The "Vanilla Bean Lover" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of the ice cream freezer at the grocery store trying to decide what flavor to buy this week.  Was thinking about trying the new boxes of Gelato, but after seeing the price, decided to buy the ice cream that was on sale for $1.88 for the container that used to be a half gallon.  Not sure what size it is right now, but it seems to be shrinking every few months.  

As I stood there, deciding, I thought of the story I read somewhere on the internet that told you that your choice of ice cream was more than likely set during childhood and tends to remain consistent throughout your life.  Well, I have loved vanilla ice cream all my life, so I opened the door and made my choice: Vanilla Bean.  Did you know that vanilla lovers are impulsive?  Even though it is one of the simplest of ice cream flavors, those who like it are said to be, besides impulsive, colorful, idealistic risk-takers and emotionally expressive.  

I asked Carol what her choice of flavors would be and she pulled out a package of Mint Chocolate Chip.  People of this flavor are argumentative, ambitious, confident and frugal.  Supposedly aren't satisfied until they find the tarnish on the silver lining.  Carol told me I was full of #@*$ when I told her that.  How about the rest of you.  Do you like Strawberry which are people who are introverts, Chocolate which are people who are flirtatious, Rocky Road which are people who are aggressive, Coffee which are people who are dramatic, Chocolate Chip which are people who are generous or Butter Pecan which are people who are conscientious.  As for me, I figure I can take my vanilla and put strawberries, chocolate syrup, peanuts, ........... on top of it and still enjoy the flavor of the vanilla.  Oh yeah, can't forget the cool whip and cherry.  Here's hoping all your choices are as exciting as mine.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "I Think I Got A Touch Of Island Fever (JB): A Trilogy" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Early morning and the sun is low in the eastern sky.  The beach boys are beginning their tedious chore of setting up the rows of beach chairs and a fellow on a tractor is clearing the overnight buildup of seaweed that has covered the beach at the shoreline.  I am sitting on a sand dune, looking for something interesting to photograph on Orient Beach which is located on the French side of St. Martin.  For the last decade I have made many early morning visits to Orient in hopes of finding just the right photograph that will give my viewers a feel for the time of day and the beauty of the moment when the sand glistens in the early sunlight and the gentle waves harden the sand at water's edge for those who walk the 1.32 mile stretch of beach on one of the world's most beautiful beaches.  A photo of a lonely shell hanging by a fishing line above a beach bar reflecting the yellow sunlight, a closeup of a sand crab as it hides at the entrance of its newly made beach home or a photo of a glass, half full of a colored liquid, left behind on a beach bar table are all interesting to me, but will they give my viewer an idea of what it really is like at the beach during the early morning hours, my favorite time of the day at the beach.

It was an ordinary day.  Mid-morning and the ocean is alive with colors you thought you could find only in a Crayola crayon box.  Colors such as aquamarine, turquoise blue, cerulean, navy blue, indigo, and even robin egg blue can be seen as the sun projects at different angles than it does at any other time of the day.  Then, the sun sneaks behind a puffy cloud and the colors all change yielding colors such as tropical rain forest, blue green and midnight blue.  The sea is alive as fish jump toward daylight and the majestic white-breasted frigate dives for its morning meal.  The smell of tanning lotion begins to fill the air as bathers begin to fill the chairs at the many beach bars that line Orient Beach from the north end at the Mount Vernon condo units to the south end's Club Orient which is this beach's naturist beach.  Prime seats in the row closest to the water seem to fill first, but Carol and I enjoy the room afforded the chairs at the rear of the beach.  The fine white sand begins to warm as the humidity builds and the sun approaches its zenith with only a slight wisp of breeze to add some relief.  It is my favorite time of the day at the beach.

It was an ordinary day.  Late afternoon and the beach chairs begin to empty.  The sky begins to lose it color as the sun dips toward the hills to the west.  All the work that the beach boys put in to lining their beach chairs in perfect harmony seem to be lost as I survey the beach to my right and to my left from the rear row.  The 85 degree water has darkened as the sun's rays no longer brighten the depths.  A stillness and silence seems to engulf the beach as the beach boys begin their task of packing away the umbrellas and on some beaches, stacking the chairs and cushions until tomorrow.  Carol and I struggle to stay awake after a day of doing absolutely nothing but gathering rays, reading and snacking on our lunch of sandwiches, crackers and cookies.  We wait until the sun drops from the western sky behind the hills before we pack our beach bag and head to the car.  It is my favorite time of the day at the beach.

