Eastern Washington University pass through the pillars

Friday Eve has arrived once again and that means I need to write about five random topics. So excuse me while I flex my finger muscles so I can pound out my latest Thursday Rundown. Here we go…

Fair Food – The Reser family made its traditional visit to the Spokane Interstate Fair this past weekend. We browsed the booths, jumped on the rides, mingled with friends, and of course ate some food! This year it was a little disappointing for yours truly because the fair didn’t offer the deep fried pizza I scarfed down the past several years. I made do and opted for the grande burrito. However, I think my wife and children “out ordered” me with their corn dogs and curly fries.

Some photos from our time at the 2026 Spokane Interstate Fair, including the food we ate.

Slight Scare – On Sunday night at our Young Families Catholic group, Beau accidentally ran over his hand while riding a floor scooter. He was in pain the rest of the evening but thankfully he had a regularly scheduled doctor appointment the next morning. When the doctor saw his hand, she put it in a splint and sent Beau to the radiologist for x-rays. There was a fear that he had fractured it. Much to the relief of us all, we received confirmation the next day that no bones were fractured during the incident. We are all thankful!

Fortunately, Beau’s hand isn’t broken and he can resume his soccer activities even though he still must wear his splint.

First Day of Academic Year – Yesterday marked the start of my third academic year at Eastern Washington University with the kickoff of the Fall 2026 quarter. Prior to yesterday’s first day, EWU’s Pass Through the Pillars tradition commenced on Tuesday. All first-year students walked though the landmark pillars at the entrance to our university as they entered our beautiful campus. As they did this, the EWU community (me included) formed a walkway to properly welcome our new students. When these Eags graduate, they will ceremoniously walk through the pillars once again, this time exiting campus by going through the opposite way.

A photo I snapped on Tuesday during the Pass Through the Pillars tradition at EWU.

Best Fast Food Burger – The recent article from Delish about the top fast food burgers resonated with me for a specific reason: only plain cheeseburgers at each location were evaluated. My whole life I have eaten burgers with only the meat, cheese, and bun so I loved the approach. I didn’t find the results too surprising (#1 = Shake Shack | #2 – Five Guys | #3 – Burger King | #4 – Sonic | #5 – Wendy’s | #6 – McDonald’s). For the bottom half, McDonald’s is McDonald’s and I probably had the worst burger of my life at Wendy’s this past summer. I really enjoy the charbroiled taste of Burger King cheeseburgers and no one can argue with a Five Guys cheeseburger. However, even though I had the chance a couple times recently at airports, I have not had a Shake Shack burger. Obviously I need to try one.

Burger King makes a pretty good hamburger these days and deserved placement in the top half of the list.

Happy Punctuation Day – Supposedly today is Punctuation Day so it is super important to adhere to one of the most prominent components of grammar…so remember to properly use your periods and commas, folks. Speaking of grammar, about 11 years ago I wrote about how I am held accountable when it comes to my blog. The moment either my brother or sister spots a grammatical error in Don’t Blink they will text the family text thread and put me on notice! Their “service” continues to this day. I hope they are properly celebrating Punctuation Day.

My sister will point out my spelling errors. Most of them come when I type too quickly and make a basic typo and overlook it. This conversation was from 2o15 but 11 years later she still points out any errors I might make.

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Please pray for Sidney and me this weekend. We will be delivering another Engaged Encounter retreat. Hopefully we can effectively convey to the engaged couples who will be attending how crucial it is to have a God-centered marriage. Don’t Blink.

Late September days in the Inland Northwest can be so beautiful. After a cool day on Sunday, we have enjoyed temperatures in the upper 70s/low 80s throughout the week. Let’s keep the good vibes going with the latest Thursday Rundown…

Candy Hot Dog – I am almost embarrassed to share this because it does reflect on me as a parent but let’s celebrate transparency! On Friday night, I took the kids to a pep rally-type event at Gonzaga Prep. At the function they served free hot dogs and also passed out free candy. Those two items were supposed to be mutually exclusive. However, Beau used the candy as a condiment 🤦🏻‍♂️. I told him his hot dog/candy combo would be a one-time thing.

Beau’s candy hot dog. He would later sprinkle Nerds on it too.

Classes at EWU Begin – Eastern Washington University is on the quarter system so classes always start a month later than institutions on a semester system. Thus, the academic year kicked off this past Wednesday. I had the pleasure of serving as a “wayfinder.” I was stationed at a spot on campus and directed students to the buildings their classes were in. The day prior, we welcomed all new students with our “Pass Through the Pillars” tradition. EWU faculty/staff, returning students, and community members form a pathway for new Eags to walk down after entering campus through the historic pillars. When these students graduate, they will ceremoniously walk through the pillars once again, this time exiting campus by going through the opposite way.

EWU cheerleaders walk by during Tuesday’s Pass Through The Pillars tradition. Classes are now in session at Eastern Washington University.

Double Decker Buses Are Here – Back in April, I wrote about double decker buses joining the Spokane Transit Authority (STA) fleet. These machines…I mean vehicles…started hauling passengers this week. These buses are impressive and the view from the top deck is much higher and more scenic than one might expect. As someone who rides the bus to work and considers my free pass one of the greatest perks I have received at a college, I have already logged quite a few miles on the double deckers over the past several days.

A photo I took from my seat on one of the STA double decker buses.

ValleyFest – Each September, an event called ValleyFest is held in (you guessed it!) Spokane Valley. The annual gathering is so packed with vendors, entertainment, activities, and food that we never have enough time to do it all. Just a couple highlights from this year’s event: Beau held a ferret and he also tried aerial straps for the first time. With the latter, he liked it so much that after his time was up he ran right back to the end of the line to wait for another turn.

Beau with a ferret and using aerial straps at ValleyFest.

Donna Lenseigne – I mentioned earlier that we attended a pep rally at Gonzaga Prep and then followed it up by watching the football game. While taking a break from the bleachers, my son started playing on a rock. When I went over to take a closer look, I realized the rock was inscribed with a tribute to Donna Lenseigne, a longtime tennis coach and staff member at Gonzaga Prep. What made this discovery so special was that Donna and her family lived across the street from us growing up. In fact, Donna and her husband, Dale, were my parents’ best friends. Sadly, after Donna’s sudden and much-too-soon death in 2010, Dale would pass away in 2019.