tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39172099996501120812024-02-18T21:01:36.182-05:00Points PonderedPainting images with words.Gennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714754069962750158noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917209999650112081.post-52240317722902006802017-04-20T21:01:00.000-04:002017-04-20T21:01:07.206-04:00VievesVine.com<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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Gennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714754069962750158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917209999650112081.post-28208061449676680102017-03-23T07:19:00.001-04:002017-04-08T19:54:15.188-04:00My friend Allen<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">
A simple flip of the switch—a whir, a buzz, a hum followed by...nothing. </div>
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What does a girl do when her garbage disposal goes on the blink and no Gary nearby to diagnose the problem? Gary would have reacted with a long sigh and a fair amount of grumbling, but he would have gotten to the bottom of it—literally.</div>
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Me? I, too, fix things for my family. I sooth hurt feelings, mend broken hearts and rebuild fragmented self-esteem.</div>
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If I require hands-on tools, I reach for pencils, pens, paper, books and my laptop. When my daughters were in single digits, I was skilled with hair ties and ribbons and bows. </div>
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I’m also pretty good with a baseball glove. My son would agree.</div>
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I’m proficient in the use of hairdryers and flat irons. I operate toaster ovens and mixers.</div>
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Just don’t ask me to repair them. </div>
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When I open a toolbox, I seldom look for more than a hammer and a screwdriver. My friend Toni would say my ability with a hammer is questionable. </div>
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OK. She would use the word, “dangerous.” Toni’s fingers have barely escaped near death experiences—direct results of a hammer in my hand.</div>
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As for small appliances, I’m a replace rather than repair kind of girl. This has nothing to do with the fact that I am a female, but it has everything to do with my inborn aptitude for things, well, less mechanical.</div>
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Not certain who to call, I stared down at my silent disposal and said, “It’s just you and me.”</div>
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I did what most everyone does. I dipped my hand into the bowels of my sink and probed for the kinds of foods disposals reject: Celery bits, fruit pits, eggshells, and onion skins. </div>
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My hand returned with none of above, but it retrieved more than a fair share of yuck. Double yuck.</div>
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I turned the tap on high and tried the switch again. Nothing.</div>
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When in doubt, I grab my go-to tool—my laptop. In YouTube's search bar, I typed, “jammed garbage disposal.”</div>
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A friendly girl named Michelle popped onscreen. She spoke with a British accent and introduced me to Allen Wrench.</div>
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I’d met Allen Wrench on several previous occasions, but had never placed his occupation with a name. My YouTube garbage disposal experience was an ah-ha moment: So, this is <i>the Allen wrench</i> all DIYs and contractors rave about.</div>
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Michelle told me to grab Allen, a broom handle, and a flashlight. She instructed me to unplug my disposal. </div>
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“Never ever, ever, ever put your hand down the disposal,” she said.</div>
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There are upsides to one-way conversations. </div>
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Michelle did not know I’d already swiped the disposal with my hand—several times. And I was OK with keeping my Allen wrench revelation between Allen and me.</div>
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In less than two minutes, Michelle got me under the sink and beneath the disposal. The lengthiest part of the process involved Allen. </div>
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Turns out he, like George Foreman, has lots of sons bearing the same name. They come in various sizes.</div>
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I inserted each Allen into the base of the appliance until I found the right fit. Then, I tweaked him back and forth one, two or five times in my attempt to dislodge the invisible culprit.</div>
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“Before plugging in the appliance, use the broom handle to dislodge the jam from the top,” she said.</div>
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“OK,” I said, “but I think my hand would be more efficient.”</div>
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Tension mounted as I stood over the sink and turned on the tap. I paused and said a brief prayer before flipping the switch.</div>
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Voilà! Success!</div>
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Maybe I should have started with the prayer, but then I would have remained in the dark about Allen.<span class="HOEnZb"><span style="color: #888888;"></span></span></div>
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Gennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714754069962750158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917209999650112081.post-25807473652020638812017-03-15T10:13:00.001-04:002017-04-08T19:53:35.955-04:00Gen-nuh-veev!<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">
A server at a restaurant handed me the receipt and said, “Thank you, Genevieve.”</div>
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I smiled. </div>
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With the exception of my friends or Gary voicing it in jest, I’m not often called by my given name. When I am, my surprise is always followed by a smile. </div>
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I have been using my “real’ name more than usual of late—thanks to a DMV employee who handed back my paperwork for incorrect identification.</div>
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“I believe you are both Genny and Genevieve,” said the DMV clerk. “But rules are rules.”</div>
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Even though I’ve been Genny with utility and credit card companies for at least 100 years, the people who hold the keys to my car, via my driver’s license, claimed consistency is of the utmost importance. </div>
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“It would behoove you to use your official name on all documents—the one that appears on your driver’s license and birth certificate,” he said.</div>
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Behoove? </div>
