I once had an experienced colleague named Paulo who claimed that within a second of starting to examine a Pap smear on his microscope he could tell whether it was going to be abnormal or not. Paulo “could smell it.” Since most pathologists I know have long had their olfactory sense dulled by the constant fetor of formalin and xylene, it was clear he was not literally smelling the glass slide on the microscope stage. Rather, his subconscious mind had taken notice of some subtlety, some minute, undefinable but not insignificant clues, that had his frontal cortex on alert. Soon he would find the cells that would lead to his assigning a grade of atypia to the slide and necessitating follow-up for the patient from which it had come.

I think of Paulo’s words often as I scan through hundreds of prostate biopsy cores each workday. There are definitive characteristics that define cancer of the prostate. Look up the description in a general pathology textbook and you will read about things like large nucleoli and invasive growth pattern. Turn to a text geared more for someone who specializes in urologic pathology and little tips like blue-tinged mucin and red crystalloids are pointed out as useful aids in the diagnosis. But frequently, long before I see those signs, I know I am dealing with a malignant prostate biopsy.

Just like Paulo with his Pap smears, thousands of hours of training and experience have made me aware of undefinable, indescribable, attributes in the patterns I see below me on a microscope slide. Maybe it relates to the density of glands on the slide. Maybe it is the way a certain cluster of those glands traverses the narrow width of the biopsy core. Whatever the signs are they trigger my “lizard brain,” deep in the primitive parts of my grey matter. It puts me on high alert–the odor of cancer is around the corner.

I am sure this feeling is widespread among pathologists. Whether dealing with a colon biopsy, a breast biopsy, or a thyroid gland aspiration, the well-trained, finely tuned pathologist has a sixth sense. Sure, we need to find the definitive microscopic signs, the nucleoli, the abnormal mitoses, the intranuclear inclusions– but sometimes we know before we see them that they will show up.

I suppose the radiologist feels the same way when he first looks at a chest x-ray and the surgeon does too when she first puts her hands on a tender belly. He knows there is a lung tumor, she knows the appendix is ready to burst. It may take a moment before their frontal cortex can describe how they know what they know–but as Paolo used to say, they can smell it.

Jim Morrison was the Lizard King. I will settle for just listening to my internal lizard. Especially when it roars.

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Another Christmas throwback, this one from 2017:

I just watched Miracle on 34th Street (the original, not 1994 remake), so you’ve caught me at a vulnerable moment.

I’m hesitant to say vulnerable because Donald Trump has forbidden any use of that word by the Centers for Disease Control.

If you’ve never seen Miracle, I recommend the original.  Technology may have improved since 1947, but acting hasn’t.

My favorite Christmas movie is Scrooged (1988) with an all-star cast including Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, Robert Mitchum, Carol Kane and Alfre Woodard.

It’s a Wonderful Life should be banned, but that’s a whole other discussion.

I got a call yesterday from an acquaintance who needed a little help getting through Christmas.  He promised to pay me back on January 6.

I told him to meet me later that day in the liquor department of my local Heinen’s, where they have a little tasting bar offering a ten-ounce pour of 8% alcohol beer for $3.50.

I put some cash into an envelope I found in my wife’s desk that said Merry Christmas on it.  How can you give someone money for Christmas and treat it like a payday loan?

I don’t say all this to get the Humanitarian of the Year award.  I say it to acknowledge that there is something in the air at Christmas time.  There just is.

Christmas seems to unlock some inner kindness, which is not something I believe in, yet there it is.

In his book, The Five Side Effects of Kindness, David Hamilton says, We’re genetically wired to be kind.

I tend to believe that people are selfish at their core and this past year has done nothing to disprove that.

Still, there is something about this day that is unlike any other.  The rational explanation would be that there is indeed, something inside us looking for an excuse to burst out.

Well aged bourbon, on the other hand, calls forth an appearance from my evil twin, Larry.

In essence, Christmas is a birthday party for Jesus.  As the celebration grew in secularity, so it grew in commercialization.

