When women throw plates, get out of the kitchen
Bad card - “Just because life deals you a bad card doesn’t mean there aren’t more in the deck.” - Grandmom Rose. We all hold bad life cards we wish we could trade in like a game of high-stakes poker. “Here, you can have these; I’m holding an ace so I’ll take four new ones.” And if we could choose battles we’d choose different ones, but they choose us, so we play the hand that is dealt or we fold. Back in fall 1989 Cape senior Tammy Hopkins, a gregarious, academic and athletic beautiful girl was in a passenger in car that got whacked from the side. She suffered traumatic brain injury and was totally disabled and now in 2012 her close-knit family still takes care of her. The fourth annual Tammy Hopkins Scholarship basketball tournament will be held at Beacon Middle School at 11 a.m., Saturday, May 12. “We want to ensure Tammy’s personal energy, enthusiasm and humor that she brought to her family and to the community of students at Cape Henlopen High School lives on, ” said organizer Vaughn Hopkins. “This year we will give two scholarships to two athletes at Cape Henlopen High School who excel in both academics and sports. Tammy is still with us today.” Go to Facebook, then type in Vaughn Hopkins for all the information about how to enter a team, or call the brother at 302-547-2348.
Throwing plates - Usually if women start to throw plates, it’s time to get out of the kitchen. Last weekend if you drove by the Parade Grounds at Cape Henlopen State Park, you saw teams of young and relentless Frisbee athletes playing Ultimate, and trust me, these people can play the game, and it is as athletic and strategic as any other sport. They are all equal parts skills and silliness, so no need to make that argument. Ultimate is self officiating, it is 7 on 7, played on a 70-by-40-yard field with no contact, picks or screens. When you throw the plate, you pull it, not push it. The event was the Beth Coltman Memorial to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Bring this paragraph to your local college and pick up a half credit in physical education.
Voices of discontent - On Saturday at the girls' lacrosse game, it started on the opening draw control and continued the entire game. The fans from Severn who chose to be heard spent the entire game annoyed at just about everything that happened on the field, mostly accusing the Delaware lacrosse officials of not knowing how the game is played. There was a certain ingrained Delaware disrespect “in the house,” and when Severn got in front 15-10 the cynicism stayed strong even though victory seemed assured. Cape then scored five goals in 2 minutes and 10 seconds, sending the game into overtime. I walked over to the fence and said to a Severn dad, “Score tied at 15, we are happy and you are not.” His response: “We’ll never come here again.” Funny, Episcopal Academy had the same response when, after leading 8-3 in the first half, the team left Lewes with a 12-11 loss. Cape lost at Episcopal and Severn in 2011 but there was the respect that comes with losing to a good team. I didn’t see that respect reciprocated in Lewes, and I can only conclude it’s because Delaware doesn’t understand the game.
Snippets - Sonja Friend-Uhl ran a 4:16 1,500 meters at the Vanderbilt Invitational April 20 in Nashville, Tenn. The Cape and William and Mary graduate, now competing as a master's runner, is awaiting confirmation that she set an American Master's record in the outdoor 1,500. The time also meets the Olympic qualifying B standard. I took about 2,000 pictures over four days from last Thursday through Sunday - a few were even in focus - generated thousands of words of copy and still find myself deflecting criticism about where I wasn’t and why I’m not following suggestions about what I should be doing. The Blockhouse Pond Mile held April 20 and Walk for Autism are both all about young families out there dealing with problems and helping kids and each other. It’s all amazingly exhilarating stuff, as is Little League Opening Day and Atlantic Lacrosse at Hudson Fields. So if you’re holed up in a dark room somewhere recovering from the Friday night abuse you regularly inflict on yourself in the name of fun, it is your loss. The good stuff happens before noon, not after midnight. Go on now, git!
