Softball or tennis- spinning a ball

I have never pitched to a batter in softball.  I was enthralled by the pitching of Wayne Widdig in the great post WW II district tournaments in Mound Park in Portsmouth, Ohio.  I dreamed of giving his windup and slinging the ball at around a hundred miles and hour as Wayne did.  I did not give it sufficient practice for anybody to want me to pitch in a fast pitch game.  I spoke with Anne Marie and Eddie Feigner- playing wife and great pitcher of the "King and His Court" traveling softball team by phone a few times. 

My son, Jay, has always been a fine athlete and he could easily drive a slow pitch softball out of any park he played in.  He played no fast pitch softball that I recall; however he has caught nearly a quarter of a million pitches in practicing his fourteen year old daughter, Tobey, in softball pitching. 

My good friend, Dick Klitch, from Mound Park childhood and on throughout our lives has made a successful career from his professional tennis teaching.  Dick calls his  "meat and potatoes" tennis teaching.  So many Columbus, Portsmouth, and Columbus area students have benefitted greatly from Dick's "nuggets".  Dick's dad, Herman was also a "meat and potatoes" kids' baseball teacher in Portsmouth.   The spinning tennis ball also does similar or crazy things when it hits the court.  He made a fool out of several adversaries in his early days.  Anyway Dick is a master of spinning the tennis ball by hitting it with a racquet.
Spinning the ball is the art of making it do things as it wings through the air.  If the racquet or hand causes the ball to rotate counter-clockwise it will curve away from a right hander.  If the spin is left to right it will move towards the right hander.  If the ball is rotating downward, the ball will drop and if spinning upwards it will rise.  Speed and location, getting the ball quickly to where you want it to go, is where practrice develops the player's skills.

Basketball passes can circle around a defender but I have not known of quarterbacks benefitring by spinning the ball except that the perfect spiral is a thing of beauty.

I am a pro at nothing but metallurgical engineering, years of amateur softball playing, and writing.  I have never volleyed a tennis ball.  But I admire the great athletes I see spinning the softballs and tennis balls and Jeanie and I love to watch our Tobey and Ida Scout as they and many girls have taken over in playing softball. 

I am hoping to have Tobey take a lesson from Dick in tennis this coming weekend so that at least she can not be too embarrassed in playing her boyfriend, Charlie, when he returns from camp next Sunday.

Facebook or twitter? Thanks Judi Cole! And I thought I was the only one thinking this way

FOR A GOOD LAUGH......This is for the over 50 generation:



I thought about the 30 year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a Blackberry that played music, took videos, pictures and communicated with Facebook and Twitter.



I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grandkids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.



That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.



My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of

everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.



The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife as everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. Seems I have to take my hearing aid out to use it,

and I got a little loud.



I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-ul-ating". You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and

then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then when I would make a right turn instead, it was not good.



When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.



To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.



The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never

remember to take them in with me.



Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look.



I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, No, but I do toot a lot."



PS



I know some of you are not over 50; I sent it to you to allow you to forward it to those who are.

Eddie Marsh- John Bob Looney's Brother-In Law- Ginny's husband

Yeah, Eddie must have been corn fed, but he is a Michigander, isn't he, Bob?


----- Original Message -----

From: GolfJL@aol.com

To: bearhare313@roadrunner.com

Sent: Friday, July 30, 2010 23:43

Subject: EDDIES--REMEMBER WHEN HE USE TO SEND THESE/







EDDIES--REMEMBER HIM?



What does a duck eat with soup?

Quackers



What happens when you put a light bulb in a suit of armor?

You have a knight light.



What do you get if you cross a witch with an ice cube?

A cold spell!



Why did the cowboy die with his boots on?

He didn't want to stub his toe when he kicked the bucket.



Why do people dislike going to the dentist

Because he is boring.



What is a tree's favorite state?

Oak-lahoma!



How do you find a missing barber?

You comb the city.

Warning from Clay Vice! Call the police Danger Alert!

----- Original Message -----

From: Clay Vice


Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 20:20

Subject: Fw: Danger Alert








Subject: danger alert



In case you don't have time to read it / look at this right now:



Kids are putting Drano, tin foil, and a little water in soda

bottles and capping it up - leaving it on lawns. When you go to pick up

the trash, and the bottle is shaken just a little - in about 30 seconds

or less it builds up a gas and explodes with enough force to remove some

of your extremities. The liquid that comes out is boiling hot as well.







Don't pick up any plastic bottles that may be lying in your yards or in

the gutter, etc.

Pay attention to this.



1. a plastic bottle with a cap.

2. a little Drano.

3. a little water.

4. a small piece of foil.

5. Disturb it by moving it; and BOOM!!



No fingers left and other serious effects to your face, eyes, etc.



People are finding these bombs in mailboxes and in their yards,

just waiting for you to pick it up intending to put it in the trash.

But, you'll never make it!!! It takes about 30 seconds to blow after

you move the thing.


Well, this one is real - I checked it via the Snopes link enclosed.

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp



See "SNOPES" below....it's true.



http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebomb.asp

SEAA World Series 14U Girls' Softball- July 19 -25, 2010- A little Gatlinburg nostalgia

Jeanie and I shared a two bedroom condominium at Whispering Pines in Pigeon Forge TN with our son, Jay, and his daughter, Tobey last week.  The condo was a wonderful vacation home with jacuzzi and all modern conveniences.

