The clear, glistening water of Royer Pool reflects in Patrick O’Connor’s eyes as he lines up for his heat of the 200 IM. As he takes a quick gaze to his left and right, waiting for the starting official’s gun, he mentally scouts out his competition. Tall, lanky Big 10 swimmers stand imposingly on their starting blocks, framing their race in their mind as they mentally plan out each stroke and flip turn. O’Connor takes his eyes off his opponents, gives his arms a quick stretch, and bends over at the waist to complete his starting position, grabbing a hold of the small protruding extension of the platform. As he closes his eyes, he hears a          b a n g           and dives majestically into the water as he and 7 other …
Read More »

As you gaze at the menu options depicting everything from mouth-watering single, double, cheese, and bacon ButterBurgers to the flavor of the day, a light cookies-and-cream frozen custard slowly churning out of the trademark Culver’s custard machine, you can’t help but notice the very tall, older employee with a dark blue polo, black dress pants, and a Culver’s hat quietly scrubbing the tables. He nitpicks every single crumb, making sure the restaurant is completely spotless for the numerous regulars that frequent the location. As he cleans, he chats up the guests, calling some by their first names and asking how their families are. He alternates between this clean-and-greet and running a cash register, helping out the often-overloaded front employees take orders.

If you didn’t grow up in Bloomington, or you didn’t watch Hoosier Basketball during Bobby Knight’s early tenure as head …
Read More »