It's been more than 20 years since I swam laps in a pool.
I swam so many in my life, that when I gave up competitive swimming, I walked as far away as possible.
The stench of chlorine, blood-shot eyes and speedo swim suits were all a memory.
I figured more than 10 years of swimming year round was enough.
Then, my son discovered the sport.
His cousin Colin, who's about the same age, swam Alcatraz last year with his swim team in Arizona, as part of a fundraiser for drowning prevention.
Michael's been swimming for a club team and wanted to try it this year.
After all, that means a wetsuit!!
Trouble is, anyone under 18 has to have an adult chaperon.
Someone to jump into the 55 degree water with them.
Someone to swim the one and a half miles from Alcatraz to the shore.
Someone to help navigate through choppy waters and water freshly saturated with oil.
Someone who didn't realize that after all this time he was aching for a reason to get back in the water, and now there will be plenty of aches to go around.
Not to mention, how many more bonding chances will I have with my son?
And yes, maybe I feel like I have something to prove to myself.
A mid-life crisis, nah, I'm not there yet.
So, I'm back in the pool, with several people helping me out, to transform my body back into Aquaman.
Or at least what an out-of-swimming-shape Aquaman would look like at 43, after being dry-docked for 20 some odd years.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Black Friday Hostilities
I hate Black Friday.
It's like an excuse to be rude for a day, on the first official shopping day of the Christmas Holiday.
People swinging elbows, knocking down their mothers to get a great deal on a plasma TV.
Then, there are people who act like every day is Black Friday.
A young, pregnant woman was shopping with her mother in Toys-R-Us over the weekend.
What I believed to be the woman's child was attempting to ride a razor scooter around the bike section, when she came very close to ramming into an older man.
The man reached down and grabbed the handlebars to stop the child from slamming into him, and touched her arm to stop her from falling down.
He said something to the effect of "watch out little lady!!!"
The little girl was one of several kids, mostly unsupervised, racing around the bike section at the time.
It was at this point, mom turned to see the man talking down to her daughter.
This is where the story begins.
Within 5 seconds, the mother is in the man's face as her voice begins a crescendo so everyone in the bike section can hear her.
"Don't touch my child" and "Don't lecture my child", are just a few of the fragments spewing from her now curled lip, as the man starts to raise his voice to obviously try to explain what had happened while mom was ignoring her child.
Then, Grandma started in with the occasional repetition, as if to try and add credence to what her daughter was saying.
"I'll sue you!", to which she replied "Yea, she'll sue you!"
It has always amazed me how smart some people become in regards to the law, when reading someone the riot act.
She asks him to "touch her", the obvious touch me and I'll sue routine, then in the same breath wishes her husband or boyfriend was there so he could pulverize the older man.
Happy Holidays!!
The verbal assault was launched, I believe, to cover up for the fact that mom was paying no attention to her child.
Then, to top it off, the woman wants a manager and proceeds to follow the man through the store, yelling for security or a manager, as if the man is trying to flee the scene of the crime.
Yes, he was trying to flee alright, to get away from her.
Afterwards, I talked to a woman, who I assumed was in charge, after she listened to both sides of the story.
I told her I witnessed the confrontation and filled in some holes left by the woman.
She told me the man had two artificial knees.
I'll bet he still could have used one to give her a swift kick in the backside.
It's like an excuse to be rude for a day, on the first official shopping day of the Christmas Holiday.
People swinging elbows, knocking down their mothers to get a great deal on a plasma TV.
Then, there are people who act like every day is Black Friday.
A young, pregnant woman was shopping with her mother in Toys-R-Us over the weekend.
What I believed to be the woman's child was attempting to ride a razor scooter around the bike section, when she came very close to ramming into an older man.
The man reached down and grabbed the handlebars to stop the child from slamming into him, and touched her arm to stop her from falling down.
He said something to the effect of "watch out little lady!!!"
The little girl was one of several kids, mostly unsupervised, racing around the bike section at the time.
It was at this point, mom turned to see the man talking down to her daughter.
This is where the story begins.
Within 5 seconds, the mother is in the man's face as her voice begins a crescendo so everyone in the bike section can hear her.
"Don't touch my child" and "Don't lecture my child", are just a few of the fragments spewing from her now curled lip, as the man starts to raise his voice to obviously try to explain what had happened while mom was ignoring her child.
Then, Grandma started in with the occasional repetition, as if to try and add credence to what her daughter was saying.
"I'll sue you!", to which she replied "Yea, she'll sue you!"
It has always amazed me how smart some people become in regards to the law, when reading someone the riot act.
