As you are well aware, the state has been ravaged by forest fires.
Air quality caused the qualifying meets for the North Coast Section of CIF to be canceled ten days ago. Everyone was advanced to the NCS meet which qualifies for state this Saturday, the 24th. That meet was to be last Saturday but the air quality index was too high so the meet was held yesterday. There were ten races, five of which were completed before the AQI exceeded the CIF limit of 151. When the AQI reached 154 the meet was canceled. Those divisions in which competition was not held will have qualifiers (individual and team) determined by the vote of a committee. Odd, but true.
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| Grace Butcher on right running for Cleveland Magyar Athletic Club |
On another vein entirely, I recently received a report from Grace Butcher, now an octagenarian, who once was the top 880 runner in the US, that she is now and has been performing on stage in her local theater in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Grace has always been an iconoclastic individual, who not only ran track but raced motorcycles, wrote and published poetry, and was one of the women who pushed hard for equal rights to compete in races longer than 220 yards when it was deemed unseemly and physiologically dangerous for them to be engaging is such activities.
Here are excerpts from a review on her current passion by
Breanna Mona > entertainment@newsherald.com
| That's Grace in the long black dress |
Geauga Lyric Theater Guild brings you the kooky and spooky “The Game’s Afoot,” on the stage of the Geauga Theater in Chardon. it’s just what the doctor ordered.
It’s not quite Halloween — although try telling that to major retailers — and the show is set in Christmastime in 1930s New England, but this ominous comedy is the perfect way to gear up for skeleton season.
The first 25 or so minutes of the show are a little stale and may not have you convinced fun does indeed lie ahead, but it's worth the slow boil for the hilarious hijinks that ensue. The script may be to blame for the early lull, or maybe the actors are using the opening dialogue as a warm-up. However, when things finally take off, they rarely slow down.
This production of Ken Ludwig ‘s 2012 play is directed by Patty Osredkar. Although it’s mysterious and murderish, above all else it’s a comedy.
How are the jokes received? They kill (pun quite intended).
The funniest member of the cast is, by far, Grace Butcher, who plays the innocent and elderly Martha Gillette. Butcher simply slays her lines and leaves the audience in fits of laughter. She’s a natural comic, and her scenes are easily the smoothest and most-adored moments of the show.
Martha is the mother of William Gillette (Michael J. Rogan), an actor who fancies himself a real-life Sherlock Holmes. Rogan captures the bold and boisterous aspects of William’s spirit. He’s endlessly loud and proud. His character is a self-absorbed show-biz personality who’s intent on discovering who is after him following his being shot on stage during his performance as Sherlock Holmes......
Hope to see you at the Emmys this year, Grace.
A look back: (We're always looking back) Our longtime readers may recall this entry from 4 years ago about two good runners who also followed their dreams to the stage and screen.
Clik Here
Wishing everyone a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving Weekend.
George Roy Steve
George Roy Steve
I didn't realize that smoke impacted the N.Cal. Regional and State XC Qualifiers. Bummer.
We have had far less smoke but they still closed th schools early.
It doesn't matter, one would think, if kids breathed the smoke indoors at school or indoors at home, here in S.calif.
I saw Grace Butcher run indoors at vaious indoor Venues, like Cleveland KC Meet, Chicago Daily News Relays & The Milwaukee Jouirnal Games.
She has true grit.
John Bork
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