Christmas evolved into people giving each other gifts in the same way that Gillette convinced women they needed to shave their underarms and legs.

Historical evidence suggests that Jesus was born at the end of March, but that would have conflicted with pagan rituals of spring, space occupied by Easter and Passover.

There’s only so much room on the calendar and late December was open.

Stripping away what has evolved into a Toys-R-Us-cum-Amazon holiday, there was once a message beneath the wrapping paper that seems to have slipped away.

Jesus grew up in humble surroundings and his teachings reflected that.  His message was simple and can be summed up in five words: Take care of each other.

His concern was always for the neediest among us; whether they be poor, hungry, homeless, sick or old.

How did we go from feeding the hungry to stealing their money and giving it to the rich?  If you can justify that and still call yourself a Christian, then you may be a Republican.

As Michael Jackson said, I’m starting with the man in the mirror.  In the practice of what I preach, I will now attempt some Christmas magic of my own.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.  (Who says you can’t say Merry Christmas?)

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Hoosiermama is a beautiful, sweet and huggable, two-year-old green-eyed, female pastel calico cat looking for a loving guardian.

Hoosiermama was living in Indiana and came to Friends of Petraits Rescue in Cihicago covered with fleas, and full of worms. As were her two kittens Polka and Boone. Luckily everyone recovered from their parasites and their phenomenal personalities have emerged.

It took two months to photograph mama because her hair was so thin, she looked bald. She is a delightful cat with a gentle nature. She loves to talk, hang out on the top of her cat tree and snuggle with her people.

She has perfect litter box use and has been well-behaved in the home.

She can be adopted on her own, or with her five-month-old kitten Polka, an orange and white tabby.

Hoosiermama is extremely healthy, spayed, de-wormed and de-flead, vaccinated for distemper and rabies, virus-tested negative and micro-chipped.

To meet and possibly adopt Hoosiermama, please fill out an adoption application at https://friendsofpetraits.com/dog-cat-adoption-application/.

After the application is complete, please contact [email protected] to schedule an appointment to meet her.

Her adoption fee of 175 benefits the rescued pets of Friends of Petraits Rescue.

She is currently being fostered in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.

(Editor’s note: This is one part of a four-part series on December signees by Illinois FCS programs. Tomorrow: Eastern Illinois)

In its only game of the 2020 fall season, Southern Illinois University showed off a new-look secondary.

That group limited Southeast Missouri to 53 yards passing in a 20-17 victory that featured interceptions by new transfer safeties Clayton Bush (Western Kentucky) and Aaron Maddox (Colorado), along with five combined pass breakups from starting cornerbacks Jon Thompson and P.J. Jules.

On Wednesday’s national signing day, SIU welcomed 16 new recruits, including an old friend in former Saluki defensive back James Ceasar to strengthen its defensive backfield.

“It’s going to make them better,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said of his secondary. “James is a talented guy. Our job as coaches is to find where they fit. It doesn’t matter what position you’re playing. The ultimate thing is winning. Competition makes us all better. It’s going to make them better.”

Ceasar started four games for the Salukis in 2018 before transferring to Division II Ferris State, which is closer to his native Detroit. He earned first-team all-America honors in 2019 at cornerback for Ferris, compiling six interceptions and seven pass breakups, then chose to transfer back to SIU.

The defensive back group also will welcome back safety Qua Brown, who entered the transfer portal during the pandemic but recently decided to return to the program.

SIU currently has four former defensive backs in the NFL – Jeremy Chinn (Carolina), Madre Harper (New York Giants), Craig James (Philadelphia) and Ryan Neal (Seattle).

“We’re proud of the guys that have come here and got an opportunity to play on Sundays,” Hill said.

Quotable

“This year has been met with a lot of challenges, just like a lot of things in 2020. I’m proud of the way our staff quickly adjusted to the dead (recruiting) period. We weren’t able to get on the road, weren’t able to have guys on campus this summer, and we weren’t able to get out to camps and watch these guys in person.” – Nick Hill, SIU head football coach

Where are they from?