She asks him to "touch her", the obvious touch me and I'll sue routine, then in the same breath wishes her husband or boyfriend was there so he could pulverize the older man.
Happy Holidays!!
The verbal assault was launched, I believe, to cover up for the fact that mom was paying no attention to her child.
Then, to top it off, the woman wants a manager and proceeds to follow the man through the store, yelling for security or a manager, as if the man is trying to flee the scene of the crime.
Yes, he was trying to flee alright, to get away from her.
Afterwards, I talked to a woman, who I assumed was in charge, after she listened to both sides of the story.
I told her I witnessed the confrontation and filled in some holes left by the woman.
She told me the man had two artificial knees.
I'll bet he still could have used one to give her a swift kick in the backside.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Condors Jerseys & The Jerk
I love the Condor's commemorative jersey auctions.
The fans are some of the most generous I've ever encountered and they never fail to leave their mark.
The 10th anniversary jerseys raked in nearly $21,500 for the Ronald McDonald House charities on Sunday night.
Keep in mind, the fans were shelling out big bucks for a team that has struggled in the early part of this season.
Fan favorites like Reagan Leslie still command top dollar, his #3 jersey going for $2,150.
But a charity auction is not the time to air your discontent with the team's progress through the first month of the season.
I became aware of the heckler about 4 jerseys into the auction, as his snide comments became louder as I introduced each player before the bidding began.
He was hidden, of course, up in the bar area, concealed behind 2 people, where he courageously offered up tips and suggestions for each player as they skated out to do their part for charity.
I pressed on, ignoring him, although I was half-tempted to award a high-priced jersey to him just to shut him up.
Then again this was for charity.
Win or lose, the Condors are approaching the half-million dollar mark with their jersey auctions in the 10 years since the team's inception.
Plus, I'm sure whatever Coach Marty Raymond said to the guys in a closed door meeting before the auction was a bit more harsh than anything this disgruntled fan could ever dream of.
The fans are some of the most generous I've ever encountered and they never fail to leave their mark.
The 10th anniversary jerseys raked in nearly $21,500 for the Ronald McDonald House charities on Sunday night.
Keep in mind, the fans were shelling out big bucks for a team that has struggled in the early part of this season.
Fan favorites like Reagan Leslie still command top dollar, his #3 jersey going for $2,150.
But a charity auction is not the time to air your discontent with the team's progress through the first month of the season.
I became aware of the heckler about 4 jerseys into the auction, as his snide comments became louder as I introduced each player before the bidding began.
He was hidden, of course, up in the bar area, concealed behind 2 people, where he courageously offered up tips and suggestions for each player as they skated out to do their part for charity.
I pressed on, ignoring him, although I was half-tempted to award a high-priced jersey to him just to shut him up.
Then again this was for charity.
Win or lose, the Condors are approaching the half-million dollar mark with their jersey auctions in the 10 years since the team's inception.
Plus, I'm sure whatever Coach Marty Raymond said to the guys in a closed door meeting before the auction was a bit more harsh than anything this disgruntled fan could ever dream of.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
"In God" We Debate
It's over, finally.
Sadly, the myriad of amendments to the "In God We Trust" proposal of the Kern High School District's Board of Trustees did more to dilute the patriotic message than strengthen it.
I was led to believe that the trustees were going to post other U.S. documents in each classroom, along with the national motto, in some sort of historical settlement to the religious debate that erupted shortly after the posting was proposed.
Now, each class will get a single poster with the documents overlapping.
Only a small portion of each document will be decipherable.
Sad.
It was meant as a compromise.
Instead, the board created a confusing constitutional collaboration.
And to top it off, it's going to cost $12,000.
I think Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan's religious action group should foot the bill.
It was her idea that Chad Vegas brought to the table.
I just wish they would have acknowledged and admitted the obvious religious connection right off the bat, instead of insisting their motives were historically driven.
The opposition would still have shown up to be heard, but at least the back room whispering and talk show posturing would have abated quickly.
If you listen closely, you'll still hear the debate faintly, every time you see one of those posters in your kids class.
Sadly, the myriad of amendments to the "In God We Trust" proposal of the Kern High School District's Board of Trustees did more to dilute the patriotic message than strengthen it.
I was led to believe that the trustees were going to post other U.S. documents in each classroom, along with the national motto, in some sort of historical settlement to the religious debate that erupted shortly after the posting was proposed.
Now, each class will get a single poster with the documents overlapping.
Only a small portion of each document will be decipherable.
Sad.
It was meant as a compromise.
