay strong out there.

Coping with Corona: Getting to know me better