Along with Ceasar, the Salukis’ class includes another transfer in former Western Kentucky wide receiver Jacquez Sloan. The 5-9 native of Atlanta had 77 career catches for the FBS Hilltoppers in 31 career games while seeing time at receiver, running back and kick returner.

Of the 16 members of this class, two are from Illinois high schools – defensive back Jalen Bates (Oak Park River Forest) and offensive lineman Sam Buck (Highland).

Ten different states are represented in the group, including four players from Tennessee and two each from Florida and Georgia.

Buck hails from the closest to campus at 91 miles, while Leviticus McAffee, a 6-2 defensive back from Orlando, Fla., will play more than 900 miles from home.

What positions do they play?

Five recruits are defensive backs, while four play on the offensive line and three are wide receivers. The class did not include a quarterback or a running back.

What accomplishments do they bring?

St. Louis wide receiver T.J. Atkins Jr. switched to quarterback as a senior and threw for 28 touchdowns. “He was the No. 1 guy we wanted to get,” Hill said. … Ceasar was part of Hill’s first recruiting class as head coach in 2016. … McAffee holds the Robinson High School career interceptions record with eight and limited opposing wide receivers to two catches during his senior season at cornerback in 2020. … Defensive back Delmontre Pryor played prep ball at Jones High School in Orlando. That’s the same high school that produced current Salukis P.J. Jules and Calvin Francis Jr. … Defensive line recruit Caden Reeves is a native of Kansas and joins his older brother and fellow D-lineman Peyton on the SIU roster.

SIU December signees:

(Name, position, height, weight, hometown, previous school)

T.J. Atkins Jr., WR, 6-1, 187, St. Louis, Cardinal Ritter College Prep

Jalen Bates, DB, 6-0, 175, Oak Park, Ill., Oak Park River Forest HS

Sam Buck, OL, 6-3, 295, Highland, Ill., Highland HS

James Ceasar, DB, 5-10, 195, Detroit, Ferris State University

Mani Jackson, DL, 6-2, 250, Brownsburg, Ind., Brownsburg HS

Michael King, WR, 6-2, 180, Memphis, Germantown HS

Leviticus McAffee, DB, 6-2, 175, Tampa, Fla., Robinson HS

Jon Nalley, OL, 6-6, 295, Utica, Ky., Daviess County HS

Cejai Parson, DB, 6-1, 180, Memphis, White Station HS

Delmontre Pryor, DB, 5-11, 190, Orlando, Fla., Jones HS

Aidan Quinn, TE, 6-1, 210, Greenbrier, Tenn., Davidson Academy

Caden Reeves, DL, 6-3, 260, Basehor, Kan., Saint Thomas Aquinas HS

Rahyiem Rowe, OL, 6-3, 300, Fairburn, Ga., Creekside HS

Jacquez Sloan, WR, 5-9, 165, Atlanta, Western Kentucky University

Ethan Tyla, OL, 6-3, 280, Fairfield, Ohio, Fairfield Senior HS

Louis Wilbert, LB, 6-2, 220, Memphis, Ridgeway HS

Three Floyds brewpub in Munster, which had closed to indoor dining at the start of the pandemic, has announced they will close permanently. The Times of Northwest Indiana broke the story Wednesday. The production brewing and distilling operations will continue, with curbside pickup at the attached brewery.

Three Floyds financed its brewpub in the early 2000s by selling equity shares, with each shareholder offered one free pint of beer per day. It was an unusual form of fundraising in the era before online crowdsourcing.

The Floyds had been planning an expansion of their public space, another plan put on hold because of the pandemic. While it’s still possible the public component could return, there is now no definite timeline for that to happen.

Friday, December 18

Saturday, December 19

Sunday, December 20

(Editor’s note: This is one part of a four-part series on December signees by Illinois FCS programs. Tomorrow: Southern Illinois)

With recruiting visits limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, creativity was a must for Illinois State University’s football program in the months building up to Wednesday’s national signing day.

