In the spirit of the late Paul Harvey, here's the rest of the story on elementary school sidekicks Nahrain Shasteen and Christy (Breckler) Sobota, who graduated Sunday from the Ohio State University School of Optometry.
The new optometrists have accepted jobs not far from each other in the Toledo area and will start their professional careers in early July.
Shasteen will work for Maumee Center for Eye Care, an optometric practice in Maumee. Sobota will split her time between the Lens Crafters offices in the Franklin Park and Fallen Timbers Malls.
"We didn't plan to work in the same city, it just worked out that way," said Sobota, who has been Shasteen's classmate since the third grade at St. John Lutheran School. "Believe it or not, we even toured the same apartment complex without knowing it."
Though the two Defiance women will remain in their home state, such is not the case for a majority of Ohio college students.
A new survey of over 800 current students at seven of the state's largest colleges (including OSU) found that 51 percent of Ohioans and 78 percent of students from outside Ohio are "leaning toward" or "definitely leaving" the state after they finish their studies. The survey, conducted by the Washington-based research group Thomas B. Fordham Institute, was publicized Monday in the Columbus Dispatch.
"We need our best and brightest to invest their energy and future in Ohio to generate the economic vigor, new technologies and other economic developments that will spur the progress we need to modernize and prosper," said Terry Ryan, Fordham's vice president for Ohio programs and policies.
Ryan noted the obvious: Ohio's future is bleak if talented graduates don't stick around.
The survey results come as no surprise to six-county area parents, many of whom have seen their adult children land jobs in other states after earning their college degrees in Ohio.
To make matters worse, state legislators this month are facing tough budgetary choices which will likely result in state government being less able to educate and protect its children.
Speaking of the OSU commencement, former history-making astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn provided wise counsel in his address to the graduates.
"No person lives solely as an island unto himself, particularly in a democracy such as ours," said Glenn. "Those whose world is centered just on themselves live in a very small universe. We are fulfilled when we are part of something bigger than ourselves."
Glenn noted that Sunday wasn't just graduation day. It was also Flag Day.
"Beautiful as that waving red, white and blue piece of cloth may be, it is what it stands for, what it symbolizes..., that stirs our feelings, our allegiance and our willingness to support the greater cause it represents -- even at personal risk," he stated.
It's been a few years since the idea of "Red Fridays" was publicized in e-mails across America, but now is a great time to renew the practice. It simply asks citizens to wear red every Friday to show their support of our U.S. troops fighting overseas.
Though down in number compared to a few years ago, casualties in Iraq are continuing. Casualties in Afghanistan, meanwhile, are increasing.
It's easy to concentrate on our every day problems, but we should never forget about our troops.
For those readers who have never attended a Relay for Life event, I highly recommend it. Four different Relays for Life will be held this weekend -- at Ayersville High School and at the fairgrounds in Hicksville, Napoleon and Montpelier.
All start Friday night and run until Saturday noon.
Relay For Life is more than a fundraiser. Every person in attendance has the opportunity to celebrate, remember and fight back.
It's a life-changing experience.