The pilot announced, "Welcome to Southwest Airlines on our flight to Seattle. I just checked the weather in Seattle and it is beautiful today." You see, the Seattle flight was boarding right next to the Denver flight, and for an instant, the great majority of the passengers thought they had gotten on the wrong flight. The pilot soon reminded everyone it was April Fools Day.

Or the day of our visit to the Phoenix Zoo. Periodically, my eyes dry out and it is not fun. It feels like they are being constantly scratched by a fine grade of sandpaper. Eye drops bring temporary relief at best. So the first two hours, I was constantly pouring drops in my eyes or wiping away the tears from them. I finally joked, "I bet kids are looking at me and thinking, 'that old man really didn't want to go to the zoo today.' "

Our class did lose two classmates this past month, Jean Phillip and Mary Jo (Mader) Dinkel. Mary Jo was my first girlfriend; I think second grade through sixth grade, before we "broke up." Back then, although we were boyfriend/girlfriend, I don't know if we were ever in the same room together, except in class, and I doubt if we ever even held hands.

We were friends in junior and senior high school years and e-mailed each other two or three times a year. A few years ago, she and her husband (they made a very handsome couple) were at the wedding of a cousin and we were able to visit and catch up on each other's families. I knew she had battled and was battling cancer for years. She lost that battle a little over a week ago.

Dottie and I like to visit restaurants in the small towns around Hays. Recently, we've had trips to The Library in Victoria, Arthur's Pizza in Ellis and Tina's in Plainville. In Victoria, I was able to reminisce with Bob Schmidtberger about the battles between Victoria Lumber and Hays City Lumber at the Hays Bowl; over two decades have passed. From those meetings, the Staab household now has a "warm Schlitz toast" tradition. In Ellis, we learned of April activities in their city, from cards placed at each table. Neat idea. At Tina's, we caught up with the goings-on in their city from Plainville's head cheerleaders, Chuck and Shirley Comeau. I met Chuck when I booked bands into the CYO Hall way back in the '70s.

Not everything I did in the past few weeks had a tie to the past. Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson visited Hays last Thursday. In bit of self-deprecating humor, he explained your importance can be measured in the "pecking order" of travel by Kansas officials. He noted that the presidents of KU and K-State had private jets; the governor has a King Air. He duly noted that he was traveling the state in a 1998 Crown Victoria. Now that there's funny, I don't care who you are.

The school board is looking for someone to finish out the term of Bob Kuhn, who passed away a few weeks ago. Two names immediately came to mind. Former city commissioners Henry Schwaller IV and Kent Steward. They both know the procedures of local government, and this would be light duty for them. City commissioners meet four times a month and the USD 489 board meets once or twice a month.

Finally, a few days ago, I came across a CD of a 1999 ceremony honoring Norbert Dreiling, Bob Glassman and Norman Jeter as recipients of the Ellis County Democratic Party's Lifetime Achievement Award. Their orations were filled with history and humor.

Bob Glassman's stories of our country's depression. Norman Jeter bringing the audience to tears with his memories of the death of FDR, then filling the room with laughter telling stories of his days as county attorney and his handling of bootleggers. Norb Dreiling started by chiding the chairman of the local party (me) for fundraising by collecting money for the widow of the Unknown Soldier. Later, he brought the house down by telling differences between Republicans and Democrats.

The biggest laugh was given for "Republican men marry Republican women. They date Democrat women, because they believe they are entitled to a little fun first."

We still have the chance of electing John McBush as our next president. And in eight years from now, I will be pumping $7 a gallon gas waxing nostalgic about the days of $3.39 gas. I hope not.

[Cross published in the Hays Daily News]