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SWEET MYSTERY


What is this thing that sets the heart a flutter? This mood that blooms in the cold of winter, lifting our hearts and promising, perhaps, immeasurable joy? The palpitations that come with its tempestuous up-and-down nature mock our sense of normal and play havoc with our metabolisms.
Ah, basketball. We adore you. Don’t change a thing.
With the publication of this edition of MILL, the season has set in and the Tar Heels are on a roll. That could change in a second of course; but for now, even the coach is happy, and that’s saying something. Ol’ Roy, as he likes to call himself, was particularly unhappy in late January when he went off on the naysayers in a press conference. He also made note that, other than the birth of a grandchild, he would rather not remember last year.
We live in a time abundant in emphatic hectoring. Modern basketball announcing is rife with it. Teams have to do this or that to win. They must control the ball, reduce turnovers, get rebounds, make shots and so on. Well, duh. Now please, just call the game.
That incessant hectoring is one reason many of us prefer the sound down on the television and up on the radio, with Woody and crew. More description. Less finger-wagging. We can only hope that someday having the radio and TV in sync will be written into the Heels’ media contract.
If you’re looking for something to do between sporting contests, or if for some odd reason you are not into the game Mr. Naismith invented for this season, then this issue of MILL includes several dozen excellent suggestions for cultural and leisure activities.
This month, in addition to more spotlights and features, we’ve added a new monthly column by Mary Sonis, a Carrboro photographer and writer who has a passion for the critter world. Her Fauna column starts on the next page. Let us know what you think. — Kirk Ross