There's plenty to celebrate during leap week

Hot Dog ... it's leap year, and this Friday, Feb. 29, has the extra day in it. Ssoooo, for all of you who celebrate Sadie Hawkins Day (boy, does this date us), feel free to ask out any man you choose, or lasso him for a date if the "asking" doesn't work. After all, Al Capp and "Lil Abner" made it a national holiday every four years ... and it's every gal's right to make the first move on that day. Good luck!

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Congratulations to Linda Hurzel and Kim Shepherd for being named co-PE teachers of the year for the entire state. "Almost" makes us want to get out and exercise. Almost. But what a nice honor. Way to go, ladies.

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A belated one-day-late happy birthday to Pat Hardy and Cmdr. Bryan Heller ... old, but not forgotten ... 'er, gone, but ... no... ah, forget it. Glad you made it this far (we're not getting any better here ... better quit while we're already behind), and hope the day was happy.

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Ben Grissom told us this wonderful tale: "Saturday morning a man got up early, put on his long johns, dressed quietly, made his lunch, grabbed the dog, slipped quietly into the garage to hook the boat up, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. There was snow mixed in with the rain, and the wind was blowing 50 mph. He pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio and discovered that the weather would be bad throughout the day. He went back into the house, undressed, and slipped back into bed. There he cuddled up to his wife's back, now with a 'different anticipation,' and whispered, 'The weather outside is terrible.' His loving wife replied, 'Can you believe my stupid husband is out there fishing in that crap?'"

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The Carson Valley Community Theatre is putting on "Sounds of Broadway," along with a three course meal or champagne brunch on April 3-6 (the brunch), at the Carson Valley Inn. Opening night does NOT have a meal, but the other three performances do. Please call Lucille Rao at 843-3493 for reservations, details and admission costs. It should be a great time. Also, the Gold Hill Hotel Theater has a full schedule of spring and summer performances, with dinner or without. They will present "The Sunshine Boys," and "The Tempest," to name a couple. Call 847-0111, for details and reservations.

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The Compassionate Friends, Northern Nevada Chapter, (who deal with the loss of a child) will be presenting Darcie D. Sims, Ph.D., on Saturday, March 8, at the Carson City Nugget, with a seminar on grief, "The Language of Grief, the Language of Hope," from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dr. Sims is an internationally known speaker on grief. For details and to register, please call 849-1979, 246-5570 or 883-3132. It includes materials, a continental breakfast and lunch. This course is also approved for Continuing Education Credits for professionals, and is open to all, especially those who have lost a child. It is a wonderful opportunity for those who are dealing with a grievous loss.

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Happier news: Thanks to Debbie at Quest for an absolutely pain free blood draw the other day; and welcome home to Teresa Compton, who has returned to Carson from a stint in California. She is now associated with ERA Pioneer Properties. It was nice to see Bonnie Waters, Noel Waters, and Rob Joiner at the Crackerbox Saturday. We all had a nice chat and ate Jerry's good food (ahhh, that fresh squeezed OJ).

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Sunday was Oscar night. Did you notice neither of us picked up an Oscar? Could it be that you might have to be in a movie, or some such stupid deal? Humph. Something tells us that's why we're always on this end of the TV set.

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Jo Ann Gardner told us this one about "a blonde weed eating her yard and accidentally cutting off the tail of her cat, which was hiding in the grass. She rushed her cat, along with the tail, to Wal-Mart. Why Wal-Mart? Hellooooo! WalMart is the biggest retailer in the world." Duh.

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When we said goodbye to Kyra Conway last week, there were so many people who came to pay their respects and to help that we can't begin to name them all. However, there are some that we do want to recognize, who went above and beyond the call of duty. The Brewery Arts Center for the facilities; the ladies from the Pinkerton Dance academy, who decorated the Brewery beautifully; Tom, from Carson City Florist, who helped in the decoration of the Performance Hall; Raley's and Scolari's for their donations of sodas and water; Cecilia Walsh for setting up pictures; Collie Hutter for flying the family to Sacramento; Tammy McMenomy, Virginia Nuzum, Darlene Nevin, Karen Chandler, Aaron Sitts, Michelle Lewis, and Terry Ward for helping at the reception and to help arrange all the food (much brought there by our local teachers), drinks and flowers; John Hurzel and Grandma Hattie's for the wonderful hot food and coffee; CHS basketball Coach Bruce Barnes and many friends for the clean up; the reverend Pat Hardy; and especially Pat and Dave Josten who did almost everything else. We know there were many, many others who were so very kind with their time and assistance, and we thank you all. You came through with food, flowers and love for Kyra and her family. These were just some of the people we worked with, and believe us, they were great. Bless you, and may you continue to support the Conway family.

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OK, we have one more. Russ Law relates that this sounds like our news media today: "A biker is riding by the zoo when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion's cage. The lion grabs her and tries to pull her inside, when the biker jumps off his bike, punches the lion in the jaw and rescues the girl from impending death. Her parents are overjoyed and thank him endlessly. A reporter sees the whole scene and tells the biker it was the most gallant and brave thing he had ever seen and that he will be sure it makes tomorrow's headline in the papers. 'By the way, what kind of motorcycle do you ride?' 'A Harley,' the biker replies. Sure enough, the next day the paper's headline reads, "Biker Gang Member Assaults African Immigrant and Steals His Lunch.'"

• Carolyn Tate and Maizie Harris Jesse are longtime Carson City residents. Write to them at editor@nevadaappeal.com.