The end of another beautiful day on the beach.

So you gather that we enjoy our days on the beach from reading my trilogy devoted to our days on the beach.  We cherish our time together while on vacation at the beach, no matter where the beach may be.  We realize that the sun's rays are damaging to our skin and try our best to prevent that from happening, but we love the sound of the water lapping the sand, the smell of the salty sea, the 50 shades of blue that are the sky and ocean and the atmosphere that surrounds us as we spend our favorite time on the beach.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "A Hero Returns Home" Story

Preface:  71 years ago today, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a descendent of the pacifist Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonite conscientious objectors, commanded the invasion of Normandy on what has been since called D-Day.  My story today deals with another hero of that war, Major Richard D. Winters, leader of what was known as the "Band of Brothers.  I take time today to remember Major Winters, a local resident, with the following story.  

Major Richard Winters

It was an ordinary day.  About a year ago I wrote of one of Lancaster's County's heroes during WWII.  Major Dick Winters was a hero to many including my father who was also in the armed forces during WWII.  Many readers may remember the HBO miniseries titled "Band of Brothers" which was based on the wartime heroics of Major Winters.  Dick was a graduate of Lancaster, PA's Franklin and Marshall College and after graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Private.  

Memorial headstone in Ephrata, PA

He eventually became a paratrooper, rising to the rank of Major.  On D-Day he make a jump into Normandy where, after losing his Company Commander, became the Commander of Company E, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.  He led his company, known as Easy Company, through the Holland Campaign, through the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne and eventually into Germany and Berchtesgaden in 1945.  Last year in his nearby hometown of Ephrata, he was honored with a quiet tree-lined plaza named for him.  It was also suggested that a replica of the statue that appears, as a tribute to Winters in the French town of St. Marie-du-Mont, be placed along "Winters Trail" in Ephrata.  Well, this past March the 700 pound, $90,000 replica finally arrived from Fairhope, Alabama where the sculpter, Stephen Spears, had been busy making it.  

The newly installed statue of Major Richard D. Winters.

The statue depicts Winters, rifle at the ready, charging forward with a determined look on his face.  My father's hero had finally arrived!  Dick had lived in Lancaster, PA and went to school with my dad in the city.  After his death, Winters was buried in Ephrata at Bergstrasse Cemetery.  The return of Major Winters is due in part to the Richard D. Winters Leadership Memorial Committee in Ephrata.  The sculpture was placed in the veteran's plaza off of East Fulton Street in Ephrata.  I recently made a photo visit to see the inspiring site and take a few photographs of the new sculpture.  The weather was overcast with ominous cloud cover when I arrived at the statue.  It is a humbling experience to stand beneath this man and read the plaques that tell of his heroics and leadership during some of the most famous battles of WWII.  Closeby stands a memorial headstone that features his name with his most famous words: "Follow Me".  As I looked at the statue and the surrounding area I could almost hear, through the surrounding hushed trees, Major Winters calling out … "Follow Me".  Make a visit to this site in the future to honor a true American Hero.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Stark blackness against an overcast sky.

Plaque under the statue.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

The statue from the front.

A likeness of Major Richard D. Winters, American HERO

The "Domino College (JB)" Story

Playing Dominos at the Ferry Dock in St. Martin

It was an ordinary day.  Going through some of my photo CDs, looking for just the right photo for one of my stories when I came upon a couple of photos I had taken while on vacation on two different islands.  Photos both showed small groups of men gathered on city streets around a wooden table using small pieces of wood engraved with black dots.  Game they were playing is known as Dominos.  I assume you have heard of the game before.  The game was first played in the Caribbean by noblemen and plantation owners, but was quickly adapted by workers and slaves, since it was an incredibly easy game to play and was fairly inexpensive to make a set of Domino tiles.  The game featured small wooden tiles marked with dots made by perforating the wood with a sharp tool or by burning the dots in place with a hot iron.  These tiles lasted considerably longer than a deck of playing cards.  You didn't need anything other than the wooden tiles to play the game and any flat space would suit for a game of Dominos.  While vacationing on many of the Caribbean islands during the past fifteen years, I have noticed game after game of Dominos being played just about everywhere.  

A group playing Dominos in Barbados. Fellow with the
brown hat asked me to join them for a game, but I declined.

