A little of this, a little of that

The upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama marks an historic moment for our country. It really doesn't matter if you're a Republican or Democrat, you have to be excited about what this represents, and what it says about our people and how far we've come in just a few short decades.

There's an excitement about our political process that's been missing, and an interest like none other.

The challenges facing our new president are mountainous. With such high, high expectations from so many people, it will be a gigantic task for anyone to meet them.

And, it was reported last week, Obama has a new challenge to face.

His mother-in-law is moving in.

Now, realize that I speak with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, but that's gotta add a whole new dimension to his life as President.

It's tough enough to meet the expectations of the American people, but imagine being Commander in Chief and having your work critiqued every evening when you get home by the one person on earth who never thought you were good enough for her little girl.

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Don't know about you all, but life in the tropics is looking good this week.

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I am so excited about the return of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," the smash SCT hit of a year ago. I didn't make it to any of those sold-out shows, so I've already marked my calendar for the SCT Preview Fundraising Performance on Friday, Jan. 30.

The inclusion of the Spencer production in the 50th anniversary edition of the Winter Dance Party event is really an honor for the local troupe. The performing arts venue at North Iowa Community College in Mason City is an incredible theatre, and it's appropriate that this great rendition of the musical was chosen to be a part of all those special events. The NIACC show is set for Sunday, Feb. 1.

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While it's tough running a business in these challenging economic times, I can think of one job that's probably even tougher right now - athletic director. With the snow, ice and wind we've seen these past two months, those folks have had to be amateur meteorologists, air traffic controllers and jugglers to decide when to cancel, when to go ahead and when to just throw your hands in the air.

I've got a bit of insight into that job, as my older sister Wendy Henrichs is the athletic director at Lincoln East High School in Lincoln, NE. I've learned not to talk to her much from December through February. She gets a bit testy.

The way things are going now, we may be playing basketball in May.

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Thanks to all of you who make our Spencer Daily Reporter website their place to catch up on all the news. We work hard to update breaking news first on the site. And, we are happy to make this a venue for comments and questions from our readers.

It's been fun to see the comments from all over the world from readers of "Dewey." People are passionate about the book, that's clear.

What hasn't been so fun have been some of the personal, racial, and negative comments from one poster to another on other topics on the site.

That's not allowed, and won't be tolerated.

We police the website pretty stringently, and we want to maintain it as a "community bulletin board" of information and opinions. So, with that in mind, let's all think before we type.