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I think my DMV advisor wanted to say, “Be who you are. Own her.” But he didn’t.</div>
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His nitpicky rules resulted in pain in the neck work for me. Be ye forewarned young Johns who are called Jack, Olivias shorted to Liv, and Theodores who go by Ted. </div>
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Speak the nickname; write the given name.</div>
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I’m not certain why my parents named me Genevieve and called me Genny, but I’ll throw out an educated guess. My father gifted his children with the names of his siblings.</div>
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Among three Johns, three Geralds, three Charlies, two Donalds and two Genevieves, being able to call one child who might answer at family gatherings was probably a relief.</div>
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Many of today’s parents are giving firm names to their unborn children. Soon to join families of friends are Anders, Norah, and Ainsley. I can’t wait to meet them.</div>
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Gary and I tried to pre-prepare. We chose names early on for each of our children—ever so carefully. I’m relieved we didn’t share our choices with anyone. </div>
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Only one out of three stuck. The story rings differently for the remaining two.</div>
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The minute baby two, later three, was placed in my arms, the name we spent months deciding on was tossed for one we had never considered, but somehow seemed to fit.</div>
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As a child, I did not hate Genevieve. How could I when I so loved the aunt for whom I was named?</div>
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I grew accustomed to the embarrassment that came hand in hand with each first day of school. Teachers called me everything from Geneva to Guinevere until I interjected, “Just call me Genny.”</div>
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When I was in single digits, it was not easy to form a bond with a name that was—if one stacked the letters vertically—much taller than I. It was difficult to forge a friendship with a name that was spoken aloud only when the wrath of a parent followed.</div>
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“Gen-nuh-veev, come home right now” and “Gen-nuh-veev, come here this minute” and, worse of the worst, the stand alone, elongated version: “Gennn-nuhhhhh-veeeeevvvvv!”</div>
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Oooooh, the memory of that last one still makes me want to jump under the bed, hide in a closet, or run off and into the woods.</div>
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Naming a child is challenging. It’s a big—HUGE—responsibility. Messing up that first parenting task can have disastrous results. Just ask the boy named Sue.</div>
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Going over lists and lists and lists of names for our three children made me appreciate what my parents must have suffered through. In the end, they chose to give their children names they could grow into.</div>
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So it is and so I have. Genevieve. I’ve grown to appreciate her.</div>
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Gennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714754069962750158noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917209999650112081.post-7905470336168571932017-03-09T11:03:00.002-05:002017-04-08T20:38:44.619-04:00Bocce, bocce...<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Once upon a time, our family owned a bocce set. It consisted of four red and four blue bocce balls and one yellow Pallino ball—tucked away in a red nylon carrying case.</div>
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Our bocce set was like a longtime friend. I don’t remember when or how it came into our lives. It just always seemed to be with us—until it wasn’t.</div>
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Misplacing a bocce set is not as disastrous as losing car keys or a phone, but it is perplexing. A bright red nylon case that’s big enough to house eight bocce balls should be easy to spot.</div>
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I get angry with myself when I lose things. It’s frustrating. It’s unnerving. It’s embarrassing.</div>
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I thought my husband was the only person privy to my tendency to misplace my keys and phone—until our daughter Jordan gave me a TILE® for Christmas. A TILE® is a small square Bluetooth device that slides onto a keychain or sticks to phones, tablets and anything else one might lose.</div>
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Using the corresponding app, one can track down misplaced items. It’s a pretty reliable gadget. I should know. </div>
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Too bad it never occurred to me to attach a similar tracking device to our bocce set. </div>
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We discovered the set missing on our first trip to the beach after moving from our “this ole house.” We set up camp—chairs, beach towels, and paddleball. No red bag.</div>
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In our family, sand without bocce is like a milkshake minus a straw.</div>
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In the absence of everything bocce, Gary and I adopted a new game called “Bocce, bocce, where is the bocce?” </div>
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“Did you pack the bocce set,” I asked Gary.</div>
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“No. I thought you packed it,” he said.</div>
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That’s how the game unfolded. For weeks that turned into months, we assumed the roles of mockingbirds.</div>
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“Have you seen the bocce?” and “No. Have you seen the bocce?”</div>
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“Maybe one of the kids has it” and “I’ll bet one of the kids has it.”</div>
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“I can’t remember if I loaned it to someone” and “I don’t believe I loaned it to anyone.”</div>
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Like a neglectful Words With Friends opponent, we would forget about the missing game until the next picnic or beach trip. </div>
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“Any chance you gave it away?” and “I’m certain I didn’t give it away.”</div>
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“I don’t remember seeing it in the cellar” and “I don’t remember seeing it in the garage.”</div>
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I suggested we buy a new set.</div>
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Next thing we knew, we had collapsed to our knees in the sporting goods aisle. What we didn’t know: Bocce balls vary in color AND size. </div>
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Two sets. Two sizes.</div>
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“Let’s open them to get a better look,” I said.</div>
