Old enough to act stupid, a responsibility and liability

Old enough to act stupid - The drinking age is 21, which seems to be no deterrent to drinking excessively when you’re younger. Most drugs that get you high are illegal, which seems to be no deterrent to finding and taking them if that’s what one wants. I spent a lot of time telling my students not to be drunks and druggies like that was some revelation, like it was a fact that they didn’t comprehend before I walked into the room. Most good advice is obvious advice that is often ignored by many, and why is that? Because too many don’t realize what they have lost until it’s thrown away or taken from them. My heads up to the young and relentless group entering the next level of academics, athletics and social dynamics is to aggressively guard their talents because college sports programs aren’t known for giving second chances to scholarship athletes who embarrass the brand.

High School All-American Lacrosse - Six Delaware girls were named to the High School All-American team according to US Lacrosse magazine. They are Lizzie Frederick and Eddy Shoop of Cape, Alison Mckay and Jamie Trabaudo of Polytech, Abby Manning of Tower Hill and Olivia Duarte of Caravel. Delaware also named six academic all-Americans, and those were Lizzie Frederick and Tess Bernheimer of Cape, Alison Sayers of Smyrna, Maura Gast of Dover, Hope Abbott of Charter and Simone Veale of Wilmington Friends. 

Major League Baseball - The Phillies are 7-3 over the last 10 games and pulled to just nine games under .500, so I started to watch them again. I like Baltimore and Washington, both sugar substitutes to the real thing, but I go back to AM radio in the kitchen listening to Phillies games and lived just two blocks from Connie Mack Stadium until I was 8 years old. In April 1961, Art Mahaffey struck out 17 Cubs and I was in the stands. In 2011, a 72-year-old Mahaffey threw out a first pitch to commemorate his 17-strikeout performance 50 years earlier. Mahaffey, now 78, lives in Allentown. I may go see him. I’m sure not many fans turned sportswriters are looking for him.   

Surf fishing - I own two four-wheel drive vehicles that have never been on the beach. I don’t surf fish but I wouldn’t mind pretending I did, parking the 4Runner, bringing the dog, grilling burgers and drinking some cold beers, but whatever that bean bag game is I just refuse to say it. Many locals play being tourists on weekends, which is fine if that’s what they want to do. I don’t own a boat either, but I could if I wanted to, I just find them always on the verge of breaking down and leaving you stranded. I was once driving a Boston Whaler at full throttle over evening calm waters in the Delaware Bay with Ruby Dog standing on the Bow Wow, her jowls flapping in the breeze. A Parson’s head boat passed off my port side; tourists were pointing at the idyllic scene when suddenly my screaming engine fell back into neutral and the orange lab was launched like a human-powered pumpkin. Ruby went up then under and disappeared but quickly surfaced behind the boat. I got her back onboard, but she wouldn’t go for any more boat rides.

Snippets - Steve Bastianelli is the new athletic director at Sussex Academy. The Seahawks will offer varsity boys’ soccer, girls’ volleyball and boys’ and girls’ cross country this fall. Cape has not begun to schedule interviews for the position of head coach for girls’ lacrosse to replace retired PJ Kesmodel. The Vikings finished 17-1 with an undefeated JV team and a ton of ninth-grade talents coming into the system. And only four seniors were lost to graduation. The Cape soccer team opens the regular season hosting George School of Pennsylvania. Famous alumni from George School include composer Steven Sondheim, actor George Segal, author and civil rights leader Julian Bond and actress Blythe Danner, the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow. The cost for a boarding student is $55K a year but George School has tons of money for financial aid. I grew up near there and I’ve been on campus many times – OK, a few – my guess is they are pretty good in soccer. I think we should send one of our Cape students there as an exchange student. Let me ask Katie Fred if she’s interested. Go on now, git!