Spittin' Sports and History

ESPN has had plenty of hours of fishing tournaments, and it's very pretty on the lake where the guys are catching fish very easily. I thought they would be sitting in their boats and just reeling in those catches, but it seems they stand for hours to get the number of pounds to be a winner. If they make a catch but it is too small, it doesn't go in with their treasure chest. And they watch for any thing that might give them an advantage in catching the prize fish, the movement of any nearby vessels, the way the sun is hitting certain spots. One of the winners last week was from Japan, and I certainly didn't know the Japanese liked to fish in a competitive way. I guess I thought it was strictly an American sport.  But there are plenty of things I don't know. When Ben was little and just learning to put words into sentences, he did a great job except for "L" sound. Some words like "ladder" came out almost "yadder" because it was more like a ...

My friend since first grade, Collette, is a rabid hockey fan since her grandson Scott became a hockey whiz(Go, Scott!). So when she told me to watch NHL playoffs in Edmonton, I said I would. It was great fun because there is so much action in a hockey match, and the penalties are just what we all could use against people we may not like: tripping, roughing, interfering, slashing.  Love the sound of that. The atmosphere was interesting even though I don't know most of the rules. But It also emphasizes teamwork, one player passing to another, one player helping to make the goal. Off the rink there are experiences that show the same ideas. When we were doing Teahouse of the August Moon as a one-act play, we went to Smyer for district competition. Our early rehearsal went well, and there was a break before we would be getting ready for the performance in front of a judge. And then Craig who was playing the part of a general  came to me with a pained look on his face. "You're g...

Professional basketball is in a bubble in Florida and will start play July 30 with teams expected to stay there to play all the season. Don't think it is like going to scout camp. This enclosure has gourmet chefs, maids, every kind of game or recreation that can be imagined. On paper it looks like players will be able to go with this plan and not come down with the virus that we are all dreading. Plans have a way of looking good before being tested. In Dallas when I began teaching in 1960(Okay, say it. "She is as old as dirt."), people were all talking about nuclear threats. Russia was adding to its stockpile, we were adding to ours, fallout shelters were being built, preachers and politicians were saying the world was soon coming to an end. So Dallas and all schools decided we should have a way to protect students if an attack came. The principal would ring the bell with ten short rings(had to be different from a fire drill signal), and students were to drop beside their...