The "Jack Takes Control" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Opened the front door of my villa at Woodcrest Villa and gathered my morning newspaper that was standing upright against the front door.  Wasn't long before I turned to the Sports Section of the newspaper.  And...when I did, there was a three column wide color photograph of a young man at the edge of a swimming pool.  The headline at the top of the photograph read...TAKING CONTROL.

The more I studied the photo of the young man with swimming goggles still on his head, the more the guy looked familiar.  Sure enough...it was my brother Steve's grandson...Jack Martin! The heading under the photo read, Ephrata's Jack Martin reacts after winning the boys 200-yard freestyle against Elizabethtown in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section Two meet Tuesday at the Ephrata recCenter.  The Mountaineers won the boys met 91-71.  Jack's time in the freestyle was 1:45.81.  Jack and his sister Megan both swim for the Ephrata team.  They both are leaders on their respective teams.  Jack also helped win the 200 Freestyle Medley with a time of 1:32.75, the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:02.15, and the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:19.77.....Jack swam the last leg of that relay.  As for his sister Megan...well she helped her 200 Medley Relay team win with a time of 1:54.35,  the individual 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:57.51 and the 200 Freestyle Relay team with a time of 1:47.01.  Jack's swimming coach was quoted in the newspaper as saying..."I don't want to say it was a surprise, but Jack's win in the 200 was a momentum changer for us when it happened!"  And...believe it or not, Jack is only a Sophomore!  Jack and his sister Megan, a Junior, are both excellent swimmers and have been swimming for many years.  My brother Steve and my sister-in-law Kathy both encourage their grandkids during the meets with their cheering.  I'm sure they can be heard above most of the others in the natatorium when their grandkids are participating.  Hey...what grandfather and grandmother wouldn't cheer for their grandkids in any event they might participate in.  I've done it also...many times.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.