No Bewaring on this Ides, Please!

                                            Stolen from Cindy Wooden's Facebook wall . . . by her English teacher

When in Rome and it's the Ides of March, you take a picture of some hallowed ground in the Eternal City and post it on Facebook.  

Then, your OLD English teacher sees your photo, gets all excited, shows her age (both mentally and chronologically) and starts spouting out, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears . . . ."

Downstairs, the English teacher's husband, who's been surfing his Kindle, simply scratches his head in wonderment about the crazy lady upstairs and keeps on reading about nymphs or caddis flies or something fishy.  

Then that same teacher has the audacity to ask you back on Facebook if you still remember the words to Antony's speech, which you had to memorize while in her sophomore honors English class nearly 40 years ago. 

Some things never change. 

At least some events haven't changed since that fateful day 2059 years ago on the Ides of March when conniving Cassius and gullible Brutus and a bunch of other Roman senators assassinated Julius Caesar in Rome and then the dynamic Marcus Antonious stood before the masses and turned them all against the conspirators in a well-crafted, memorable speech.

At least, it has remained somewhat memorable to all the folks who've had to stand up before their peers and recite the speech ever since Shakespeare put the words in his historical tragedy about the events leading up to and following the death of Caesar. 

Of course, some never memorized all their assigned lines in the speech.  At least they could remember "Friends, Romans, Countrymen . . . . and "Beware the Ides of March."

Shakespeare suggested through Brutus, "How many ages hence Shall this our lofty scene be acted over In states unborn and accents yet unknown!"

Well, in my mind there are two ways of looking at that wonderment.  We've seen situations throughout history where opponents have assassinated leaders. So, the scene definitely repeats itself.

But I don't think Shakespeare or Brutus or whoever uttered those ominous words ever gave a thought to all the poor high school students who would have to get up before their peers and maybe even dress up in funny outfits or togas and re-enact the Caesar assassination or the reaction to his death so eloquently stated by Marc Antony. 

But they have, and I'm trying to remember this morning what Cindy did to earn her A for reciting the speech back in 1976.  I'm sure she received an A cuz Cindy was always pretty conscientious.

To recite or not to recite, that is this morning's question I should have for Cindy.  

Can she stand before a body of her peers where she lives in Rome and spout off all the lines from "Friends, Romans, Countrymen to . . . my heart is in the coffin there with Caesar and I must pause 'til it come back to me."?

I wonder how many others of the hundreds of students who went through my classes over three decades can do the same. 

Actually, whether or not Cindy can remember all her lines is of little consequence to me. She has done my heart good by providing a visual concept of where this famous moment in Roman and Shakespearean history occurred.

And, that to me is very honorable.  For Cindy is an honorable woman who hath brought much joy through her other literary pursuits. 



Anywho, Happy "Ides of March," which we dare not beware on this Selection Sunday, for Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.  

We come to praise Gonzaga and Eastern, not to bury them.
For the good they have done hath made us so very happy.

They hath brought many laurels back to the Inland Northwest.
They are all honorable men and great basketball players
And for that we honor them.

How many times after today shall their winning ways repeat themselves 
In Seattle, Houston or other cities against teams yet unknown!

That is the question!

We know not what the lofty Selection Committee shall deem for Eags or ZAGS.
But what we do know is that they are honorable men and great basketball players.

And for that we shall honor them every step down the floor as 
they dance their way through the Madness of March.

On this Ides of March, we shall NOT beware.
Instead, we shall cross our fingers, sit on our couches, watch our TVS and await their fate.

And,when that is known, we shall follow their pursuits and sing their praises!

And, if they should continue to dance on through this weekend and the next and the next,
We shall shout from the highest mountain "YES!"

Note:  I bet Shakespeare could say it a lot better, but I'm sure you get the point.

GO, ZAGS!  GO, EAGS! Bring on the Madness and DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!