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“We can’t do that,” Gary whispered.</div>
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“Yes we can,” I said. “Very carefully.”</div>
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We slid the bags out of their corresponding boxes only to find cardboard concealing the contents—secured by tape.</div>
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“They’re taped,” said Gary.</div>
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“Use your knife,” I said.</div>
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He didn’t want to. He really didn’t. But, with the deft hand of a veterinary surgeon, my husband sliced through the tape.</div>
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Both balls were double-wrapped in plastic. Ugh.</div>
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One appeared too big and the other too small. We re-sealed the contents and returned home—empty-handed. </div>
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I proposed we take a look in the cellar before I ordered an in-between set. </div>
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Ten minutes later, our months-long game ended. </div>
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During all the time we spent mimicking one another, we each assumed the other had actually looked for the missing bocce bag. </div>
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Bocce, bocce, where is the bocce? In the red nylon bag behind the fan in the cellar, that’s where.</div>
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And all is right with our world. </div>
Gennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714754069962750158noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3917209999650112081.post-15648872802882413852017-03-03T09:36:00.000-05:002017-03-03T09:36:20.588-05:00Stress Virginia<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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The gold shirt in the store window sported navy blue letters that spelled out “PRESS VIRGINIA.” A waving flying WV underscored the message.</div>
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“They should change that to ‘Stress Virginia,’” said my brother Gerald.</div>
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He has a point.</div>
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The 2016-2017 Mountaineer Basketball team is athletic, talented, and—in three words—driving me crazy. I’m not complaining; I’m perplexed.</div>
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Don’t misunderstand. The Mountaineer round ballers are 23-7 and ranked 10<sup>th</sup> in this week’s AP poll. They have given fans like me a lot to cheer about. </div>
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When, early in the season, your team dismantles then number 6 Virginia in Charlottesville, wipes out former number 1 Baylor, and slaps aside then number 2 Kansas, it takes discipline to keep expectations in check.</div>
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I am not known for discipline.</div>
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How the exact same team can lose to the likes of Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Kansas State by a total seven points—after leading each contest late in the games—is inexplicable. How does a gifted team like ours drub Oklahoma State in the Cowboys’ backyard and lose to them on our own turf—I mean court?</div>
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Dr. Suess would have said, “They’re up. They’re down. They’re all around.”</div>
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Today is his birthday, after all. </div>
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I give our Mountaineers bonus points for avenging the Oklahoma and Kansas State losses. Texas Tech? No so fast. Oh, we beat them—in double overtime (again, after leading late in regulation). But my mind took the win like a loss.</div>
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And then there was Kansas—the second time around. Not a Mountaineer fan in-state and across America slept after that one.</div>
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I said it before, but it’s worth a re-mention. No wonder Bob Huggins’ defibrillator blew a fuse. If I had one, I would have had to replace it by now.</div>
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For reasons of inconsistent officiating, I’m not counting <a dir="ltr" href="x-apple-data-detectors://3" style="-webkit-text-decoration-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.258824); color: black;" x-apple-data-detectors-result="3" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">Tuesday night</a>’s loss to Baylor. And I’ve got high hopes for tonight's senior night contest against Iowa State—if our players aren’t too tired.</div>
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I just read your minds.</div>
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“Too tired?” you ask. “College basketball players are young and full of energy. They pull all-nighters without yawning, ” you contend.</div>
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True. </div>
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But most college basketball teams are part of conferences made up of schools within reach. While our guys (and girls for that matter) travel to and all over Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas and Iowa, our opponents have to make the trip to Morgantown only once. </div>
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Once.</div>
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The team returned home Monday late or Tuesday early. They finish out the regular season tonight, finally get a week to rest and then they’re back on an airplane to Kansas City, Missouri for the Big 12 Tournament.</div>
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These are facts, not excuses.</div>
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WVU more than holds its own in the Big 12 when it comes to talent, but logistically our presence in a conference located in the land of far, far away makes no sense. </div>
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I don’t know how to measure the affects of continuous travel on the team’s inability to finish strong mid to late in the second half of ball games. I do believe if they are equally rested to their opponent, this Mountaineer basketball squad has the potential to beat any school in the nation.</div>
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I can only hope they are able to refresh and reload between the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. </div>
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They’re a fun bunch to watch—for fans who are not faint of heart. The song changes from one game to the next:</div>
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“Almost heaven, West Virginia…”</div>
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“Almost heaven, Press Virginia…”</div>
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“Almost heaven, Stress Virginia…”</div>
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I choose option two—press hard and finish strong.</div>
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Gennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14714754069962750158noreply@blogger.com0