Greetings Columbus —
Move over Peter Rabbit and Bugs Bunny, there’s a new hare on the block — with a Columbus connection.
Today’s the day BOTUS (Bunny of the United States) takes the publishing world by storm with the release of the book “Marlon Bundo’s Day in the Life of the Vice President.” It’s written by Charlotte Pence, the vice president’s daughter, and illustrated by Karen Pence, the vice president’s wife. Vice president Mike Pence is from Columbus.
Marlon Bundo is a Pence family pet, and he’s already used to living a life in the public eye.
He came into the Pence family when Charlotte was a student at DePaul, and she needed a bunny for a film project. The rest, as they say, is a hop into rabbit history.
Marlon now lives on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., has his own Instagram account and, with the release of the book, has gotten extensive stories in The Washington Post and USA Today.
The children’s book shows Marlon at the vice president’s side as he does his job. You’ll notice another Indiana connection in the book — Marlon can be seen looking at painting by Indiana artist T.C. Steele.
Proceeds from the book are going to an art-therapy program at Riley Hospital for Children and A21, an organization working to end sex trafficking, according to The Washington Post.
With all the attention, let’s hope Marlon doesn’t have a bad hare day.
Here’s what else you need to know —
Sheer will: Central Middle School student Alex Kingsbury.
After his severe neck injury, the initial prognosis for Alex was a difficult one: a 10 percent chance of walking again. The rest of this story is wonderful and inspirational. Watch the video and read about how Alex “definitely has the spirit of overcoming this.” Story and video here.
When the heat was on, she came through.
East’s Addy Galarno is The Republic Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Read about how the senior was up for the challenge and who else is on our all area team. Click here.
Next big adventure for Columbus explorer.
This is not a walk in the park, not by a long shot. Walter Glover is going on a 192-mile, coast-to-coast trek across three national parks in northern England. And it’s for a good cause — raising money for Foundation For Youth in Columbus. Read all about it here.
Oh baby! Surprise birth five years later.
Back in 2013 we wrote about Amie Ojeda-Melendez. Her birth was a shocker. Mom Carmen Melendez did not know she was pregnant, and Amie came into the world prematurely (3 pounds) at home on a frantic day. We’ve gone back for a visit with the Melendez family to see how Amie is doing. We can’t resist telling you this good news: She’s in preschool and speaks both English and Spanish. More in Tuesday’s Republic.
It’s a mad, mad March, but you have a second chance with us.
Darren Rovell of ESPN tweeted out that the number of brackets on ESPN (out of 17.3 million) that got all Sweet 16 teams right was ZERO. He noted that three brackets got 15 teams out of the Sweet 16 teams. How are you doing? You can still win cash and prizes if you enter The Republic’s Battle of the Brackets. All the details here.
Have a great day. Send your story ideas to [email protected].
