January 29th, 2010 by jeffbahr

  Northern has scheduled its 2010 Gypsy Day. It will be Sept. 18.

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  According to ace sportswriter Dave Vilhauer, Don Meyer will be on the Naismith Hall of Fame ballot this spring.

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 In April, Scott Waltman will visit Rome. There are rumors of a private lunch with the Pontiff.

 “He’s been wanting to bend my ear,” Scott says.

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  To Darla Scarlett, there’s no such thing as too-hot coffee. Even when it’s steaming like a cup of witches’ brew, she takes it to the microwave to make it hotter.

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  I keep hearing about women who, when they go to a movie, leave their husbands at home. They go with their mother or sister.

 Without their husbands there, who makes wise and witty observations throughout the film?

 Who comforts them during scary moments? 

 Who eats all the popcorn?

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  Co-workers say this about Mondell: Any food that doesn’t go in a microwave scares him.

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  My son Bryan, a loyal Packer fan who lives in Los Angeles, got a genuine Cheesehead from his girlfriend, Jen.

 “I am going to wear it around town, even though it’s the offseason in a city that doesn’t care about football.”

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 Mike Ferguson has Aberdeen’s airline schedule memorized. It’s not tough, he says. “There’s two flights a day.”

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 An armada of bucket trucks was parked outside M&H Thursday night. More than 200 linemen are in the area helping to restore power.

  The good people of Ipswich are throwing an appreciation dinner for them Friday evening.

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  Why is it considered news when a girl donates hair to Locks of Love?

  Why do South Dakotans make such a big deal about Cracker Barrels?

  Why do people get so excited about four-generation photos? 

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  I knew Jim Kirk back at the Academy. Even back then, he was impetuous and unpredictable, but I had no idea he was destined for such great heights.

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  Shawn likes the haddock squares the Schwan’s man brings him, but they’re expensive — six for $13.

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 Dave claims that Angela Steinbach was once Miss Guelph.

 I always thought Angela came from Oakes. 

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  Now that columnist Joe Galloway has retired, he will just sit at home and complain. Just like the rest of us, he’ll have no one to listen.

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  Carl’s Jr., which is basically Hardee’s on the West Coast, is introducing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burgers. I’d be happy to try that because of the grilled cheese element.

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  Duane Riedel said he wouldn’t know a guy “from a bale of hay.”

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  Didn’t get to see “The Blind Side” during its 10 weeks in Aberdeen? It’s playing at the Strand Theatre in Britton through Sunday.

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   A co-worker said it’s too bad there isn’t such a thing as bottomless bags of Doritos.

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  “Charm only goes so far,” says a co-worker. For me, it doesn’t go nearly far enough.

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  Dacotah Bank used to be Farmers and Merchant Bank.

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  Paul Giamatti is in every other movie, but I have no idea what he looks like.

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  A profile of me, e-mailed to my computer, says I’m a graduate of Ipswich High School. That’s funny. I don’t remember any of my years at dear old IHS.

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  Dan Richardt says Casey’s has the best pizza in town.

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 I like hearing old Aberdonians talk about the Doodlebug and National Tea.

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 Because my wife is gone this week, I was touched when Greg Guenin said, “Hey, Jeff, need a friend?” Then he said, “Get a dog.”

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 On the phone, my son Bryan said “How are you holding up, Sparky?”

 Can a kid call his father “Sparky”?

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 Anytime you see a bunch of women performing at a dance recital, you can be sure they’ll get to “Ease on Down the Road.”

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 Do I understand this correctly: Sioux City will no longer smell when you drive through it?

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 I can’t decide if I prefer Lady Antebellum or Lady Gaga.

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 On Thursday, Kim Dosch said I was wearing “dark, dreary, funeral clothes.”

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 I like new KSDN sports director Josh Bertaccini, a graduate of Syracuse University. I like his energy and his East Coast smarts.

 But his Howard Cosell imitation needs work.

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 Vegas did a number on a guy who’s in a new movie.

 Once, long ago, Hankinson did a number on me.

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 This week, Sister Lorraine Hale called me Jim.

 I’ve lived here 14 years, and no one knows who the heck I am.

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 Thus far, I’ve resisted the urge to watch “The Notebook.” True love makes me very emotional.

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 A guy in the know says Northern’s dance team has “zero pep.”

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 Brad says the longer Hank Stram lived, the more hair he got.