June 4, 2001
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Where has the time gone?


About
Town


Dave Uphoff



The Minonk-Dana class of 1951 50th reunion last week at Mona's in Toluca reminded me of how fast time has gone by. I remember well riding up to Ottawa with my aunt and uncle to watch the 1951 Minonk-Dana team play Depue in the Ottawa sectional. Unfortunately, the Mohawks lost to Depue but it capped a great season for one of the best Minonk basketball teams of all time.

At center was Duane (Moose) Woltzen who was the team's leading scorer. Moose was a big guy and could knock opponents off of him just by turning around. I remember Moose coming out with his parents to visit us on the farm. He and my brother and I went up to the hayloft in our barn to shoot baskets. Moose saw a pigeon sitting in the barn rafters and threw the basketball at it. Unfortunately, he missed and the basketball hit a nail in the rafter and came floating down with a big hiss. I went crying into the house because my basketball had been ruined.

At forwards were Tom (El Gato) Toler and Dick (Snake) Dishinger. Tom was a big strong guy who helped control the boards with Moose. Dick was a smooth passer and playmaker. You probably noticed almost everyone had a nick name in those days. All three of these players were at the reunion along with coach Jack Pierce.

The guards were Raymond (Raymie) Harms and Orin (Ducky) Klendworth. Ducky was only about 5'8" tall but could jump higher than anyone on the team with his thick strong legs. He had an amazing ability to suspend himself in midair similiar to Michael Jordan. Raymie was an excellent defense player with long gangling arms that could swipe the ball away from an opponent in an instance.

Duane Woltzen had a successful career as a coach at Lincoln College and then at Lakeland College in Wisconsin. He also started a successful travel agency arranging barnstorming trips of basketball teams to foreign countries and is still engaged in that business in Wisconsin.

Dick Dishinger became a school teacher and school administrator and now lives in retirement in Lake Bloomington. Tom Toler spent his career in the retail business and is retired in Florida.

Raymond Harms is retired and living in Mt. Zion, Illinois. Ducky Klendworth moved to California and died years ago.

I saw some pictures of the reunion and noticed that everyone was grayer and obviously were not at their playing weight. I remembered men who were thin with dark hair or sandy hair. Then I realized that 50 years is a fairly long time. And that got me to thinking about how time has creeped up on all of us.

Sometimes I wake up in the early morning hours and before my conscious mind has time to usher in all of the defenses and blocks that makes reality easier to handle, I get eery feelings that life has already passed me by. I am 60 years old and most of my major goals and accomplishments are probably already behind me. Now what? Where did my life go? How could it slip by so fast?

As I get older I realize that there are certain things that I will never do that I once wanted to do. I realize now that when I plant a tree that I probably will not live long enough to see it grow into a mature tree. In fact, I find myself busier now than I have ever been in my life. It seems that I am trying to cram in the things I want to do before my health worsens or before I die.

I remember telling my mother when I was a little boy that I didn't want to live longer than 45 years old because that is too old. Its amazing how much younger old age seems as you get older. Its unfortunate that we don't have the insight that we have when we are younger. As a wise man once said, "Its too bad that youth has to be wasted on young people".

Young people cannot realize how fast life can pass. When you are young it can seem like an eternity when things are not going well. But when you reach an older age all that is forgotten and you wonder where the time went.

If I had one piece of advice to give a young person it would be to not spend your whole life seeking that elusive goal to the exclusion of enjoying the simpler things along the way. Replace boredom with curosity and a thirst for knowledge. Get outside of yourself and develop an interest in people. Don't be afraid to take chances. Too soon you will be old and wonder where did the time go.

To reply to this editorial please send your comments to duphoff@minonktalk.com. Only letters with a valid signed name will be published in the email section.