The Worm Word

Fun in the Sun

I love this time of year; the flowers and trees are blooming, the birds are singing happily and I am loving every minute of it. There is so much to get out and enjoy and I highly encourage you all to do as much of it as you can.

This past weekend I got to hang out at River To River Relay. Silkworm sends a team of volunteers to Goreville to work one of the timing stations. It was chilly, overcast, windy and rainy at times, but we had fun anyway. We were out there from 9am until about 2pm. The highlight of the day was when the Silkworm running team showed up. Jason Nugent was the team member who ran into our station and Soo-Jin Fager ran out of it. The whole volunteer team and running team hooted and hollered and cheered as Jason came up the hill and continued doing so until Soo was out of site. We also cheered for the other teams, so we weren't really playing favorites.

This weekend is starting to look like a very busy time. The fun begins on Saturday the 26th at 8am with the SIUC Civil Service Council Yard and Craft Sale at the SIU Arena. Silkworm will have a tent set up to sell SIU items. Once you have seen all the sales available in the Arena parking lot, you will want to walk over to the boat dock on campus lake to watch the cardboard boat regatta. I love going to this event, mostly to watch people sink. There are always a few boats that are amazingly well put together and make their way all around the course. Then there are the ones built to sink, those would all be trying to win the Titanic award for best sinking. There are even instant boat kits for last minute entries. A boat kit is really just a sheet of cardboard, so bring tape if you plan on entering with that group.

This weekend is also the Southern Illinois Irish Festival in Turley Park. There are so many neat vendors, yummy food and such great music. I highly recommend going and hanging out and taking in all of the sites.

I hope I have helped to make your weekend full and exciting, I know mine will be.

Sezmore

Spring is Finally Here!

It felt like it took forever, but I think Spring is finally here to stay for a while. I can't tell you just how excited I am to be able to get out and enjoy the sunny, mild days. It is a good thing too, because there is so much going on outside that I am going to be running to get to it all. It all starts this weekend with the River to River Relay; teams of 8 members run from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River taking turns running 3 mile stretches. Silkworm has a team of runners, as if that were a surprise, and I can't wait to go cheer them on from the timing station that is staffed by Silkworm volunteers. I love working the timing station; I get to hang out in the sun and cheer on all of the runners as they approach the end of their leg and the beginning of the next person's run.

I'm not really the running type, but a good walk I can get into. On May 3rd there is a 5K walk at the Southern Illinois Airport to support local Red Cross disaster relief. The cost is $25 for an adult, $100 for a team of five people, $10 for a student and $5 for kids 5-12 and you get a t-shirt. I love to go out and walk, and this one will be on the airport runway. How many times do you get the chance to walk on a runway? If you need more information you can go here.

If you need to plan your walking with lots of advance notice you might want to think about The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of Jackson County/Murphysboro on June 13th to June 14th. Teams raise money to give to The American Cancer Society and the fundraising culminates in the overnight event of Relay For Life. This year we have an Olympic theme "One World, One Hope." There are fun and games and music all night long, and you don't have to be on a team to come out and join us. For more information, or to donate you can go here. Silkworm has a team out all night and we have a great time there.

If that isn't enough walking for you then you can head to Bald Knob in Alto Pass on June 14th, there will be a Walk for the Cross to raise money to repair the Bald Knob Cross. The cost is a donation of at least $10 per person and you get a t-shirt with that. I'll post more details as I hear them.

I hope you get out and enjoy this beautiful weather,

Sezmore

Your Shoe is Untied

Happy April Fool's Day everyone!!! I hope no one has gotten pranked too bad. I did get a bit of a shock when I went to check the discussions on www.Salukitalk.net. Though I hear the same thing happened to the Shocker board. I personally am not a big prankster myself, though I will admit that I get a good laugh out of other people's pranks.

I didn't post last week, so I didn't get the chance to tell you all about the Murphysboro Easter Egg Hunt. The Easter Bunny and I have been pretty good friends for a few years now. I got to ride on the back of a fire truck all the way from Murphy Pride Car Wash to Longfellow Park. I have to admit it was really neat. The Easter Egg hunt itself went faster than I can describe. I didn't even get the chance to find any eggs for myself. I guess it was really for the kids, but I like Easter eggs too.

SIU is having its "Outside the Box Music Festival" starting later this week. There is way too much going on for me to mention it all here. If you want to know what is going on and when go here.

Spring is starting to look like it is really here; the flowers are starting to bloom and the weather is getting warmer. Try not to get too discouraged by all of the rain; after all "April showers bring May flowers."

Sezmore