“Our staff did a tremendous job recruiting this class in a very difficult time,” Redbirds head coach Brock Spack during a virtual press conference to announce the December signees. “I feel really bad for the recruits that had to go through this.”

Despite no fall season in Illinois, the Redbirds pulled in a total of 20 players, including nine from Illinois high schools.

Eighteen players signed national letters of intent, according to the university, and two joined the program as preferred walk-ons.

Spack recognized one specific member of his staff for exemplary recruiting work during the pandemic – quality control coach Nick Meyer.

“I don’t know if we sign this class without Nick,” said Spack, who noted that Meyer’s responsibilities include creating graphics that are shared with recruits and via social media. “He was instrumental.”

Spack said Meyer was able to create unique ways to communicate with athletes and their families via graphics.

“He deserves a lot of credit,” Spack said.

Quotable

“We’re always looking for offensive linemen, because we build our team from the inside out.” –Spack said of his class, which included five O-linemen.

Where are they from?

Of the 20 players joining the program, nine are from Illinois, ranging from Rockford to the north down to O’Fallon to the south.

Four players are from Texas, where the program has had a steady stream of recruiting success. Two players are from Michigan and Indiana. Three other states (Ohio, Missouri and Kansas) are represented as well.

Offensive lineman Aidan Kinnaird hails from Austin, Texas, which is the farthest away from Normal in the entire class at 992 miles.

Reese Edwards, a linebacker, grew up a mere 74 miles from campus in Springfield.

What positions do they play?

Along with five offensive linemen and three defensive backs, the Redbirds added two quarterbacks and two running backs.

Those are two crowded positions on the Redbirds’ roster. Eight running backs are on the current roster, and just one is a senior.

“We’re gaining a reputation of having some pretty good tailbacks here,” Spack said.

The team currently has five QBs on its roster, with only one senior.

ISU also brought in two players each at linebacker and tight end.

What accomplishments do they bring?

Sean Allen, a running back from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in suburban Chicago, rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2019. Allen is related to ISU’s all-time leading rusher Marshaun Coprich. … Linebacker Bobby Babcock (Hobart, Ind.) was named Mr. Football at his position in the state. … Quarterback Timothy Dorsey helped Bishop Miege High School in Olathe, Kan., to its sixth consecutive state title in 2019. … Edwards has an older brother, Grant, who plays at in-state rival Eastern Illinois. … Running back Wenkers Wright (Floyds Knobs, Ind.) was born in Haiti. He rushed for more than 3,200 yards and 46 TDs in his final two prep seasons.

When will they arrive?

Two of the signees will be mid-year additions – athlete Jeff Bowens (5-9, 160) and offensive lineman Carter DeGraaf (6-6, 310). Both players hail from Michigan.

The rest of the class will arrive in the fall, including two preferred walk-ons — 6-7 tight end Jarrett Strate-Lutzow from Rockford and 270-pound offensive lineman Ryan Heffelfinger of Sterling in northwestern Illinois.

ISU December signees:

(Name, position, height, weight, hometown, previous school)

