As life marches on, it's easy to get wrapped up in the daily grind and routine. Then the word of someone's passing puts life back into perspective and memories of days passed come flooding back. Over the past 4 months this has happened to me, upon hearing that 2 of my mentors during my high school years had passed away. I knew over 25 years ago that they were a huge influence on my high school experience. As I've grown older, I've realized just how much they affected my life and how much those memories are a treasured part of my life.
Mr. Libke was my High School English Teacher and Speech Coach. During my freshman year, my locker was outside of his classroom. One day he pulled me aside and encouraged me to take a piece to speech contest. He then proceeded to hand me a 1 1/2 page single-spaced document, a public address, and told me to memorize the entire piece which I would present at district speech contest. Over the following weeks I would meet with him and receive his constructive criticism to make my presentation better. The day of speech contest I was more nervous than I can ever remember. I received a 'I', meaning I was moving on to the state speech contest in 2 weeks. That experience moved me to participate in both group and individual speech contest over the next 4 years, with the ultimate goal of making it to the All-State Speech Contest. My senior year this became a reality and I took my Storytelling piece, 'The Berenstein Bears Get The Gimmies' to All-State. Along with the many hours spent in Mr. Libke's classroom after school, I also worked with him as an Assistant Director on West Central's production of 'Oklahoma' in 1998 and as a part of the cast of 'Death By Chocolate' in 2005 with the Sumner Community Theatre, which he co-directed.
In September I was shocked to hear that Mr. Libke had passed away unexpectedly. It was then that I knew what a profound impact he had on my life, with so many memories flooding back to me. His encouragement all those years brought me out of my shyness and gave me confidence in public speaking, as well as writing. His constructive criticism in both speaking and writing were the toughest I've ever received. I will be forever grateful for him pushing me to my potential and seeing something in me I had not seen myself. He will always be remembered as one of my mentors.
Last weekend Bailey participated in her first district speech contest and her group received a 'I'. It's so much fun to be on a different side of this experience and I look forward to the state contest next weekend. Thank you Mr. Libke for introducing speech into my life all those years ago. Little did I know what an impact you would have on me.
Yesterday I attended A Celebration of Life service for my high school basketball coach, Mr. Gene Klinge. His passing was also sudden, a little over a week ago. Memories of all those years on the basketball court came back to me after hearing he had passed away. Last weekend I even dug out the VHS tape of when West Central beat Cal-Latimer to go to the state tournament my senior year. What a game and what a treasure to watch that game and have those memories. While I was in the gymnasium waiting for the service to begin, I recognized so many WC alumni who had played for Mr. Klinge over his 41 year tenure at West Central. When I was young, I remember looking forward to Friday nights when our family would go to basketball games and I would watch the girls on the court, aspiring to be one of them someday. In 5th grade I was finally able to attend my first basketball camp where I would learn the fundamentals of 6-on-6 basketball. I would attend camp every year after, as well as a basketball camp Mr. Klinge organized at Upper Iowa University. Every year the drills and structure of the camp were the same, based around the basic fundamentals of 6-on-6 basketball. Mr. Klinge instilled this in his teams, along with "mental toughness". Unless someone has played for him, a person cannot understand how this lights a fire inside of you to play better.
I was so fortunate to play basketball from 7th-12th grade with a group of girls who "just clicked". In junior high we would blow teams away, one game with a final score of 72-4. Ouch! Our team had aspirations to make it to the state tournament in high school. After a crushing double-overtime loss in district play my junior year, the state tournament ticket became a reality my senior year. It is an experience I can't put into words other than to say it was amazing. Despite getting beat in the second round, the entire experience is something that will always be remembered. 1993 was also the final year of 6-on-6 basketball in Iowa. Again, unless you've watched it and played it, a person doesn't understand how special this game was.
The sharing of stories throughout the service brought some chuckles, as well as a few tears. Mr. Klinge's influence on my life through the game of basketball instilled that "mental toughness" in me that many people mentioned. One coach recognized that West Central's teams were always respectful and kind to their opponents and officials, which you don't see in all teams. A feeling of pride in representing the Blue Devils all those years overcame me. I realized I was a part of something special in playing basketball for West Central, under the leadership of Mr. Gene Klinge. Thank you Mr. Klinge for instilling some great life skills in me and pushing me to my potential.
Along with these memories, I remembered that I had blogged about Mr. Libke and Mr. Klinge some years ago. When I went back to my past blogs, I didn't remember that I had blogged about both of them in the same post. There must be something about these 2 men and how their memories intersect in my life. These are my
Treasured Memories .
Today is a day I've had in the back of my mind for a while. It's the day I bring Bails 'n Me to a close. When I started this blog back on May 7, 2009, I was looking for something new. Blogging seemed to be an interesting way to journal, so I thought I'd give it a try. My main focus for Bails 'n Me has been reflecting on special moments Bailey and I have spent together, and boy have we had many. I've also captured beautiful memories with friends and family. This journal of memories has been compiled into 6 blog books that I flip through often and will continue to over the years. Unfortunately, I have lost the passion I once had for blogging. The memories are just as special, but I have been capturing them through platforms that don't take as much time such as Facebook, Instagram and Chatbooks. It's been a little over a year since I have blogged so this was my sign that rather than play catch-up on the past 12 months, I would simply write the final entry. Bailey and I are also at different stages in our lives. She's in her 2nd year of college (I started Bails 'n Me the summer between 1st and 2nd grade) and I'm in my 2nd year of empty nesting (kind of...Bailey did move home for 6 months last spring during the pandemic). Now that I'm an empty-nester once again, I've begun to have closure with certain areas of my life and envision new adventures. One chapter I have decided to conclude is Bails 'n Me. We've still had and will continue to have many adventures together. 
