(VIDEO) Ray of Hope - we are Jaguar Strong!

Tonight at football and baseball stadiums across Minnesota, the lights were turned on for a 20-minute period starting at 9 p.m. For Jaguar Country, we had lights on at Elrosa's Saints Field as well as the high school football field.

In terms of the stadium lights flooding the night skyline in Elrosa and Belgrade, the evening was a show of support for the B-B-E Class of 2020, whose senior year is in "flux" to say the least. We are also showing support for the entire student body, staff and our community first responders and health care workers.

I assembled this tonight, featuring a current view of the Jaguar football stadium, my comments and then a handful of photos from October 28, 2017. That was a day filled with many highs and a great, big low...a let down. A huge disappointment. Something that we moved past, and in the grand scheme of things...a football playoff loss that was minor when placed in the "big picture" we call life.



I don't want anyone to think that anyone knows how the rest of the 2019-2020 school year will play out. I really hope cooler minds will rule the day, and the state government won't prematurely "call it" without letting more of the month of April develop. But my hope does not translate into how life actually plays out.

Rather than spoil this blog post with more of my ranting, I want to end by saying that we really need to rally around one another, and especially our children, while picturing future memories being made on our local sports fields and in our schools. This is not a time to live in fear. This is a time to stand up, square your shoulders, straighten your neck and face the challenges of each day head on. Drive straight into them and knock out the difficulties in front of us!

YES, life is more than a football game, or a volleyball match, or a baseball game, or a fastpitch game, or a track meet, or a golf meet...I think you get the message. YES, life is more than that, but I also think it is perfectly acceptable to show sadness and disappointment that we are unable to gather around spring sports activities at this time. These events are deeply embedded in the fabric of life in our small towns across rural America. I believe reasonable people understand why these events are "on pause" right now. Many other facets of life are on "pause" as well. Keep in mind: this is not a permanent state of life.

This too shall pass.

Be Well. Stay Well.