Thumbs column

Let's kick off the early September edition of this bimonthly column with a "Thumbs-up" to the local and area teams that last Friday no doubt satisfied Garland County residents' eagerness for the return of football games to their sports calendars.

The Labor Day weekend offered fans a sumptuous treat of gridiron competition on virtually every level and so here's a well-deserved cheer to the players, parents, coaches and school administrators who were key to starting off the new season with plenty of verve.

And we send out a special "Thumbs-up" to the Lakeside and Lake Hamilton student leaders, along with their respective schools' teachers and administrators, for making their renewed rivalry such a memorable experience for everyone involved.

Lake Hamilton won the Aug. 31 game, 31-27, at Lakeside's Chick Austin Field, but the close contest before an estimated crowd of between 8,000-12,000 was a befitting way to revive the Wolves-Rams matchup.

Speaking of sports, here is a "Thumbs-up" to the 2018 U.S. Open Tennis Championships at Flushing Meadows, N.Y., that have proved to be among the most excitingly competitive in years.

The men's and women's singles matches were compelling from the start and especially interesting -- and surprising -- were the number of top-seeded women players who were ousted in the early rounds, No. 1 Simona Halep, No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki, No. 4 Angelique Kerber and No. 5 Petra Kvitova among them.

But Americans Serena Williams, Sloan Stephens and Madison Keys showed their mettle in the heat and humidity of the first week and Williams and Stephens were pretournament favorites to make the championship finals.

However, on Tuesday afternoon, Stephens, No. 3 seed and defending women's singles champion, was upset by 19th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in two straight sets.

Here is a most deserving "Thumbs-up" for a kind deed that submitter Janie Bogler felt our readers would appreciate.

In her recent email to the hometown newspaper, Bogler wrote, "On Wednesday, Aug. 15, a group of 10 Red Hat Ladies were having lunch at Jose's restaurant when a 'man of the cloth' approached the table and shared that a year ago, his wife had died suddenly at the age of 58.

"He went on to say that she had wanted to wear purple and a red hat when she got older, so in her honor, he was buying the table's lunches, including tips.

"When asked, the man said he was from Texas and was in town that day to attend a funeral. The waitress said she had never seen him before. This generous act is a reminder to pay it forward."

By the same token, this writer gives a "Thumbs-up" to a young man named Cadeon (apologies if I have misspelled his name) who recently came outside the Olive Garden front entrance to hold open the door for her and the two friends with whom she was having an early dinner.

During the meal, I noticed that the thoughtful young man was seated at a nearby table and went over to exchange a few pleasantries with him and his mother, Heather. I thanked her for teaching him such good manners and he said, "Thank you, ma'am."

What a nice encounter.

The Thumbs Column appears in The Sentinel-Record the first and third Wednesday of each month. The newspaper welcomes readers' comments and suggestions, which should be submitted with a name, telephone number and home address for verification and contact purposes. This information is kept confidential.