If the headline for this column is true, there must have been a lot of happy people in Gallup last week.
Dancing
Kristy Tiley and her dancers always put on a great show, whether it is for halftime or in this competitive environment of the Turquoise Classic. She starts with mini-dancers – about the age of four – and tries to keep them interested and improving every year right through high school.
The ultimate goal for most of these young ladies is to become a member of the Gallup High Bengal Girls Dance Team, a highly evolved and greatly experienced team of teenagers that at the least make you want to tap your feet as they move. A few go beyond even that goal and continue their dream in college.
It’s not an easy life, though, as some would think. Tiley is demanding of all her students and receives the best they can offer, at any age. By the time the girls reach high school and try out for the Dance Team, they are more than acclimated to the discipline Tiley has instilled in each of them. They run prescribed courses before actual practices, and an hour or two of dancing is NOT similar to sitting in a recliner with a cold drink and your feet up.
The other gender may deride the idea of dancing as a sport, but few of them would make the cut.
Rugby
I know little about the game of Rugby, but if the weather had been a little nicer on Nov. 10, I would have tried to learn more about the game.
As it was, I had dressed for a Candlelight Vigil, indoors, and had not bothered to check the weather report before I left the house. Not that it would have done me that much good, since Gallup’s weather station is at the airport on the western plains of town and the stadium is several hundred feet higher.
The crowd was sparse but determined to stay for the most part as the white flakes fell heavily at times. Bundled warmly into blankets and heavy coats, these ‘pioneers’ made the best of a bad situation, and at the least will have something uncommon to talk about for the next month or so.
Switching seasons from Fall to Winter is always a hard thing for me, but I do appreciate knowing that every game will be indoors, no matter the sport. That must come with my advancing age, since I didn’t feel like that years ago.
But never mind, the best part is being able to see more of you in the bleachers as the new season progresses. Until then, stay off the ice, stay warm, and smile if I point my camera in your direction!
Niles Thomas
Belated congratulations to Miyamura senior Niles Thomas for his second straight Cross-Country State Championship. He didn’t have a perfect record this year, mostly due to injuries and illness, but when it came time for the final run he was able to prove all the ‘experts’ wrong.
These knowledgeable ones had been predicting all season long that Thomas was a one-hit wonder who could not compete with the ‘big boys.’ The best finish predicted for him was second and some did not even allow him that, but Niles came through when it counted and even brought another Patriot runner with him for second place. The highly vaunted runner from Academy finished third.
Good luck in the future, Niles!
23.9 Mile Walk
I have always wished that my physical body would cooperate with my gentle mind when it comes to benefit walks or runs. Alas, that is not the case.
So I am left as a cheerleader for those who can do it, and only moral support for the target of the benefit, which is to reduce the number of suicides among returning war veterans to zero. The number now stands at 22 per year and that is totally unacceptable to Myles Lytle, a career Marine of twenty years.
The walk starts at Twin Lakes Chapter House on Nov. 14 at 6:45 a.m. If you can walk it, do so. The 23.9 miles will end at the Window Rock Veterans’ Center.