I’m trying to get out of my house in a hurry to begin what will be a hectic 48 hours. I have my car loaded, but I am not ready to leave quite yet. I also want to stop and get a haircut before finally exiting Russell.

I have a basketball game tonight, Norton at Ellis. The game was scheduled for tomorrow night, but Ellis agreed to move the game to Thursday since Norton is hosting a Class 3-2-1A regional wrestling tournament Friday and Saturday. This is the third time I can recall Ellis and Norton moving a basketball game to Thursday because the Bluejays are hosting regional wrestling. In 2007 and 2013, those games were at Norton. The game was going to be at Norton again this year, but due to an adjustment in the Mid-Continent League schedule due to the addition of Oakley and TMP-Marian, the schedule was adjusted to allow Ellis to host again this year.

After the game, I drive to Norton and check in at the Sleep Inn for the third time this year and fourth time in two months. Tomorrow at 2 p.m., the regional wrestling tournament begins at the high school. There are 23 teams scheduled to enter, and I have to worry about four–Ellis, Phillipsburg, Plainville and Smith Center. Wrestling will go through at least 8 p.m. tomorrow with the semifinals.

Then comes the tricky part.

The regional is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. Saturday, but there is a forecast of snow. It doesn’t matter to me–I’m booked in the hotel through Sunday, and now have a reservation to stay until Monday at noon if need be. For those who don’t have reservations, it’s going to be an iffy proposition. The National Weather Service in Goodland is projecting 3-4 inches of snow in Norton over the weekend, starting at midnight Friday and continuing for the next two days. Of course, that will mean US 283 will be snowpacked. Great.

Yesterday’s session with Crista Geyer went very well. It was a relief not to be talking about so many negative incidents. I got my work for Russell done a little after 1, and it was killing time most of the day. I was glad to be home, because my mother cooked catfish for Ash Wednesday.

I gotta get going. I’ll be back later tonight, either from Ellis or Norton. Maybe both.