Flopping in frigid froth is a good way to spend a Sunday

The 19th Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics Delaware in Rehoboth held Sunday, March 14, saw 2,323 times two pairs of feet charge the chop-chop froth of an angry Atlantic only to be turned away knee deep by state police divers in survival suits trained to go down but not sideways. A feet-off-the-bottom “rip it baby bear” heading out to sea in a 41-degree storm-tossed ocean would get a bon voyage group bye-bye from thousands on the beach. The rescue crew would do what they do and most probably save the person but it would be dicey and dangerous. Flopping in frigid froth is fun anyway, if you ever decide to shake your seasonal affective disorder by a release of endorphins into the bloodstream.

The Bears raised more than a half million dollars for Special Olympics for a total of more than $5 million since the fundraiser began in 1992. I have lobbied for a state-issued “Get out of Jail Free” card to go next to my University of Delaware honorary doctorate of land manatees degree but as usual no one takes me seriously.

The band 33 and 1/3 jammed at the post-plunge party and they worked for free and I was supposed to give them a shout out from the stage but I was too worried that all the Nicola’s pizza would be gone by the time my part of the program was finished.

Ben King, Linda Beebe, Adam Murabito, Greg Mack, Bruce Jones, Terry Stuchlik and Greg “Wooly Bully” Wood are awesome if you ever want to book a talented band of normal people who won’t hurt your sensibilities.

That group was followed by Greg and Keith Mack, Dickie Messick and Ed Shockley. I asked Ed beforehand if he ever got tired of being the go-to guy for fundraisers like me who has a “Just Say No to Everything” sign hanging in the home office and Ed said he had not yet attained my level of enlightenment.

THE LYNCHBURG LEAP - In the world of Division III lacrosse the Lynchburg Hornets’ 16-10 win on the road over favored and undefeated Stevens Ducks of the Empire Conference last Saturday was the upset of the weekend. Former Cape goalie Franc Cook, who along with Steve Spence owns two state championship rings with Billy Brennan notching the other, got the win for Lynchburg. Cook, listed as hailing from Milton, was credited with 10 saves in the contest. Someone caught this photo and forwarded it to the hometown newspaper. Lynchburg will host the undefeated Stevenson Mustangs, ranked second in the country, on Wednesday, March 17.

BEAM ME UP - Scotty Anderson is an easygoing raconteur, and he doesn’t even know what that means. The golfer, groundskeeper, landscaper and vintage car enthusiast can tell a story with the best of them and if you get Scott and his dad Larry together you will see and hear the same guy separated by a generation. Scott ran his first 5K last Sunday at the Shamrock 5K and 15K at the state park and showed a natural talent finishing in the mid-20s on a course that generated heavy times for all runners.

SNIPPETS - Title IX federal legislation passed in 1972 refers to gender equity in federally funded programs and institutions and is most commonly tested in high school and college athletics because, right or wrong, that’s what people care about although the original legislation doesn’t mention athletics.

Cape Henlopen is the only public school in Delaware to ever undergo a Title IX audit back in 1993, which was conducted by the Philadelphia Office of Civil Rights and was inspired by an anonymous complaint.

My Grandma Rose said, “The overt complainants are the anonymous complainants out of the closet and someone needs to put them back.”

The turf field debate was ripe for Title IX inspection and circumspection but thankfully that was all avoided and come this fall the hockey balls will roll and if boys soccer is polite, you may be allowed to play there as well. Title IX only levels up women; discrimination against men is legally allowable. Makes sense to me.