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In a pageant held in Lee’s Summit, MO last month, Doniphan’s NaJaun Monique Catlow, 13, was crowned Miss Junior Teen Missouri United States. NaJaun (pronounced "nuh-ZHAWN") attends Lone Star Elementary School in Doniphan, where she received the Most Improved Student of the Year Award for her 7th grade class last spring. The daughter of Bill Catlow and Vicki Bulington, NaJaun, with her new pageant title, is now poised to go national; she is to contend for the Miss Junior Teen United States crown at the lavish Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas from July 12-18. The pageant will be held in the same Orleans Hotel venue that features such luminaries as Clint Black, Trisha Yearwood, and Gladys Knight on its roster for

Maybe you’re already part of the tribe. Maybe you already know what it’s like to thrill to the sound of engines screaming at full-throttle all around you. To escape the civilized world of paved pathways and “put the pedal to the metal”, tearing forth, slamming on brakes, spinning out of control then peeling out again with what’s left of your bearings---both literally and otherwise. Or, hey---maybe you like mud. Maybe it likes you. Big-time.

At first, the scene was reminiscent of Father of the Bride, a classic, serio-comic glimpse into the lives of a seemingly normal household turned upside down while arranging the daughter’s wedding. But while the wedding at Poplar Bluff’s Oakdale Care Center last Tuesday evening offered plenty of excitement, it was a sense of love, friendship, and true calm in the midst of action which made it an unforgettable experience.

I was suddenly moved to take a look at the calendar the other day---a tendency that’s not really in my nature, but there you are. And you know what? I realized we’re right in the beginning of the serious wedding season, and folks are planning nuptials, arranging trips, and spending money like they're in Vegas! (Of course now that I think of it, actually a lot of them are, in fact, in Vegas...) What’s more, we’re seeing an ever-more intriguing mixture of tradition and innovation in relation to wedding ceremonies themselves; the vows that are spoken by prospective brides and grooms; the focus and itinerary of today’s honeymoons (bungee jumping, anyone?); and even, increasingly, the matter of a surname for

Guess I need to get out more! But, of course, there are many who say that people who devote hours to perfecting pretend-guitar need to get out more, too! Quick! What pops into your head after you hear the name “Finland”? Half a year’s worth of nightfall at a stretch? Not-so-gentle Arctic breezes? Nokia cell technology? Finlandia vodka? Hockey and auto-racing standouts competing across the globe? Personal names that have an unparalleled number of "k"s in them? Well, here’s something truly quirky to add to the list: Finland is the mothership for all serious competitive air guitarists!