Look at a September calendar and you’ll notice three holidays: Labor Day, Grandparents Day, and Rosh Hashana. Take a closer look (or some online surfing) and you’ll discover the ninth month of the calendar year marks 69 monthly observances, 34 weekly celebrations, and 159 daily commemorations.

            You may not immediately think of a correlation between some of these reasons to party like its 2011 and the Cornhusker State. But dig a bit further and you may be surprised at how these topics are not only current, but they also create a Nebraska connection.

            It’s Atrial Fibrillation Month. AF, the most common type of heart arrhythmia, occurs when the atria sends erratic signals that do not work in rhythm with the ventricles. 

            Through 2007, 20,009 Medicare beneficiaries in Nebraska used healthcare services due to AF. Those services totaled $14.7 million, according to AF Stat, a health policy foundation.

            Just last week, singer-songwriter Barry Manilow spoke at our nation’s capital to raise AF awareness. Manilow is one of 2.5 million Americans who live with AF.

            During his visit, U.S. Senator Ben Nelson presented the singer with a gift: a CD of “Western Town,” a song Nelson recorded years ago as part of a charity album for the Nebraska Foundation for Visually Impaired Children.

            On Sunday, Farm and Ranch Safety Week kicked off and continues through September 24.

            Every year around this time, Scott reminds me about taking precautions since harvest is coming up, I’m sharing the road with farm vehicles, and my Kia Sorento is a heck of a lot smaller than a combine or farm truck.

            In the past two weeks, several fatal accidents have occurred on Nebraska’s country roads. One main reason for the crashes: tall corn and obstructed drivers’ views.

            I spoke with Cheryl Stubbendieck, vice president of public relations for Nebraska Farm Bureau, about the importance of farm and ranch safety.

            She suggests highlighting a seasonal concern at monthly meetings.

            “It’s important that farm families not become complacent about safety. It’s a good idea to review safety procedures at regular farm business and/or family meetings.”

            What about farm visitors? It’s important that farm/ranch dwellers don’t assume guests know basic farm rules.

            Reviewing safety procedures may seem tedious, but those appraisals could ultimately save lives.

            On September 29, VFW Day honors the organization and its members who courageously served our country.

            The 2011 celebration denotes the 112-year establishment of the VFW. In 1899, a group of Spanish-America war veterans joined forces and started the organization for combat veterans.

            Nebraska’s oldest VFW post – All American St. Mihiel Post #247 – is the oldest, continuously active Post in the Cornhusker State. And, the Omaha organization also represents the second oldest post in the United States. The organization formed November 8, 1919. The Ladies Auxiliary began January 25, 1923.

            What an amazing tribute to everyone who has fought for this great country!

            Days may rush together in a flurry of activities, but take a closer look and see how a date on the calendar affects all of us.

                Monday morning, I encountered Cleopatra, poodle skirt-clad girls, a retro basketball player, and several freshmen who stepped out of a Jane Fonda exercise video.

                This blast from the past signals the beginning of Homecoming, a tradition in most Nebraska high schools, complete with dress-up days and pep rallies. Sometimes the bonfire features a dummy or mascot of the opposition tossed onto the flames, a sacrifice to the football gods to ensure victory. And who can forget about the hall decorations, parades, class competitions, coronation, and dance.

                My former classmate Charlie describes homecoming as the social event for the fall season where everyone was treated like royalty. It’s amazing to think that some crepe paper, balloons and Christmas lights could convince our minds that we were all in another world other than our own high school.

                Adolescent magic.

                Webster’s defines homecoming as a return: coming or returning home.  Some historians believe the popular fall event began in the 1870s, when both Harvard and Yale invited alumni to return to their annual scrimmage. Pop culture historians suggest that Baylor, Illinois or Missouri perfected the modern version of homecoming around 1910.

                The K-12, city-wide Homecoming parade conjured up memories with my fellow CCHS alums. Elementary students created costumes to either support the Wildcats or bruise the opponents.

                Melanie Schueler Knight reminded me of the time her brother dressed as an injured Blue Devil, slipped his arm in a sling and hobbled the parade route – around the courthouse square – on crutches, while carrying a sign pronouncing “Beat Kenesaw . . . Black and Blue.”

                If you played in band, you marched the route, dropped your instrument on the courthouse lawn, and sprinted back to school to be part of your class’s parade entry.

                Then you stood next to your parents, or grandparents, or the neighbor down the street and generated a whirl of school spirit floating toward the football field.

                As an educator, I observe the event differently. Some of the magical realism has faded into contrasting reality.

