Coming of Age

Kenneth Leetch was born on October 22, 1931 in Dawes County, Nebraska to Daniel Oliver Leetch and Alice Neoma (Britton) Leetch.  He grew up in Dawes County and received his education at Crawford High School.  He entered the Air Force on January 6, 1951 and served during the Korean War.  He was honorably discharged on January 5, 1955.  He was united in marriage to Mary Jalaine Kugler on April 1, 1956 at Bartlett, Nebraska.  After which the couple lived in Crawford, Nebraska and then moved to Milford, Nebraska where he attended technical school for Refrigeration.  The couple then moved to Nebraska City, where started his appliance repair career.  In 1959 the couple moved to Grand Island with their two young children and he worked at ACE Appliance.  In 1962 he started Ken’s Refrigeration which now is Ken’s Appliance located on Webb Rd. in Grand Island, Nebraska.

As you can tell, Ken had a very busy and successful life. After Ken and Jalaine had their kids Glenda and Gail, they settled down in Grand Island and continued to work on their appliance business and would later hand down the title of owner to his son Gail. He enjoyed camping, traveling in his RV, playing card games, and most of all spending time with family and friends after his semi-retirement. I remember going to their house and playing ruthless card games like Kings on the Corner, Dumb Game(Golf in actual card game titles) and my grandpa Ken wouldn’t show any mercy towards us kids. No matter the game or skill level, Ken wouldn’t be scared to show us this is how REAL people play card games.

One thing I can remember with my Grandpa was how kind and patient he was. When he would teach me how to repair an appliance he was tinkering around with, he wouldn’t be opposed or angry if I asked for help. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him legitimately angry or upset over someone.

My fondest memory that I will keep hold for the rest of my life is absolutely the camping trips we would take. One summer my sister, my grandparents and I took a trip up to Crawford, NE where my Grandpa was born. And while we were there, I experienced a trip back into time to where he was born, went to school, played with his friends and more. Ken was born on a plateau by Crawford that his family referred to as The Table, and his log cabin that he was born in is still there. Throughout my younger life, I had always heard of these places and thought that they’d be long gone but time has kept that part of Nebraska untouched and pure.

Kenneth was a storyteller as well. When we would have lunch together or be around each other for Christmas or Thanksgiving, he would always tell us his stories of his military experiences in Morocco and other parts of the world, and while he didn’t have the loudest voice and was shy around people, when he talked everyone would listen to his stories.

In Christmas of 2018, I started noticing my Grandpas health was seriously declining. He couldn’t talk as much, move as much, or see much but his heart was still there and full of love. In February of 2019 he passed from us in peace and surrounded by family that he knew was there and would remember his big heart and funny personality. I hope to take my future kids and family up to The Table and tell them the stories he told me about our families linage.

Jeff Gerstmann Review

Giant Bomb is a video games review/lets play/content creation website that has a ton of videos, podcasts, blogs and more on their site and they are easily my #1 games review and information site out there. Jeff Gerstmann is the co-creator of the site and has a fantastic way of speaking about games. Whenever I need to know a history lesson on the games industry, he will probably know what, where and when it happened.

About the actual review, Jeff has a fantastic way with describing the feelings Mario Maker gave to him when the game released in 2015. He, in my opinion, does a great job of balancing positives and negatives and gives clear examples as to why he feels that way about an aspect of the game. Giving the reader examples of his negatives of the game puts it in a light you can understand and experience.

Giant Bomb is also my dream job and I would absolutely love love love to work there

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New Republic – Breaking Bad Review

Spoiler Alert for Breaking Bad ahead

 

 

Breaking Bad blew my mind when it was on TV. It was for a very line time my favorite TV show of all time. In this review of the show above, Laura Bennett perfectly describes the shows way of always leaving you on the edge of your seat, drenched in agony as these characters experience what they go through in the show. I really appreciated her way of describing the wife character Skyler’s evolution throughout the show is brilliant.

For a long while I wasn’t really into any series or form of media. Sure I’d play the newest video game or watch the newest movie but in terms of a long show or series, nothing really caught my eye….

