Sports are a great and wonderful pastime! Right now we are in the middle of one of those magical times when, at least for this happy writer, the stars align and the best of all possible worlds align - The Olympics and Baseball!

Next week is an important week and I bet you don’t even know it! Next week, October 16-22, is national Character Counts week. Every year, the third week in October is designated as a special week to honor and promote Character Counts. Last year, 8 million kids in 54 different nations participated in this event.

Issues of Character have become an important part of the education of our children all over the country. Several years ago an initiative was launched to develop good character in children through the Inspector Iwannano program. This drive features the philosophy that there are different pillars of character such as Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Citizenship, and Fairness. Not a bad package of virtues, to be sure.