Family traditions are quite often part of the Easter celebration along the path around the Falls, and this year was no exception, with a few new ones thrown in. Travel can be part of the tradition, and such was the case with this observer, who made his way to New England for a visit and a family gathering.
With a grandson who just turned 2 and another youngster a few months younger, it was a time to bring back memories. In an earlier conversation with a son, the suggestion of an Easter egg hunt came up, and that was put on the agenda. He commented that he had memories of family gatherings in which his grandfather hid the eggs and what fun it was to work through that tradition.
This time I would have the role of the grandfather hiding the eggs. It was a team effort to load the plastic eggs with jellybeans on Saturday night. In a never-before tradition, this was done around the kitchen counter while watching the Badgers work their way through the Final Four in their nail-biting win over Kentucky. Now that’s an Easter tradition that might never be repeated.
The game was not available on local channels, and the selected cable TV package for the home did not include ESPN. This was a downer, but things brightened up when it became apparent that ESPN was also streaming the game on the Internet. It wasn’t quite like watching it on big-screen TV, but the battle-scarred Mac Book Pro sitting on the kitchen counter was the center of attention.
The next morning, the tradition of a grandfather hiding Easter eggs moved to the next generation. I would have to admit that it was fun to play the hide game, both in the family room for the first stage of the game and in the expansive back yard where fallen sticks and other items could be used to partially conceal the eggs.
The Sunday morning hunt proved to be a great success and was worth the effort as the two boys ran around finding the eggs. There were a few tumbles on the soft ground, but they survived, and pants with dirty knees are washable.
Turning back to the Badgers, as this is being written, the Monday night final is yet to be played. Anyone connected to Wisconsin is proud of the team’s success. On the Monday afternoon return flight to Wisconsin, this observer was sporting Wisconsin colors.
If the Badgers take it all on Monday night, perhaps conversations with educators from other states will take a slightly different tone than the persistent questions and comments about the changing status of public education in Wisconsin.
Much has been written over the years about the effect that a prime-time evening Packers’ loss or win has on the next morning’s attitudes in the workplace and other settings. This effect can be compounded with the latter part of the season or championship games.
The Badgers find themselves in an infrequent situation with a prime-time championship game. With a win, there will be jubilation. A loss might be a downer, but few expected them to get this far, especially since Saturday’s matchup came against Kentucky, a team that was expected to take it all.
For many fans, the finish of this Wisconsin Badgers basketball team’s season had an impact on Tuesday morning’s mood and activities; exactly what impact is hard to measure. Tuesday was spring election day in Wisconsin. School board member seats were on the ballot. Fifty-six school districts also had referenda questions on Tuesday’s ballot.
A number are for construction and maintenance projects, but more than half are for operation funding, since revenue limits and the reduction in state support for schools have made it nearly impossible to operate at a reasonable level without going to the voters to ask for additional support. Unfortunately, that is becoming a more common tradition in the state.
Did a Monday night Badgers win result in more of those referendum questions being passed? Did a loss mean more referenda failed?
Perhaps there is no correlation between a feeling of well-being and adequate support of public education in Wisconsin. At times, it seems that finding elected state officials who value public education is tougher than an Easter egg hunt.
Categories
