Vickey Ritchie and us had a shortened moment on The Hill this afternoon as we headed out of town. While we had hoped it to be longer, we were still incredibly grateful for the gesture 🙏 of creating a King Sized book 📖 that is full of kind words !
Added bonus that Coach Harris and Coach Kinney, Coach Howard Mayo and so many players took the time to sign one of the numerous cards !
Our trip West was delayed at the start by events taking place involving Corrie Delp and then Adrienne Harris and Jay Neal’s Strasburg Express. Now after a lengthy waiting period, Lin has a spot awaiting her at the Duke University Medical Center beginning August 4th and we will be there for a week. What happens from there will depend upon what the Doctors discover.
But this means that I get to hang out with Vickey and her group Sunday August 3rd!
Meanwhile, I will be working with Mr DeHaven and Tammy Quesenberry on the High Jump project, gathering all the information that I can for the Softball book and writing ✍ at least one story everyday.
If you are responsible for a group or team and want to get the positive word out about something, just let me know.
There are so flaws in this process with the first one being that if someone reads the story today and wants to participate, there’s no clear path to jumping on board.
The Carroll News, Olde Mill Golf Resort and Carroll County High School are all involved with our efforts here. The folks involved with things that I have ongoing simply reached out to me but even then we have to get the funds to the right place.
Drum Roll please, the right place is in the hands ✋of Mr. Kevin DeHaven, our hardworking Athletic Director. We will make sure that everyone in the first 40 to contribute $100.00 will receive a round of Golf ⛳ out at Olde Mill.
The key 🔑 here is far beyond the High Jump area we are getting for Brenden Fariss and his fellow High Jumpers. It’s an incredible opportunity for folks to learn another means of raising $$$$ here in Carroll County.
Tammy Quesenberry and the Carroll County High School Athletic Association are on board and this makes it possible. Hagen Giles here at Olde Mill has done his part and the Carroll News is helping move the needle as well.
As I have stated previously, Lin and I are set to cover the gap, whatever we cannot raise and I promised Hagen we would cut his part off at 40. Now the question is how many people involved in Sports here will see the opportunity to help a fellow Coach and their program ? How many other businesses will see the value of finding ways to barter with their resources ?
The final benefit for the Football fans is that now we have shiny new bleachers that are easy on the eyes 👀, we will be removing the eye 👁 sore from Tommy Thompson Field and replacing it with a much needed piece of equipment !
We will be looking for people from now to the end of July and then Mr DeHaven will write ✍ in the amount on our check to balance the books 📚 for the purchase.
If you have any questions 🙏, please reach out and I will do my best to answer them !
Sometimes a photo 📷 doesn’t need a story to be attached to it or as I like to call it, a stand alone picture. Over the past two decades we have used two different sites for the writing ✍ and pictures from our work in various communities.
Both of these sites are filled with memories from years past as storage makes all of it available to look back at if someone chose to do. So a couple of years ago the decision was made to have one of the sites be pictures only except for one or two thoughts
Just happened to pick the one from dinner last night as Travis Leath and I were able to discuss our favorite topic, the game of Softball.
The name of the site pays homage to a pair of things that are near and dear to me – Laurel Fork and Jimmy Buffett. Two people had a tremendous influence on my writing ✍ style, Jimmy Buffett and Aaron Sorkin. Laurel Fork is just Home 🏡 and everyone should 💘 where they live.
The amount of people that send pictures in has dropped considerably but we enjoy the ones we receive. If a photo needs a story to have it make sense then it comes on the ASPN site and if one tells a story on its own, it makes it to the Coconut 🥥 Telegraph.
Some folks don’t have time to read stories but everyone likes to look at photos, especially if they share Joy !
Today is our last day in town for a while and its fitting for me to spend the end of the latest run 🏃♂️ with two fellow members of our Circle – Ron Cochran and Vickey Ritchie before we head out.
One of the goals to the sites was to create a safe and happy place where someone could visit with their morning beverage ☕ and catch up on events that took place in and around their Community. We love that we have a core group of readers who enjoy our efforts and that’s where the focus is and should remain.
Life is tough and full of challenges so why not work on giving people a reason to smile !
My favorite part of the efforts of our Athletic Director Kevin DeHaven is the stand by my Man, Mrs DeHaven. From the first time we worked side by side at a home Volleyball 🏐 match, it was so obvious that we had a true Husband and Wife team running 🏃♂️ the office 🏢 of AD.
Twenty years into what we hope is a seventy year marriage 💑, let’s hope that had a tremendous day together ❤.
Tracy Beck was a power hitting, strike throwing machine back in the day and she had a similar disposition as me in that Tracy didn’t lack for confidence.
My rookie year in Coaching the game of Softball took place back in 1984 in a city named St.Peters, Missouri. Located in St Charles County, it was named the fastest growing County in the United States 🇺🇸. Not sure how these things were measured but watching the place develop over the years, it made sense to me.
My Parents Church Softball team seemed like a nice place to stay out of trouble while I regrouped from the Navy sending me home after acknowledging that they could not fix my leg that had been damaged a few years earlier. The team had never been successful prior to 1984 but when the season ended we were holding the trophy 🏆.
Both Alan Knight and Rick Nester began their coaching careers at the same time. Both did it by graduating from their High School, earning a degree in College and then returning to their High School, staying there for over 40 years.
We went into the post season tournament with a record of just 3-5 but things changed when Tracy recruited her younger Sister, Linda Beck, to join us for the stretch run. Linda played Rover in the outfield and chased down many a hard hit balls.
Tracy finished up with a 4-4 record, batted .617 and slugged eight Home Runs in an 11 game campaign. Linda batted .550 and hit 3 home runs.
40 years later
While Tracy was funny and outgoing, Linda was highly competitive and a bit more serious than her Sister. There were plenty of other talented players in the team, including a mixture of young and old. Jamie Vanzant and Marsha Uldall both finished up batting over .500 and shined on defense.
We closed out our remarkable run with a convincing 24-6 victory over 1st Church and rode off into the Sunset 🌇. Roughly eight months later, Linda Beck agreed to become Linda Carter, which meant decades of Wonder Woman jokes. To this day, anyone she meets that’s over 40 will still have fun with it. Younger than 40 and you know Gal Godot as Wonder Woman.
Tracy became my Sister-In-Law and I retired from coaching the game I love and returned to playing it.
The keepsake…
Retirement at the age of 21 ?? I won a Championship, met my Bride 👰and gained a Sister-In-Law in just one season so I didn’t see a way to top that story.
If memory serves me, my Sister Sharon played in three games as well back in 1984. After that incredible start I switched over to trying to promote the game and then I met Alan Knight down the road.
Just one nugget in a sea of nuggets for this project but its Nugget #1…
A.S.P.N on The Hill 