The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher
Using the opportunity between jobs to pursue her dreams of travel over the course of one year, Miriam Rutzen of Sciota was gracious in sharing her thoughts on her travels and stops along the way over six months, sixteen countries, three continents, as she ventured to Australia, and Europe leaving her with only the most difficult-Antarctica.
She has written about Peru, Toyko Japan, Hong Kong China, Thailand/Singapore, Germany, England/Scotland, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Cameroon Africa. She will write a wrap-up in the near future.
Whether she gives herself a chance to recover from the jet lag is doubtful. You remember, Miriam was a basketbal star at Southern and West Central Schools and then on to Harvard in Boston, so it is of little surprise that Miriam returned from Africa, wrote her story for The Quill, and then turned around for another trip to Dallas, Texas to witness the Final 4 women's national college basketball games. The teams were:
UConn Huskies came with 18 Final Four appearances, 11 National Championships (won last four).
Mississippi State Bulldogs came for their 1st time ever at the FINAL FOUR Nationals. They were the underdogs with a lot to prove and were set to face UConn, a team that hadn't lost a game in their last 111 games. But Mississippi surprisely took the win 66-64 in a thrilling upset on April Fools day!
Stanford Cardinal came with their 13th Final Four appearance and two National Championships, back for their second time in 4 seasons and for the fifth time in the last 9 years facing the South Carolina Gamecocks. The contest proved unfortunate for the Standford Cardinals as they were given the loss with South Carolina 62, Stanford 53.
With both top teams out, it gave a chance for newcomer, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who came to the FINAL FOUR for their first time ever.
Facing the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Bulldogs were somewhat familiar with each other as they had played twice, both wins for the Gamecocks. But, when all was said and done, South Carolina cruised on to win their first ever National Championship 67-55.
Although exhilarating, Miriam, undoubtedly came home exhausted before turning around to fly to Washinton DC to work for three weeks.
After returning from Washington, hopefully she will return and conclude with another "wrap-up" article in May. Our paper has been fortunate to have her articles for our readers and we have enjoyed her informative way of presenting her stories of travel and adventure. Thank you Miriam.