During one trip to Barbados I approached a group of men along a street in the capital of Bridgetown to take a photo while they played.  The rhythmic beat of tiles being slapped on the table was mesmerizing.  It seems the more force you could use to slam your tile in place without moving the other tiles made the game more exciting.  After a game, and the customary swig of rum, one of the players looked at me and with a smile, offered me a chance to sit in and play a game.  I was honored, but declined his offer.  To this day I regret that I didn't take him up on his offer, since playing a game which carries this much history and of this magnitude in the Caribbean was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made.  Another time I found an exciting game with plenty of banter and slamming of tiles in an outdoor restaurant on the island of West Caicos where I stopped for some ice cream.  My camera was barely noticed as I snapped a few shots of the four gentlemen playing the game with passion and enthusiasm.  Along the boardwalk in Philipsburg on the island of Sint Maarten, I have encountered games of Dominos by the water's edge under the seagrape and palm trees at the east end of the town.  And, the list of places goes on and on.  The game is usually played by four men who at times play as a team.  Strategies for playing are at times similar to poker with calculations, bluffs and intimidation part of the game, but it does not matter who or how many play, it's the slap of the tile on the table that is the most memorable part of the game to me.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Faces of Strangers: #30" Story

Pastor Jamal Husain giving me his phone number.

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting at a table for four in the Miami International Airport trying to decide what to eat before we board our flight to Philadelphia.  I returned to the table with the personal pizzas to find another man sitting next to where I had planned sit.  No problem, since all the other tables were filled with customers.  I sat next to him while Carol went to fill up her soda cup.  Wasn’t long before I was talking to the man sitting next to me.  When Carol returned I told her our table guest was from Trinidad.  Traveling to a conference in Ohio for a few days.  Then I asked him what kind of conference and the next half hour was filled with some of the most interesting and unusual conversation we have experienced in quite some time.  Seems that our guest was 51 year old Pastor Jamal Husain and he was traveling to a Pentecostal conference.  He became a Pentecostal minister at the age of 18 after breaking away from his Muslim heritage.  He lives on the island of Trinidad where he has a parish of about 80 people as well as starting his own fried chicken stand five months ago.  Tells us he buys his chickens from locals.  This personable guy is a wealth of knowledge about just about anything … and everything.  We talked about the island of Trinidad and found out the average yearly wage is about $10,000 and that health care and education to the University level is free.  You only pay taxes after you reach the annual average wage and there are no property taxes.  Oil and natural gas foot the bill for just about everything in Trinidad.  Crime is a problem being they are only seven miles from Venezuela.  We got talking about sports and since Trinidad is British, Cricket is the big sport as well as futbol. The knowledge this man possesses is amazing as he tells us stories about all the neighboring islands.  Told us he loves to preach and within minutes he was giving us the story of the creation as explained in Genesis.  He is a skilled speaker and his British accent add interest to his preaching.  Then he begins to tell us what he feels about us and the love we hold for each other.  Tells me he can see in me passion and knowledge and the ability to share it with others.  Wow!  Carol told him I was a teacher for years and he smiled knowingly at me.  Then he mentioned the characteristics of love and compassion to Carol which brought a few tears to her eyes.  Guy’s amazing.  We talked more about the island of Trinidad and he tells us that they don’t have black people such as him, or people of any color for you see, they are all Trinis no matter what their color.  I asked if he had ever had taken classes in religion and he grabbed his briefcase to show us his documents and diplomas.  His extended family lives on Trinidad where he is married with two children and a two and a half year old grandchild.  He told us to make plans to visit Trinidad in the future and gave me his phone number so we can hear him preach.  Then Carol asked if he is an animated preacher and he acknowledged that he is.  She asked “Do you speak in tongues?”  “At times I do,” he replied.  “You don’t get involved with snakes do you," she asked.  “No, that language is filled with poison,” he said.  Well, the pastor checked his watch and realized his plane was ready to board soon, so we shook hands and parted ways.  As you see, airport waiting isn’t always boring!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an oridnary guy.

The "Say It Ain't So, Bill" Story

Bill Sassaman's photograph I took
for this year's Baseball Yearbook.