Sean Allen, RB, 5-10, 200 Glenwood, Ill., Homewood-Flossmoor HS

Bobby Babcock, LB, 6-0, 230, Hobart, Ind., Hobart HS

Jeff Bowens, ATH, 5-9, 160, Southfield, Mich., Southfield A&T HS

J’Kalon Carter, WR, 6-0, 170, Aubrey, Texas, Braswell HS

Carter DeGraaf, OL, 6-6, 310, Hudsonville, Mich., Center Grove (Ind.) HS

Timothy Dorsey, QB, 6-0, 190, Olathe, Kan., Bishop Miege HS

Jack Dwyer, DB, 6-0, 185, Hawthorn Woods, Ill., Lake Zurich HS

Reese Edwards, LB, 6-3, 215, Springfield, Ill., Sacred Heart-Griffin HS

Ryan Gudaitis, OL, 6-4, 260, Arlington Heights, Ill., Hersey HS

Nick Kessler, TE, 6-6, 230, Marysville, Ohio, Marysville HS

Aidan Kinnaird, OL, 6-5, 320, Austin, Texas, Westlake HS

Cameron Nelson, DB, 6-0, 175, Dallas Texas, Kimball HS

Scotty Presson, FB, 6-3, 240, Florissant, Mo., East St. Louis HS

Tommy Rittenhouse, QB, 5-11, 180, Geneva, Ill., St. Francis HS

Boden Turner, OL, 6-4, 260, Manteno, Ill., St. Rita HS

Ian Wagner, K, 6-2, 210, Sierra Vista, Ariz., O’Fallon (Ill.) HS

Cam Wilson, DB, 5-11, 170, Cedar Hill, Texas, Trinity Christian HS

Wenkers Wright, RB, 6-1, 185, Floyds Knobs, Ind., Floyd Central HS

BY SANDRA GUY

Now that we’re daring to hope for a New Year of recovery, what better way to celebrate than to create — and this time, meet — your fitness goals? Here are my tried-and-true tips:

• Find teachers who motivate and inspire you, who make you laugh but also bring out your inner ambition to be the best and fittest person in class. It’s similar to finding a favorite pastor, priest, celebrity or TV personality you’d set your alarm to see or hear.

• Commit to the same “me” time every day, preferably in the morning before you let yourself get distracted by email and chores. Remind yourself that this time is your well-deserved treat — an indulgence.

• Read and listen to the news for motivation. You’ll find daily headlines and radio and TV news stories about scientific studies that show exercise benefits much more than your physical strength. In just the past few days, headlines and radio news stories have detailed how exercising 300 minutes a week teaches the body to burn more fuel, as well as a study in Finland that showed a link between heart-healthy behaviors, including exercise, and a lower risk for dementia in later life.

• Explore options and choose least-expensive ones that get results. You’ll have bragging rights about your bargain. For example, I bought a $50 CD player with a screen — something that parents give their children so the kids can watch movies on a long car trip — so that my husband and I could work out to his old P90X classes. The workouts are fabulous – and playing CDs requires no ongoing subscriptions.

• But if you find a subscription-based workout that you love, go for it. Make it a budget priority because it will be worth it in so many ways. My favorite is LES MILLS, an Australian-based workout series that features teachers from throughout the world. I love the accents, the energy and the quick pace.

• Stay active in your workout-club community via Zoom or remote video classes. Two students of workout teacher extraordinaire Sue Wen’s East Bank Club classes set up a Zoom-based workout program to let others share in Wen’s expertise. It’s subscription-based at https://www.virtualstudiospace.com/

• Set up a playlist that makes you feel great — one that you want to replay over and over. Play your favorite music over top of a video class.

• Admit it — it’s fun to be competitive – and even to leave your mark on the class. Find a class where everyone posts his or her smartwatch or fitness-tracker results so you can strive to get better and even surpass your classmates’ results.

• See how strong you can get. Don’t settle for five-pound weights. After a few weeks, start using seven-pound weights, and then 10-pound weights.

• Feel young and free. Jump rope. Shoot baskets. Throw yourself into Zumba. Find a retro dance class so you can do the “pony” or the “Bristol stomp” again.

• Escape into the freedom of virtual worlds. A spin bike transforms into a magic carpet ride with a videogame-like simulation (you can find these spin classes online), as you “ride” up and down magical roller-coaster-like hills with pop-up fantastical scenery. Or watch a video led by a teacher you want to look like.

• Give yourself regular rewards in a way you haven’t done before. Buy a soft housecoat. Set up an in-home spa afternoon. Give yourself a facial.

You’ll even find yourself laughing as you immerse yourself in online searches for your favorite workout music, video exercise classes and throwback scenery. Take pride in choreographing snippets of a variety of exercise classes and make it your own.