This Just In – Good things did happen this year and I’m going to spend this week and next offering a reminder of some that may have faded from short term memory.
In April of this year, we had a total solar eclipse that cut a path across the US from Texas to Ticonderoga New York. Although I would have loved to have made the trip to my grandmother’s hometown of Ticonderoga, we couldn’t make a trip that far and instead did get to experience the eclipse’s totality in Akron, Ohio.
Point of acknowledgement … this would NEVER have happened without the nagging insistence of my younger son, Rob. He hauled down to South Carolina on the spur of the moment to experience the last eclipse a couple of years ago and drove this train all the way. This included the grandkids (then 6 and 4) and be assured, that’s a looooog drive with little people. All due credit to my son and daughter-in-law on that aspect.
But you know what? They did great, were totally focused on the eclipse and were spellbound by everything that came before and after. We made T-shirts to commemorate the day – a task I fully endorse rather than buying overpriced souvenir shirts.
The Paris Olympics gave us a beautiful example of stunning pageantry (some of it in the pouring rain) spanning across a major city, turning iconic sites into spectacular venues for sports. While watching with my grandson (now an avid soccer player), I marveled at the games, the crowds and how much fun that looked like.
Six-year-old Winter said he thought I should bring him to the next Olympic soccer games. I said that sounded like a great idea … #LosAngeles2028
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour got a lot of attention this year and for good reason. What she has done as an artist is brilliant and unmatched. After making several smash hit albums under a record label and gaining meteoric fame, she determined that she should take total ownership of her material … all of which is her own creation.
This led to her re-recording her entire catalog and releasing it herself as “Taylor’s version” – a now ubiquitous term. Swift is a self-made billionaire and there’s no sign that she’s turned into jerk. Quite the opposite. At the end of the tour this month, we learned that while the tour made over $2 Billion, Swift awarded almost $200 million in bonuses to tour staff.
UConn (men’s) basketball made their dominance clear. Move over girls, the UConn men won their second consecutive championship and then Dan Hurley turned down a lucrative offer to coach in the NBA. Coach Hurley lives in my hometown of Glastonbury, Connecticut so I can understand his unwillingness to pull up stakes for Los Angeles.
Very honorable mention … the women’s coach, Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in division one basketball this year and, in true UConn fashion, will be running up the score on that record for the rest of the season.
Caitlin Clark, Iowa superstar, electrified women’s basketball at all levels. This is the most exciting player to watch since Michael Jordan first took flight and wagged his tongue in the Carmichael gym. Her impact in collegiate sports cannot be overstated. Her team lost to an undefeated South Carolina women’s team, but except for that shortfall, she never disappointed.
Then she went on Saturday Night Live and slayed in an appearance at the SNL Weekend Update desk.
When she wasn’t chosen for the Olympic team, she did nothing but root for those who were.
Her professional team, the Indiana Fever, played before sold-out crowds as never before and after a bumpy start, made it to the playoffs. ESPN’s dramatically expanded coverage of women’s basketball got better ratings than the men’s games. Follow the money. As with Swift, they’re no sign that Clark is anything other than a class act.
Breathe deep. There’s fresh air available when you look for it.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and the host of the Weekend Watercooler on 97.9 The Hill. She is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – [email protected] and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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