Instead, the board created a confusing constitutional collaboration.
And to top it off, it's going to cost $12,000.
I think Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan's religious action group should foot the bill.
It was her idea that Chad Vegas brought to the table.
I just wish they would have acknowledged and admitted the obvious religious connection right off the bat, instead of insisting their motives were historically driven.
The opposition would still have shown up to be heard, but at least the back room whispering and talk show posturing would have abated quickly.
If you listen closely, you'll still hear the debate faintly, every time you see one of those posters in your kids class.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Our Nation's Finest & The Worst
I didn't know Uncle Frank personally.
I knew of him, through my friend, his nephew Carlos.
A quiet, mild-mannered, unassuming veteran who survived one of the most horrific battles in our nation's history.
PFC Frank Magana was drafted into the Army in January 1943 and went into the medical corps.
His first action was in June 1944 at Omaha Beach on D-Day.
Carlos recounted the story of that day to me on several occasions, each re-creation sending chills through my body.
Surviving the landing on the beach, PFC Magana spent most of the first few moments of that onslaught racing back into the surf to pull wounded GI's to shore, even though he couldn't swim.
The death and destruction that riddled around him with each passing moment was a blur and when it was over he sat there wondering how he managed to get out alive.
PFC Magana survived that day and many more like it.
A member of the 1st Infantry, the infamous "Big Red One", Uncle Frank marched across France, Belgium and into Germany.
He was honorably discharged in Nov. 1945.
He returned home and left medicine behind, perhaps witnessing too much during his time in the Army, he became a television repairman.
He died on Halloween morning at the age of 83.
A couple weeks before his death, this amazing human being was walking near his home on Sunday, Oct. 7th when he was attacked by one or two men and robbed.
It happened in a dirt lot on the southwest corner of Brundage Lane & 'P' Street.
I bet the young Frank would have cleaned the lot with these scumbags, but the older more frail Frank wasn't able to defend himself.
A good Samaritan found him and called for help.
He was taken to the hospital, where he remained until he was released into hospice care for the final moments of his life.
The police are investigating, but it doesn't appear his death was related to any injuries he sustained in the attack.
Currently, the case is being called an incident of elderly abuse pending further investigation.
It breaks my heart that a man who survived so much at a terrible time in history, or any senior citizen for that matter, would be assaulted for a couple of bucks.
To say that he didn't deserve to go out this way is a huge understatement.
It's not how his family will remember him, or myself for that matter.
I hope someone will come forward and turn in those responsible.
These lowlifes need to be held responsible for robbing Bakersfield of a real treasure.
I knew of him, through my friend, his nephew Carlos.
A quiet, mild-mannered, unassuming veteran who survived one of the most horrific battles in our nation's history.
PFC Frank Magana was drafted into the Army in January 1943 and went into the medical corps.
His first action was in June 1944 at Omaha Beach on D-Day.
Carlos recounted the story of that day to me on several occasions, each re-creation sending chills through my body.
Surviving the landing on the beach, PFC Magana spent most of the first few moments of that onslaught racing back into the surf to pull wounded GI's to shore, even though he couldn't swim.
The death and destruction that riddled around him with each passing moment was a blur and when it was over he sat there wondering how he managed to get out alive.
PFC Magana survived that day and many more like it.
A member of the 1st Infantry, the infamous "Big Red One", Uncle Frank marched across France, Belgium and into Germany.
He was honorably discharged in Nov. 1945.
He returned home and left medicine behind, perhaps witnessing too much during his time in the Army, he became a television repairman.
He died on Halloween morning at the age of 83.
A couple weeks before his death, this amazing human being was walking near his home on Sunday, Oct. 7th when he was attacked by one or two men and robbed.
It happened in a dirt lot on the southwest corner of Brundage Lane & 'P' Street.
I bet the young Frank would have cleaned the lot with these scumbags, but the older more frail Frank wasn't able to defend himself.
A good Samaritan found him and called for help.
He was taken to the hospital, where he remained until he was released into hospice care for the final moments of his life.
The police are investigating, but it doesn't appear his death was related to any injuries he sustained in the attack.
Currently, the case is being called an incident of elderly abuse pending further investigation.
It breaks my heart that a man who survived so much at a terrible time in history, or any senior citizen for that matter, would be assaulted for a couple of bucks.
To say that he didn't deserve to go out this way is a huge understatement.
It's not how his family will remember him, or myself for that matter.
I hope someone will come forward and turn in those responsible.
These lowlifes need to be held responsible for robbing Bakersfield of a real treasure.
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