Brandon Bieber is one of those. Brandon is a 1995 graduate of Del Norte. While in high school he played four years of basketball. He was a member of some of the Kurt Burrows-coached teams that dominated the league for a decade.

Brandon not only had the height but also possessed excellent athletic ability.

These were talents that took him to the next level. After graduating from high school he attended Cuesta College in San Lois Obispo, where he continued his basketball career.

After two good years at Cuesta he transferred to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. There he continued to show his excellence on the basketball court. These talents took him to Australia, where he continued his career playing professionally for the Shepparton Gators for a year.

Some of us have been forced to let go of youth and admit we’re middle aged. It’s the only possible explanation for the paunch and wrinkles, since they’re not attributes of budding youth.

Others have had to choose what sort of elders we want to be, since we now are. I can guarantee that if we don’t make conscious choices, we’ll end up looking ridiculous, like middle-aged band groupies. Unless we make some choices, we could become pompous, redundant old folks. If we choose wisely, we’ll still be redundant but we can avoid the pomposity.

On the fashion level, I understand that most women make a fashion statement. Their clothes are often intended to reflect a personal or professional status they wish to attain. The power suit, the understated elegance, the athlete. They also accessorize, using jewelry and artfully arranged scarves.

Those of us who were young adults in the 1960s have indelible photos that instantly come to mind with the mention of “the ’60s.” Some are beautiful, like the Kennedys of Camelot, with Jackie in her pillbox hat and our young president stooping to catch his little daughter as she raced to him. Others are the stuff of horror that we’ll never be rid of, like the photo of a burning child running toward a photographer in Viet Nam and a screaming girl kneeling over a fallen fellow student at Kent State, cut down by our own National Guard.

There were things that happened in this decade that were captured on film by great photographers, some of them local, some national or international. They’re photos we'll all remember; the inauguration of a black president with a beautiful young family, balanced by the horror of crumbling twin towers and the removal from an airplane of a flag-draped coffin.

One group devotes this time of year to honoring a homeless family that lived half a world away and 2,000 years ago (while some insist that the homeless who live here and now go away). Another group honors the almighty dollar, as represented by a fat man in a red suit.

I offer help to the homeless when I can, having been so myself, and wrap gifts in Santa’s workshop, knowing that every child deserves a gift and a dream. While I participate in the various celebrations and love latkes, it’s the winter solstice I choose to honor in ceremony.

Pagan midwinter feasts and Christian days of celebration and obligation have become so intertwined that it’s nearly impossible to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. At the root of all our ceremonies this time of year is the ancient fear that the failing light will never return unless we intervene with anxious, penitent vigils or joyful celebrations.

Mike Ward, 12-year-son of Mr. and Mrs. Maris Ward, tagged his first honker last Saturday as he and his father were hunting at Tule Lake with Warren Richardson and his son Lee.

Mike’s father, Maris, took two shots at the big goose, but it was Mike’s shot that brought the bird down.

Flynn offers candy canes

Andy Flynn proved recently that he is royalty endowed with the spirit of Christmas by offering to purchase and donate a standard candy cane street decoration to be installed at the corner of Third and H streets.

Flynn, who is chairman of the tourist and recreation committee of the Del Norte Chamber of Commerce, made the offer to the merchants committee, which has charge of the street decoration project. The offer was accepted.

Flynn also offered to buy two Christmas trees to be placed along Highway 101 entrances to the city. The merchants committee, with Leo Sullivan as chairman, will choose sites for those trees. 

Reporter covers North Pole

Coaching any team takes a lot of time and commitment, especially at the high school level. Buzz McCulloch is one of those special people.

Buzz is a 1973 graduate of Del Norte High School. While a Warrior Buzz played both basketball and baseball. He says he feels very fortunate to have had two excellent basketball coaches while at Del Norte. Dale Thomas was his junior varsity coach and Wally Maciel was his varsity mentor. These two have been great contributors to Warrior history.

After graduation Buzz went on to Shasta College in Redding, where he continued his basketball career. After finishing at Shasta Buzz returned to Crescent City and went to work for the local power company.

Buzz’s strong interest in basketball led him into basketball officiating.