Watching the school closings on the 11 o'clock news last night flashed me back to cold, wintry mornings during my junior high school days, listening to a Batavia or Buffalo station for the name of my public school district on my old portable Emerson radio.

In those days, I marveled at the number of Catholic schools in the area. The "S's" were long but my school district came before them. Still I listened out of an immature pride about those Catholic schools.

None were familiar, not really. We might race against them at "big meets", invitationals and such. I didn't even know anyone who attended them.

Not much has changed. I still live in a part of the country with a myriad of Catholic schools. I suppose I always have.