I'm still in the recovery from the incredible Olympics, breakdancing and 3 on 3 basketball notwithstanding. I am finding a way to report on ancient track and field history despite the world records by McLaughlin-Verone, Duplantis, and Ingebrigtsen, and Cole Hocker and so many others and from here in British Columbia those two Canadian hammer throwers, both from our province. Those performances and many, many more from Paris have been well documented, so since this is my article I choose another path.
When Roy Mason and I started this blog almost 15 years ago, our silent partner was Steve Price, former coach of the Kettering Striders, U. of Dayton, Bowling Green State, from where he retired and then took up a commute job helping with the U. of Findlay track and field program continuing to produce some very exceptional athletes. A few of you knew Steve, but I bet you forgot his newsletter 'Kingsnake'. He was an amateur herpetologist, which once almost cost us both our lives in the backwaters of Zimbabwe, but that's another story. I recently found an old copy of 'Kingsnake' which I'll share with you today and then add a few more things as I see fit.
Steve passed away about two years ago, having dealt with cancer of the throat for over twenty-five years. But this newsletter reminded me of the richness of his life and love of stories and people, and track and field, bluegrass music, and a lot of other stuff. You'll see some of that if you read on. I will annotate a few of his comments in bold type. Throughout, Steve mentions getting visitors. That's because he was not able to travel away from the house most of his last 7 or 8 years due to his illness. Still he could play a mean piano or pick a great bluegrass piece. Just couldn't talk or sing anymore.
Bowling Green Women 1998 Mid America Conf. XC Champs
Kingsnake # 16
4-3-14 Early April as we all await the coming of the Spring.....and a rebirth of all the outside greenery. Here on Marymont Drive,( Piqua, Ohio) we certainly have an abundance of flowers and blossoms that make going for a walk an adventure for our eyes and noses. There is a lilac bush right next to the front door that is a pleasure to sit by.....Come join me next spring.
A rabbit runs and hops and lives fifteen (15) years. A tortoise doesn't run and does mostly nothing, yet it may live one hundred and fifty (150) years.........and you tell me to exercise....I don't think so.
We watched "Jane Eyre".... Should have been in black and white.l
4-4-14 Back in 1880, one Frank " Black Dan" Hart won the O'Leary Belt Walking Championship before a packed house at Madison Square Gardens. In what was a big deal in those bygone days, Black Dan walked 565 miles in 142 hours. The track at MSG was ten (10) or eleven (11) laps to the mile......no, you figure it out.
When the white missionaries came to Africa, they had the bible and we had to the land. They said "Let us pray".We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the bible and they had the land-Desmond Tutu.
4-12-14 To the All Ohio track championships at the University of Cincinnati. A nice warm and sunny day greeted us ! I sat on a grassy knoll overlooking the track with Brother Greg, Marc Arce, Bill Schnier, Tom Wright, Tom Cope and Phil Scott.......couldn't ask for better company.
4-15-14 I got too excited too soon. IT SNOWED TODAY.......damn.
This was the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon blowup and the day after the Lunar eclipse.
Actual kids excuses for missing school:
Please excuse Leslie from jim today, she is administrating .
Please excuse Tommy from being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leaked.
Please excuse Gloria from being absent yesterday. She had the shits .Dear School, Please excuse Johnny for being absent January 28,29,30,31,32 and 33
A line from the Canadian income tax form: If you entered an amount on line b, enter on line j the amount from line g excluding the proportionate amount on line b included in the amount at line g. The proportionate amount is calculated as follows: (line b/line c) x line c. This is why it it harder to get a gun in Canada.
4-6-14 Chris to baby shower for Lindsey. She should deliver in ten (10) weeks and its number four (4) for Lindsey and Bubba......number eleven (11) for Chris and me.
