Wawa twins Lori and Sandra Waldee-Warden are married to each other

Wawa Twins - Lori and Sandra Waldee-Warden are so close it took me two years covering road races before I realized there were two of them. And the hyphenated last name is alliterative, but Wawa is easier to remember than Waldee-Warden. After Lori finished a race last summer she told me, “It’s easy to remember which one is Lori and which is Sandra ... I’m Lori, L comes before S in the alphabet and I come before Sandra in a race.” I try to remember that rule each time one crosses the finish line, but I usually say, “Good job, Wawa.” Sandra and Lori are married - to each other - since Jan. 1, 2012, the first of eight couples in Delaware when same-sex marriage became recognized as a legal civil union that later automatically switched to marriage when all that changed. And both were married before - to men - and each has two sons and each first-born is 22 and named Nick and then there are Josh and Zach who are 18. Sandra works for the Department of Education as a teacher supervisor at James T. Vaughn Correctional, while Lori is a personal trainer and works at the Sussex YMCA. Lori and Sandra are members of the running group Certified Running Nutz, and a more diverse and nicer group of people from 9 to 90 you can’t find. I’m allowed to hang out with them. I’m like a social member, the guy at the VFW who never went to war but just likes to socialize and drink. But I picked the wrong millennium to quit running and drinking.   

Craig’s list - A brown-eyed handsome man came up to me before the JJ race July 23, "Fredman, you're looking good. Still out here doing it. Bet you don't know who I am.” I quickly said, "Brittingham,” followed by, “Craig,” adding, "you graduated with my son Dave. How is your older brother Josh?" Craig is from Cape class of 1988. That's right, I retrieved his file from 29 years earlier. He was happily impressed, saying, "You still got it." If I had been slightly daffy, Craig would have been all right with that too. My wife remembered that Craig and Dave were in Boy Scouts together and their troop leader was Al Minozzi; now that is old school. I posted my encounter on Facebook and everyone was claiming Craig was their brother. I didn’t realize he had six sisters. I coached his older brother Josh in cross country and track - just an incredible Cape family. 

SoDel Elite 2022 - A quickly thrown together team of young guns headed down to Dagsboro for the Aloha Big Kahuna tournament at the Bermuda grass River Soccer complex last weekend. Coaches Jim Affeldt, Fred Best and Joey Vavala put together a combination platter (SoDel jargon) of mostly Mariner and Beacon players from 2017 season, although most have played together in the Atlantic program. This “new wave” or Big Kahuna of talent ready to hit the beach went 5-0 in the tournament, outscoring opponents 60-6. They defeated Motley Crew from Baltimore in the finals 8-1. Roster players included Albert Hewlett, Blake Gipko, Will Bragg, Jaden Davis, Owen Dorman, Brax Medd, Nic Jones, Landon Best, Gabe Best, Carson Kammerer, Dane Robertson, Hank D’Ambrogi, Rex Raley, Finn Forcucci, Mikey Frederick, Sean Wick, Jack Giles, McCabe Piavis, Kyler Krewson and KJ Dockins. SoDel is a player across the local sports landscape supporting community athletes. The real Big Kahuna Scott Kammerer once thanked me for covering community sports with a $50 Wawa card. Generous and humorous, that is Scott. 

Trash truck juice - Flashback to the front stoop of the Frederick row house on Sargeant Street in North Philly 1954, “Wooden Legged Charlie,” my father’s friend (legs blown off in Korean War) watched row house mutts chasing the garbage truck down the narrow street licking up wet spots. “North Philly reminds me of North Korea,” Charlie said. “Mangy dogs looking all wrong getting after garbage.” Vince Robertson reported to me that during one of his son’s Ian’s AAU games, a fan screamed at the ref, “You stink like trash truck juice.” Not sure when garbage trucks got elevated to trash trucks, sounds like gentrification.

Calendar boy - Ease up Neil Sedaka, this Lion sleeps at night. I’m a columnist, not a calendarist. Contact Nick Roth (nickroth@capegazette.com), the real sports editor at Cape Gazette, to get your camps and leagues on the sports calendar. I can barely remember when to dose Darby dog with Frontline; like a real guy, he likes it when anybody touches the back of his neck.  

Snippets - The Woodbridge 8-10 softball team defeated District 1, 2-0, to win the state championship. “The Bridge” has been a great example over the last year about keeping your athletes home but not home schooled. Go Blue Raiders! And, go on now, git!