Tobey's  Stingray- Leedy 14U team was largely just not up to that level of competition.  One pitcher came down with mono and another was hit by a vicious line drive on her pitching wrist early in the competition and the girls became 0-3.  They then stopped a team, previously unbeaten in the competition as Tobey pitched a one-hit shutout for a courageous 6-0 Stingrays win.  They were then eliminated by an Alabama team who had previously beaten them 8-3 and this time 6-3.  The Alabama girls were two time state champions. 

The levels of 8U,10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 18U, and 20U girls must not be older than the stated following-year age during that year of competition.  The 14U teams have principally 14 and 15 year old girls.  Each team with more older girls on their roster has the important experience edge on the younger teams.  I, who played softball until I was 75 two years ago, am amazed at the level of play we see by all of these girls.  My sons also played softball as youngsters and as adults.  It is as if the young girls were boys with better fundamental groundings.  I enjoy the wonderful game of softball as much as any human.

Neither Jeanie nor I took advantage of the myriad of entertainment options in this vacation area.  Our entertainment was Stiungray softball, even with the losses.  Our girls played hard and well and we are always proud of them.

Most of you probably know that Sieverville and Pigeon Forge and Dollywood seem to be the same tourist town down Rt 441 in TN just less than an hour, traffic permitting, southeast of Knoxville.  Some nostalgia for my young bride,Jeanie, and me was a five mile further drive to Gatlinburg.  Jeanie and I married January 19, 1952.  We had a very small wedding at the Sciotoville Church of Christ with Curt Hess officiating.  We postponed a honeymoon except for a quick trip to Chillicothe, OH, 50 miles north of Portsmouth. 

The Korean War and the draft were on and, like all young American men when the draft is on at any time, one didn't know how much civilian life they might enjoy before going into service and, mayhaps not returning. One could avoid the draft by enlisting, and I strongly considered joining the Navy as my friends Paul Stamm and Don Ramsey had done. I had quit my factory job at Columbus Coated Fabric and returned to Portsmouth with the plan of enlisting. I reconsidered after talking with a few friends who had been in service during the Big War. Most of them were in no longer than two years, although some had served four or five years. The Marines and Army required a three year enlistment and the Navy and Army Air Force required four. I decided to wait for the draft. We married on the 19th of Janjuary and on the following Monday my friends and neighbors in Portsmouth had a letter stating they expected my presence in the service, but we didn't know when. I worked in WilliamsShoe Factory until going into the Army on my twentieth birthday in November.

That summer, 58 years ago, we honeymooned one night in Gatlinburg in a motel with the name "Fox" in it on our way to Fontana Dam Village on the southwest edge of the Smokies.  I stopped at the welcome center going into Gatlinburg and a nice lady contacted a friend because there were no recorded archives listing a motel with "Fox" in the name.  The fiftyish lady's friend must have been older like us because she told of "The Fox Place", still there, which was built in 1951.  Our stay was in 1952.  I drove to the location and went into the lobby which was actually now used for a rafting business.  The office attendant said that 80 year old Mrs. Fox lived in one of the condos, now rented for that purpose, and showed me where the lady lives.  I knocked and an apparent nurse answered and allowed tme to say hello to Mrs. Fox.  The outer building was stone mason and the inner was a then in vogue knotty pine which still was in Mrs. Fox's apartment and which I remembered.
 
Besides the entertainment of teenage girls playing softball in a "World Series", the little trip down memory lane for old ones now short of memory, was good for Sam and Jeanette.

The Will of God- Thanks Clay Vice

The Will of God:

Concentrate:

Concentrate on this sentence; "To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did." When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something else. Concentrate on this sentence. "The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you." Something good will happen to you today, something that you have been waiting for, or to hear. Please do not break. Just 27 words, God our Father, walk through my house and take away all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal my family in Gods' name, Amen. This prayer is so powerful. Pass this on to 12 people, including me. A blessing is coming to you. Does God come first in your life? If so, stop what your doing & send it to 12 people and watch what He does!

Anatomy of a failing president- Thanks Jackie Brown!

----- Original Message -----

From: Barbara Jett








Subject: Fwd: Anatomy of a Failing President - WOW






----- Forwarded Message -----







Anatomy of a Failing President....

An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P. Hunt

The following is an interesting article. You might ask how long Dr. Hunt can remain at NIH once the White House gets wind of this article.

Dr. Hunt is a social and cultural anthropologist. He has had nearly 30 years experience in planning, conducting, and managing research in the field of youth studies, and drug and alcohol research. Currently Dr. Hunt is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Scientific Analysis and the Principal Investigator on three National Institutes on Health projects. He is also a writer for American Thinker.

____________________________________________________

An article from American Thinker by Geoffrey P. Hunt

Anatomy of a Failing Presidency

Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies--led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait-- they are repudiated, in the vernacular, spat out. Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon indeed resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China 20.

But, Barack Obama is failing. Failing big. Failing fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message, and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.

But, there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in six months? His poll ratings are in free fall. In generic balloting, the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage. This truly is unbelievable. What's going on?

No narrative. Obama doesn't have a narrative. No, not a narrative about himself. He has a self-narrative, much of it fabricated, cleverly disguised or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align exactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.

But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task--all contributory of course. It's that he's not one of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content, like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper. Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong are repugnant and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. His descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.

In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this man, he's dissed just about every one of us--financiers, energy producers, banks, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012: "For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."

Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a useful remedy for such a desperate state--staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.

Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.

Margaret Thatcher: "The trouble with Socialism is, sooner or later you run out of other people's money."

"When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both." - James Dale Davidson, National Taxpayers Union

"The more corrupt the state, the more it legislates." - Tacitus

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything he doesn't own." - Unknown