"And this is good old Boston
The home of the bean and the cod
Where the Lowell's speak only to the Cabots
And the Cabots speak Yiddish by God " ! Jewish Civorents
4-16-14 All the grandkids came for their annual visit/Easter egg hunt. Chris took our oldest grandson Cade to the YMCA where, as a seventh grader, he dunked a basketball for the first time. At night, seven (7) of the kids were "watching" TV.....five (5) of them on cell phones. (The aforementioned grandson Cade Stover is now playing in his first year in the NFL with Houston. Five years at Ohio State with a degree in Agriculture and a year of grad school under his belt. His cousin is a Buckeye freshman this year with the team.)
4-20-14 It has been said that if you go to a Shell station, press the button on the side of the air pump three (3) times, The pump will start without having to insert coins.....nah, I haven't tried it.....just passing it on.
"America is the only country where a significant proportion of the population believes that pro wrestling is real and the moon landing was faked " David Letterman
4-26-14 At the Penn Relays, Findlay hammer thrower Justin Welch, won his speciality and took home a gold watch as his prize......way to go Justin.
Listening to music literally changes your brains' perception of time and reduces the amount of time you think you are waiting. (wasting?)
4-28-14 Mike Butsch my visitor for the day.
Fact-In 1895, there were only two (2) cars on the road in Ohio, and the drivers of these cars crashed into each other..... believe that ?
The " world record" for the mile beer run was broken today by Canadian James Nielson. To do so, he had to chug a beer from the can before, during and after four (4) laps on a 400 meter track. That's downing four(4) twelve ounce cans of beer with at least a five percent alcohol content......and no vomiting.
Nielson's time was 4:57 and the first time anyone has broken the five minute barrier ! Impressive when you think about it.
4-30-14 The GLIAC conference, which Findlay is a part of, starts today at Grand Valley University in Allendale, Michigan...where the national meet will be held in late May.
5-1-14 David Rapp home from Colorado and my visitor for the day. Our conversation reminded me of the adage: The older I get, the better I was.
I can eat a bowl of alphabet soup and s--- out a better argument than that !
5-11-14 Chris to Lindsey's house and I stayed home and felt sorry for myself. Today is Mothers Day and my mother has been gone now six years. It's a rare day when I don't think of her at least once.
Being popular on Facebook is like setting at the cool table in a cafeteria at the mental hospital.... Didn't compose this, just passing it on.
5-12-14 The other day I heard a guy complaining about how expensive his wedding is going to be. He is going to really be pissed when he finds out how much his divorce is going to cost.
My mother-in- law is coming. I had to clear out half of my closet so she would have a place to hang upside down and sleep.
5-16-14 Bill and Kathy Schnier are my visitors today. We go back a long way !
A few words of wisdom to get this thing wrapped up :
"We didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time". Vince Lombardi
At my age, rolling out of bed is no problem....getting up off the floor is another story
"Choose being kind over being right and you will be right every time" Richard Carlson
The one function that TV news performs very well is that when there is no news, we give if to you with the same emphasis as if there were" David Brinkley
Accept what is, let go of what was and have faith in what will be.
Hello Carolk Inskeep, wherever this post finds you..........hiking on the Appalachian Trail as I write all this nonsense. Carol is one of Steve's former athletes with the Kettering Striders.)
Steve
Steve on guitar (white shirt, left)
We were travelling over to Southern Indiana on back roads on our way to a bluegrass festival when we saw these people gathered in a park shelter and stopped to listen. Steve got out his guitar and joined them and was welcomed. Didn't know a single person but he was taken in by strangers. Another typical afternoon with the guy.
Going a tad more heavily into track and field history, I thought I would share some of the following book with you, a full report of the 1952 Olympic Games by the British Athletic Association. I'm not sure exactly when I acquired it, but I think it came from John Cobley who wrote the great running blog Racingpast.ca which is still out there. I've decided that this piece is long enough already and will just leave the cover of the 1952 story here at the bottom to tantalize you into thinking about the next post.
Cover: That 7/6 is not the over and under, it's 7 Shillings and 6 Pence for the uninitiated.
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