I think the Mets are winning
As I write this column on Thursday evening (8:55 p.m.) the Mets and Rockies are hitting foul balls about a quarter of a mile to my east. I can see the lights of the field and a bit of the scoreboard from where I sit.
No, I'm not in Bluffton or anywhere even close to the 45817 zip code. I'm not watching the TV screen. Thanks to the World Wide Web, the posting of this column is coming from LaGuardia International Airport, NYC.
Making this even trickier, check out the two stories on the home page (Easter egg hunt, Senior Citizen garage sale), and the photo of Riley Creek, plus the assortment of other stories posted on the Icon since 2 p.m. today. All have been posted via my laptop either in the Dayton airport or here in New York City. I even picked up and posted two classified ads from my e-mail this afternoon.
You see, I'm technically on a business trip. Even so, I can't let the Icon news become stale. When that happens, viewership drops off. Trust me, it does. So, this proves that it really doesn't matter where I sit...on Grove Street, Common Grounds or near where the Mets play the Rockies. The "posting" can goes on. What a relief. I can leave town and eat my cake too, or something like that.
The trick will be: Can I make it back to Bluffton by 10 a.m. on Saturday to videotape the Mennonite Memorial Home-McDonald's Easter egg hunt? Check the Icon You Tube videos around noon and Saturday to learn the answer.
Now for a couple quirky things. At 2 p.m. I was sitting in the Dayton Airport C14 gate with about five other people. It was a pretty empty terminal. Suddenly Louise and Lawrence Matthews walked by. They were headed to a wedding in Denver.
It gets even more interesting. About 30 minutes later Carolyn Gratz sits down in the C14 seating area. Turns out she's on the same flight as me. Heading to New York City to visit her daughter Ashley.
Back to my seat in the nosebleed section of the Met-Rockies game: The only bummer from all this is the free Wi Fi in LaGuardia is pretty much unless. I had to buy 24 hours of Boingo at $7.95 a crack to log on and pull this off. And, you see, I really wanted to pull it off.
In case you're curious, a Big Mac costs $8.95 here. (I passed.) And, I've been warned for the 40th time by some woman in a cool, calm and collected voice over the PA system in Dayton and LaGuardia that it' a no-no to talk to strangers...well, to allow them to give you their baggage.
I can't figure out how she was in Dayton and New York the same day. One more thing. Orange alert.
Hey, I think they're calling my flight. See ya.
Stories Posted This Week
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Friday, October 16, 2026
- Production offers a modern take on the story of St. Clare of Assisi
- Bluffton volleyball edged in 5 by Van Buren
- Pirate girls soccer tie O-G
- October 16 Bluffton Schools athletics lineup, streaming
- Bluffton Council recap: Officers honored for 25 years of service
- Bluffton Clean Up teams up with Troop 3256 Cub Scouts
- Ada FFA: Feeding the Farmers
- Nov. 7 Fall Community Day at Bluffton University
- Quarry Farm Nature Preserve news for Fall 2026
Thursday, October 15, 2026
- DeWine announces $200M Rural Health Transformation program award
- Herb program with Marge Lafollette, Oct. 15
- Prairie seeding activity at Bluffton University, October 24
- Food for thought: Choline for the brain
- Results for 5K on October 2, Bluffton University Homecoming event
- 15 minutes with Sherry Miller, senior center activities coordinator
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 14
- CANCELLED Main St. closure on October 15
- Frederick Clyde Warren founded True-2-Form Plastics
- Pirate boys soccer beats Wapak in regular season finale
- Pirate girls soccer defeats Liberty Center
- Mennonite pastor to explore ‘good news’ in creation
- Bluffton University earns recognition in U.S. News & World Report rankings
- Obituary for Deborah "Debbie" Welch, 74
- Spirits and exorcism presentation during University Spiritual Life Week Forum
- Dodging bullets: Bluffton oral history 90+ years after Dillinger robbery
- Nora Matthews named BHS Student of the Month for September 2026
- ICAPP analysis on charter status and local autonomy
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
- Ada Icon headlines, October 13
- Bluffton area Women in Business meeting October 15
- Leo club glasses collection
- Night at the (Swiss Historical) Museum, October 24
- Woodcarving ornament workshop at Swiss Heritage Center
- Barefoot nature walks at the Nature Preserve
- Pirate volleyball seeded 4th
- Beavers sports roundup, October 6-11
- Bluffton leaf pickup scheduled for last week of October
- Pirate boys soccer shuts out Bellefontaine
- Watch an after school movie at the Bluffton Public Library
- Dunlap awarded OSBA humanitarian award