Amelia Bedelia adored her bike. It was a great bike. It was fast and dependable and she had learned to ride on it. She could tell you how it had gotten every dent. She could tell you what had chipped each fragment of paint from the frame and what had made those rusty scratches on the chrome. She could match each insult to her bike to an injury on her body: scabs on her knees, scrapes to her elbows, bruises on her shins, and a tiny sliver of a scar under her chin.
from: Amelia Bedelia Means Business
by Herman S. Parish III
Illustrations by Lynne Avril
HarperCollins ebooks, 2013
These past weeks have played host to several major sports events. You know already that I am not much of an enthusiast of any particular sport, but I do like to stay aware of what is going on around me.
The World Cup just finished up, crowning France the winner of this major world event (for which the United States failed to qualify). The next match is scheduled for 2022 in Qatar. An American team should have plenty of practice time, in case anyone is interested in representing the United States on the World Stage.
One of my jobs when I worked at the Wilson factory was washing soccer balls before they were packed and shipped out to the stores for sale. So I’m kinda familiar with the way they are put together. But not so much what to do with one.
The closest I ever got to actually playing soccer was a week or so of field hockey in our high-school phys. ed. curriculum. I don’t think hockey and soccer are alike, but we ran back and forth on a grassy field. I remember a ball was involved, or maybe it was something else.
Both of my granddaughters play soccer during the late spring. They like it, so, I guess that’s something. I’ve watched them play a time or two, but it was a little hard for me to focus on the game. I was mostly watching “my girls.”
The Tour de France began on July 7 and the riders will finish in Paris on July 29. It is a rigorous route about 2,200 miles long. Five Americans are competing this year.
They say once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you don’t ever forget. That’s not really one-hundred percent true. It comes back, but it takes a real desire, lots of perseverance, and fully inflated tires. I ride so I can listen to the wind blow past my ears. I ride to cool off on a hot day. I ride to prove to myself that I can. I like to stay on flat pavement away from traffic like a bike trail or our county fairgrounds. I don’t ride to go anywhere. I thought I’d like to ride to the library or the grocery store. I did do that once or twice, but I felt unbalanced with groceries or books in my basket.
Tennis competition is finishing up, too. This past Saturday, Serena Williams got knocked out of a Grand Slam. Her baby is not even a year old, yet, so I think just making it to Wimbledon was exceptional. She does, too.
Several girls on my hall in my dorm decided Spring Quarter was the perfect time for us to learn tennis. Some may have played before, but we signed up together and went at it. After mastering the rules and taking a written test, we began the actual playing. We all gained a lot of respect for our racquets after one of us was knocked out cold by one other of us. No lasting damage was done and we all learned to give each other lots of personal space. Not a bad rule in general.
And baseball is taking a mid-season break. The 89th Major League Baseball All-Star Game is scheduled for 7:30 tonight in Washington DC. Rain is predicted. Although an All-Star game has never been rained-out, adjustments have been made in the past, and contingency plans are in the works for tonight, just in case.
So, in light of summits and nominations and baseball, I guess you could say my own contingency plans are in the works, too. After all, Mom liked to remind me that I have two ears and one mouth for a good reason!
I'll keep listening hard, to make sure I'll have lots to write about in the weeks to come!
-—stay curious!
from: Amelia Bedelia Means Business
by Herman S. Parish III
Illustrations by Lynne Avril
HarperCollins ebooks, 2013
These past weeks have played host to several major sports events. You know already that I am not much of an enthusiast of any particular sport, but I do like to stay aware of what is going on around me.
The World Cup just finished up, crowning France the winner of this major world event (for which the United States failed to qualify). The next match is scheduled for 2022 in Qatar. An American team should have plenty of practice time, in case anyone is interested in representing the United States on the World Stage.
One of my jobs when I worked at the Wilson factory was washing soccer balls before they were packed and shipped out to the stores for sale. So I’m kinda familiar with the way they are put together. But not so much what to do with one.
The closest I ever got to actually playing soccer was a week or so of field hockey in our high-school phys. ed. curriculum. I don’t think hockey and soccer are alike, but we ran back and forth on a grassy field. I remember a ball was involved, or maybe it was something else.
Both of my granddaughters play soccer during the late spring. They like it, so, I guess that’s something. I’ve watched them play a time or two, but it was a little hard for me to focus on the game. I was mostly watching “my girls.”
The Tour de France began on July 7 and the riders will finish in Paris on July 29. It is a rigorous route about 2,200 miles long. Five Americans are competing this year.
They say once you learn how to ride a bicycle, you don’t ever forget. That’s not really one-hundred percent true. It comes back, but it takes a real desire, lots of perseverance, and fully inflated tires. I ride so I can listen to the wind blow past my ears. I ride to cool off on a hot day. I ride to prove to myself that I can. I like to stay on flat pavement away from traffic like a bike trail or our county fairgrounds. I don’t ride to go anywhere. I thought I’d like to ride to the library or the grocery store. I did do that once or twice, but I felt unbalanced with groceries or books in my basket.
Tennis competition is finishing up, too. This past Saturday, Serena Williams got knocked out of a Grand Slam. Her baby is not even a year old, yet, so I think just making it to Wimbledon was exceptional. She does, too.
Several girls on my hall in my dorm decided Spring Quarter was the perfect time for us to learn tennis. Some may have played before, but we signed up together and went at it. After mastering the rules and taking a written test, we began the actual playing. We all gained a lot of respect for our racquets after one of us was knocked out cold by one other of us. No lasting damage was done and we all learned to give each other lots of personal space. Not a bad rule in general.
And baseball is taking a mid-season break. The 89th Major League Baseball All-Star Game is scheduled for 7:30 tonight in Washington DC. Rain is predicted. Although an All-Star game has never been rained-out, adjustments have been made in the past, and contingency plans are in the works for tonight, just in case.
So, in light of summits and nominations and baseball, I guess you could say my own contingency plans are in the works, too. After all, Mom liked to remind me that I have two ears and one mouth for a good reason!
I'll keep listening hard, to make sure I'll have lots to write about in the weeks to come!
-—stay curious!
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