Slippery when wet: A sports life connected by song lyrics

Vanilla Fudge - A slippery-when-wet Rehoboth Boardwalk with Sunday morning drizzle welcomed 353 runners to the starting line for the 35th annual Father’s Day 5K, a Seashore Striders production. Runners stood under a purple-and-gold inflated archway with Candy Kitchen serving as a backdrop. Patient pacers jogged in place for minutes waiting for Tim Bamforth to sound the double Dewalt airhorn. Playing in my head was, “Set me free, why don’t you you, babe?” a lyric from The Supremes song “You Keep Me Hanging On,” which was covered by Vanilla Fudge in 1967. Seventy minutes later, 85-year-old Magic Jack Noel was walking to the finish. With his iPhone plugged into the sound system, Tim said to me, “I need a song with magic in the title.” I responded like Nescafe, “Do You Believe in Magic” by the Lovin Spoonful. The song played; it was a walk-off song for Jack Noel. “How do you do that?” Tim asked. “Called a flashback,” I said. “Started with a tray of brownies and a live performance by Vanilla Fudge at the Electric Factory in 1967. I think Jack Vassalotti was there too; although, I can't be sure because I didn’t meet him until 1980.”

Smith and Snelling - Sounds like a law firm but just two guys racing side by side on the Boardwalk toward the finish line at the Father’s Day 5K. James Smith, 10 of Pittsburgh, was shoulder to shoulder with Courtney Snelling, 45, of Silver Spring, Md. Snelling downshifted at the last second, shutting down and giving the moment to the kid. I noticed and thought, “Good guy goes unnoticed,” but not me. I remember when Logan Short was an 8-year-old beating me to the finish line. He was instinctively trying to trip me in the process.    

Birthday and Father’s Day - Daughter Carrie, a June 15 baby sent to Earth from a parallel galaxy, a Mars Bar in the Milky Way, was at the Phillies game June 14 with friends Kathy Booth and Ellen Driscoll. The Phillies won 3-2 as part of a weekend sweep of the Blue Jays. The other hundred people from Sesame Street by the Sea were there to support Blue Jays lefty Mason Fluharty. Carrie’s roots run through Philly culture like a trolley down Lehigh Avenue rolling past Connie Mack Stadium. “Yo, Skippy, get up outta there!”

Life’s a joke - “How can you be two places at once when you’re nowhere at all?” Think of the summer tournament season for all sports and throw in camps, open fields and gyms. What's a multi-sport athlete to do? How about making decisions then deciding you can’t be two places at the same time. And what if the young athlete’s favorite sport is not the one they are best at while holding less of a chance of being recruited by a school with no actual moment to give away? I have no idea where this trip is going. It reminds me of the song, “Destination Anywhere,” “East or west. I don't care.” - Marvelettes, 1968.

Running down a dream - Leslie Pitts, who has since moved to California, made a mistake at the 2007 Father’s Day 5K while trying to run down 8-year-old Ben Bamforth. Genetic runners have in-born instincts – they don’t like anyone passing them. And sometimes they talk smack in a high voice. 

Snippets - I saw Vaughn “Cuzzy” Trammell, my track athlete from 1976, two weeks ago. “Hey, coach, back when we were winning championships, we didn’t have team dinners, didn’t get no rings, no banquets, no firetruck, none of that mess, we just won.” I cleverly answered, “Yep.” Vaughn asked,  “Why not, coach?” “I did get the Lewes Lions Club to buy jackets for the 1977 state championship cross country team. My Coach Fred jacket is hanging from a hook in my garage.” Anyway, the banquet and awards seasons are here. It’s what used to be called the Rubber Chicken Circuit. I am a person who often gets pushed to the podium. Have you ever told a story to a room full of people hunched over eating chicken? It looks like a “Braveheart” luncheon. There should be goblets of wine. People chewing chicken can’t hear anyway because their eardrums are rocking to a different beat. Go on now, git!