 

That is until I watched what is quite possibly my favorite series and favorite anything of all-time, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.

 

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an anime/manga series that is created by Hirohiko Araki that is about the Joestar family battling across multiple different stories and linage from the family against many foes including, but not limited to, vampires, buff vampire gods, an ice throwing bird, a telephone tower and more.

Part 3 and on (Seasons/Arcs of this show are referred as Parts. Part 1,2,3 etc. etc.) have powers called Stands. Part 5 called Golden Wind, or Vento Aureo, is currently airing on streaming services like Crunchyroll, VRV, and Hulu since October of 2018, and is rapidly becoming my new favorite Part of the whole series and is unfortunately on a week break this week 😦 . I need my weekly fix of JoJo’s!

The characters in the series in Part 3 and on have Stands, what I mentioned earlier, that are named after music and pop culture references.

 

This Stand is named The Grateful Dead and his ability is to speed up the aging process.

 

Killer Queen is quite possibly my favorite Stand in the whole series. Named after the song by Queen, its ability is very fitting to its user and its power. Killer Queen can make anything and anyone explode with its contact and C4-like detonation.

Fun fact: a majority of the Stands’ powers directly come from the songs/albums lyrics and motifs that define them. For example, if you listen or look at Killer Queen by Queen’s lyrics, it’s ability in JoJo’s is directly influenced by it.

“She’s a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatin
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime”

I will further discuss my absolute love for this series in our upcoming critical analysis posts for sure, and guaranteed I’ll talk about it way way more. Possibly an episode review every Friday? Let me know!

2020, the Next Phase

I really enjoyed this column by David Leonhardt simply due to the fact that he encourages Democrats to go out and vote in the next election cycle, because last election Dems got stomped and some other instances happened as well….

Having your right to vote is key to our American dream and what we are afforded as citizens. It’s honestly not that hard to vote, or even in my case, do an absentee ballot since I am registered in Hall County. I feel like this column is a good image to where we are at now and what will be going down in 2020.

 

Are The House Dems Overplaying Their Hand?

While I usually and mostly disagree with Fox News on pretty much anything, I would have to agree with this article. I feel like the Democratic party is gearing up for a cluster of failure for many many people into the next election. It’s great that there is so much interest in the election and that it’s great that so many candidates have come forward and want to run, but oversaturation can lead to downfall very very quickly. As of writing this there are 15 candidates in the running. I think the Democratic party needs to suss out the ones who aren’t as passionate and diligent as others to make sure we get the best possible candidate out there.

I chose to read the “Picasso and the Cultural Rebirth of Chicago” piece.

The way Royko vividly describes the scene of the revealing of this art piece feels like you were there. How he describes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was playing classical music and no fanfare for the mayor, to how he describes the dialogue between the Mayor and the Republicans in their seats. It was a great read.

Ask anyone who has lived in Grand Island for a longtime about the city and more often than not, they’ll mention the city life, downtown, Wave Pizza(some of the best ‘Za in Nebraska) and possibly even the trains.

Since living in GI since birth, the train tracks by and through downtown GI are a staple of the town. On a cold Winter’s night, you can hear the distant wail of the train horns going by and throughout most of the town, they are heard. The impact of the trains on the city through business as well should be mentioned as well. Throughout downtown Grand Island, there are gigantic grain bins that supply, well, grain to the trains coming through town for shipment. It brings job opportunities for sure, but there is one crucial aspect of the trains being through GI as much as they are, placement. Train traffic times, train stoppage and timing have all been felt by GI civilians for a very long time.

Glenda Kahler (Hmmm where have we heard that last name before……) said that in mid-day traffic right after school, there have been multiple occasions where she has experienced a delay in taking her kids to school, going to work and doing other things around town due to trains driving by at a snails pace, or being completely stopped at key crossroads to the other side of town.

To put the layout of Grand Island into perspective, the Northwest part of town is where a lot of the key business’ have moved to. Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, the Conestoga Mall, the towns main movie theater and dozens of restaurants are located there, while the Southeast part of town is where the towns’ historical and residential areas are. The Grand Theater, historic Downtown, the town library and many of the towns’ parks are located there as well. Dividing the town is where the railroad lies and usually is subjected to delays crossing over to either side.