                If you consider the denotation of “homecoming” and the history behind the event, you may notice one key element seems M.I.A. from today’s weeklong festivities: alumni.

                If Homecoming is about returning home, shouldn’t schools do more to entice graduates to return on a crisp autumn evening and take in a football game, to share in and retain school spirit?             

                Shouldn’t  a graduate be more involved than a yearly alumni banquet where you eat a piece of rare roast beef or chicken and cold mashed potatoes, share silent conversations with classmates you had nothing in common with when you were in school, noting how the divide has widened remarkably in a year or ten?

                Maybe homecoming suggests a sense of community, of building a rapport with every person invested in a particular school.

                Maybe it’s about participation, about drawing the shyest wallflower lurking in the shadows into the frenzy.

                Maybe the spirit of homecoming should be encouraged and embraced throughout the year, within every activity, developing and representing a school’s character and pride.

Got a new gig over at Huskers Gameday, where I offer my opinion and take on the Huskers. We rallied the troops and held out a frisky Fresno State last night, and showed where we need to improve and what’s working. Check out my take on last night’s game over at Huskers Gameday.

                Go for a spin, funnel cakes. Goud-an outta here, fried cheese curds. Aw, shucks, corn dogs.

                You’re so last year’s fare.

                We should eat to live, but if you attended the Nebraska State Fair, perhaps you lived to eat. Celebrating the tagline “The Good Life on a Stick,” food vendors showcased fair favorites, as well as some newfangled treats, impaled or threaded onto a stick.

                At this year’s extravaganza, over 30 different menu items dish up either fried or chocolate-covered edibles on a stick. Catfish on a stick. Deep-fried peaches on a stick. Fried chocolate chip cookie dough on a stick. Pecan-smoked pork chops on a stick. Shrimp on a stick.

                I feel like I’m stuck in a scene from “Forrest Gump.”

                Not satisfied? You could try peanut butter and jelly, deep fried butter, or fried bananas, all – you guessed it – on a stick.

                Craving chocolate? I saw chocolate-covered Twinkies, chocolate caramel corn with nuts, Hostess-brand Ho-Hos, and rice krispie treats. Yup. All of these delectables were served on a stick.

                One vendor sold chocolate-covered bacon.  Interestingly, this may be the healthiest choice on the fairgrounds. The bacon is baked instead of fried.

                Why are Nebraskans – and their peers from other parts of the country – fascinated with fair food?

                In a world consumed by foodie catchphrases like “Bam” and “Yum-O,” in a society that embraces a bit of unusual cuisine creativity, the artery-clogging, chocolate-dripping allure of fair food draws crowds.

                The Nebraska State Fair isn’t the only expo in the country to offer interesting edibles. Just when you thought there weren’t enough food-on-a-stick options, inventive entrepreneurs developed interesting, new options.

                 In Minnesota, fairgoers could try camel meat, spaghetti and meatballs or s’mores on a stick. And in Texas, the fair’s food vendors like to compete in a game of one-upsmanship. They’ve perfected beer-battered salsa balls, deep-fried beer, chocolate covered jalapeños, and deep-fried Coca-Cola.

                The long lines at the food vendors indicate that the public is willing to indulge their appetites, and maybe, their curiosity. The self-imposed food coma comes at a cost: calories and high dollars.

                I’ll admit I’m guilty of searching out one vendor. When the fair moved to Grand Island, Scott and I wandered the grounds until we found them. But in my defense, visiting this particular booth is a family tradition. When the fair was in Lincoln, my dad’s favorite spot was the stand serving vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate and rolled in chopped peanuts. And yes, it’s served on a stick.            

                What does all this skewered food say about society’s skewered outlook about food choices? Is it okay to overindulge in a beer-battered-deep-fried-dipped-in-chocolate anything during a visit to this statewide get-together? Where are the healthy options?

                Or is this a balancing act? You’ll walk off the calories perusing fair exhibits.

                The food-on-a-stick craze brings out the best of ingenuity. What’s next? Gouged goulash? Speared spinach?

                If you live to eat, you’re destined to find a treat on a stick that celebrates Nebraska’s good life when you chow down on fair fare.

When Project Gutenburg debuted 4o years ago, today’s use of digital publishing never could have been predicted. I talk with a screenwriter, a fiction author, a YA and YA non-fiction author, a publisher and an emerging technologies librarian about specifics in their fields and the direction they see digital publishing headed. Read the 20 Questions segment in Issue 46 of WOW! Women on Writing.