Vistas and venues embedded in Cape Henlopen School District

Vistas and venues - I could teach the greatest semester class at Cape Henlopen High School called Welcome to My House, an exploration and explanation of the neighborhoods of Cape, from natural wonders to housing costs so exorbitant that none of us can afford to live here. A tour bus, preferably a Mercedes double decker, would take the class on lots of field trips. I would rock the microphone and serve as tour guide through the byways and hideaways of the Cape district. There are economic disparity and racial and lifestyle diversity which only come together inside an inclusive public high school, so why not venture out into the wild and educate students on how the whole social fabric is sewn together?

Little BTO - Sung to “Little GTO” should be the theme for the Tour de France. Just like Barry Bonds was incriminated by hat size alone, those elite bike racers look and perform at levels of endurance that make no sense. I’m not talking about Bachman Turner Overdrive or Built to Order, I’m talking about performance enhancement drugs. But for me, a drug that increased endurance in mice - Welcome to my Mouse - is not something I’m grinding into my melted cheese on a cracker. Lance Armstrong admitted in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had used Erythropoietin (EPO) and human growth hormone and blood doped. I know after watching those racers come down a mountain that they are crazy, and I admire them, but would I swear most are not juiced - no, I would not. 

Self-Identification - I see myself as a 71-year-old athlete - it’s how I relate to my world. It’s a mind-set and doesn’t depend on how others see me. I once shared that in a casual situation and some guy laughed in my face, “Haha. You an athlete? On what planet?” I could have gone 32 trap block on his sorry self and knocked him into the fourth row of the “spectator for life” club section. I always told my high school students, “Have a firm grasp of who you are and be OK with it because when you least expect it someone is coming to chop you off at the knees and laugh in your face.” That’s not negative, just a heads-up; it happens to everyone. Grandmom Rose: “See yourself and be yourself.”

Snippets - F.P. Santangelo, color analyst of the Washington Nationals, said during Sunday’s telecast versus the Braves after a foul ball hit into the stands scattered a group of fans, “Any guy who ducks when a baseball is hit into his section needs to have his man card punched.” I really like Santangelo; he is very smart and clever and a homer but not over the top. Bob Carpenter on play-by-play is also the ultimate professional. At one point he said, “We’re old news, in fact, we’re old fake news.” A Phillies broadcast is like a remedial class for learning-disabled fans. Don’t explain the difference between the hit and run versus the run and hit, just please spare me, you humpback liner. Nanticoke/Laurel blitzed through the District 3 Junior League baseball tournament beating Cape 16-0, Lower Sussex 8-0 and Lower Sussex again 23-6. Sounds like a Seaford/Laurel combination powerhouse, so why not combine those two high schools and call it No Joke Nanticoke? They could have a mascot that’s either the Bull Jays or the Jay Dogs. A men’s tennis match at Wimbledon can go five sets and last five hours. There are four rounds before the quarterfinals. We’ve never heard of most of the players, so who watches anything before the semifinal round? And on the women’s side, I’m pretty sure the Russians are meddling in our tournaments. Venus Williams is the sole American still in play in the round of 16. The D.C. Sports Hall of Fame inducted nine new members at the Nationals game Sunday, including Tony Kornheiser and 20-year-old Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky. Basketball star Tom McMillen, who played for Maryland and the Washington Bullets and owned a condo on Olive Avenue or Maryland Avenue in Rehoboth, was also inducted. Tom, as I like to call him, was a Rhodes Scholar and former member of Congress. He and local Ray “Bulldog” Quillen were buddies. Fall sports practices begin Tuesday, Aug. 15; check capevikingssports.com for information on physicals and practice times. Train like a cat, growl like a dog, and juice like an experimental mouse, and you should be fine. Forget the mouse joke. Go on now, git!