Thankfully, a majority of my family is on the same Southeast side of town, but for anyone to cross over either calls for a chance to cut across the tracks before a guaranteed train delay is, or wrap around the Highway that goes around town for a longer way totally, but faster compared to a train delay.

In a fantastic editorial piece, it discusses exactly why these trains are such a pain in the backside nowadays. Fun Fact: A train was once stopped for 27 hours. 

Even with Grand Island citizens calling companies like BNSF, their calls go unanswered. Glenda also said that she couldn’t imagine being an emergency responding vehicle and having to deal with the train tracks would be a nightmare, and understandably so.

Hopefully soon the city of Grand Island can cooperate with the railroad companies to make a work around soon.

I’ve lived in Grand Island for my entire life(besides when I am at UNK). In the sleepy neighborhood of Grand Island Avenue, the train noises a few blocks down would be soothing at night. The distant train horns on a cold winter night were honestly a nice way to relax and fall asleep.

That is until you hit the age of 16 and can drive.

I’ve been late to work a countless number of times.

I’ve been late to family gatherings on the other side of town multiple times.

All due to trains being stopped or traveling at a snails pace at key moments throughout the day. Lunch rush – Train is crawling by. After school rush – There’s a train going at fast speeds, but there’s another one right on the way.

Every time I go back to Grand Island I actively avoid the railroad crossings because I know it’s going to be a guaranteed nightmare.

Thankfully, Grand Island residents are tired of this. In this article linked here, it turns out that Burlington Northern Santa Fe is completely ignoring the locals’ calls and questions as to why these trains stop, travel at 2 mph(over exaggeration, but when your stuck behind a train going slow, it feels like an eternity.) Downtown Grand Island is right next to the train tracks and has multiple grain/corn/coal bins that are supplied. That’s totally fine to have for local commerce and opportunities, but when it’s at the expense of the civilians and emergency workers that need to cut across a crucial point in Grand Island to access either side of town it’s unacceptable.

Here is a fantastic post by a girl in high school about the trains.

Kearney has one or two railroad crossings that I occasionally use, but for the most part, the overpass on 2nd Street is more than sufficient enough to cross parts of town, but when the optimal way through Grand Island is through two underpasses that are both in construction until FALL 2019, the only way to pass to the other side is to pass through two train crossings or wrap around town on the Highway.

The city of Grand Island needs to address these issues, along with the train companies that run through so much throughout the day. It’s entirely unfair for civilians with busy jobs, school or commutes to shopping and grocery stores to be stopped multiple times a day for something that isn’t even being heard by the railroad companies.

So for the past 3 weekends, Nebraska meteorologists have been predicting time after time for apocalyptic snows that have white-out conditions and inches of ice.

 

So…. Uh… Where is it?

It’s been effecting Eastern Nebraska way more than it has us in the central to east central area of the state.

Either Mother Nature is specifically pissed at that area of Nebraska, or UNK has set some sacred spell to prevent major snow fall on campus. Hard to tell.

Claim: Grand Island main railroads block key lanes for emergency vehicles, post school traffic, and more for long periods of time.

Supporting claims:

A popular topic in the Grand Island newspaper, The Independent.

As a Grand Island resident for my entire life, I have experienced train delays an incredible amount of times. Late to work and late to many friend and family gatherings.

As stated in the link above, some trains have been stuck there for over 25 hours

The first editorial I chose was “Use Your Rights, Or Lose Them”. We should be grateful that our government lets us have a pretty decent amount of access to government records and happenings in the US. It’s incredibly kind for him to put his email towards the end for people to reach out if they have any questions or need any assistance. It’s nice he supplies a resource and put you in the right direction in terms of letting you find what you need.

 

In another post, “Upholding our right to know”, he gives people reading encouragement and again, points people where to find information and how to obtain it. I really enjoyed his praise of the Glens Falls clerk and how he is so willing to help out with records findings and FOIL requests. It’s nice to hear that government workers are willing to go above and beyond for civilian requests.