It was an ordinary day.  Still trying to understand how one of the best baseball coaches in the history of the Lancaster-Lebanon Baseball League, Bill Sassaman, and one of my friends and teaching peers, could be given the axe.  Here's a guy who has coached for 31 years of his young life, had a .653 winning percentage as a head coach of 23 years and devoted his entire professional career to education and coaching the youth of the community and all he gets for this is a statement that the school wants to take the baseball program in a different direction.  What other direction can you take?  My two sons were coached by Bill when he first began his career and they, as well as my wife and I, have nothing but praise for the job he has done.  Three losing seasons in 23 years as head coach is a tremendous feat!  I have worked with Bill since 1988 in the printing of the baseball yearbook as well as his yearly scoresheets.  He always impressed me with his knowledge of the game and coaching techniques as well as how he could always get the best from each one of his players.  Bill was an All-Star outfielder at Muhlenberg High School and Kutztown University where he played outfield.  He was informed by the athletic director on May 7 about the school's decision and was given 24 hours to write a letter of resignation.  He decided to spend the next week trying to make the school change their mind, but realized it was a futile effort.  Bill's teams had competed in Class AAAA, the top level for high school ball in the state of Pennsylvania, and were constantly near the top in local section titles, District titles and with four state title runs.  One year he was picked for Coach of the Year in the Mid-Atlantic States.  When Bill began his high school coaching, he helped develop the Manheim Township Dugout Club which I was a member of when it started and was the president of for a year.  

Manheim Township High School baseball field.

He was responsible for, along with the club, the tremendous facilities that are considered one of the best in Pennsylvania.  An online survey taken in Lancaster County asked if Bill Sassaman should have been retained for 2016 and the reaction was extremely positive.  So why is Bill no longer with the program?  I believe today's parents are to blame.  You cut the wrong boy after tryouts or don't give another boy the amount of playing time their parents believe they should have and phone calls are made to the right person in the school district and any coach can be eliminated.  Every child is an all-star!!  That's what almost every parent believes today.  I'm so glad that when I coached baseball in the late 1960's to the early 1990's, the parents believed in what I did and didn't interfere.  Not once did a parent criticize me or question my coaching.  I guess I was just lucky that I had the chance to retire on my own before I was asked to retire.  Bill wasn't as lucky.  I believe Bill's passion towards the sport of baseball and his energy level is still such that he can be a productive coach again soon.  His statement in the local newspaper was: "I'm a strong believer that good things come out of bad things."  Won't take long before Township realizes they made the wrong decision.  Any new coach coming in will now find they not only will have to coach baseball, but will have to put up with the desires of the parents to have their all-star athlete play full time.  Or else a new coach will be sought once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Nice Day For A Ball Game ... Let's Play Two … Or Maybe Three: Part II" Story

Kunkle Field in Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania

It was an ordinary day.  Sunday and day two of the Mt. Joy Baseball Tournament.  The four teams that have advanced since yesterday all had winning records in the first day of the tournament with my grandson's team, the Mountville Pirates, being the only undefeated team with 3 wins.  Yesterday was played in order to determine the four best teams and rank them 1 through 4 for today's games.  The winners of the two games today will play later in the day for the Tournament Championship.  Today's games are being played at Kunkle Field in Mount Joy.  This iconic field has been used for baseball for over 50 years.  I can remember coaching Midget-Midget as well as Jr. Midget games on this field.  

#21 Dylan is the starting pitcher for the first game.

The chain link fence around the outfield is covered with advertise- ments from local businesses with a scoreboard atop the leftfield fence.  The roofed dugouts are covered with chain link fencing for protection for the players sitting in them.  Players who have ever played on this historic field never forget the experience.  

#2 Aiden slides safely into second base.

I never played here, but the many games I have coached on this field are among those that I will never forget.  Once again the Pirates are the away team and start their first game with a run.  Mountville and Hempfield White battle back and forth in a good game with Hempfield coming to bat in the bottom of the 6th and final inning losing to the Pirates 5-3.  

Ryan waits on the pitch to drive it to the outfield.

Two outs with runners on first and second bases for Hempfield and the game getting tense.  The Pirates pitcher throws a low pitch and the ball finds it's way under the catcher's glove.  Hempfield's third base coach yells for his player on second to steal 3rd base.  He is half way to 3rd when the Pirates catcher finds the ball and fires toward 3rd base.  

#29 Caden has his hands raised as he hustles towards
the dugout to celebrate with the team after making
making the final out of the game when he tug out a runner
who was attempting to steal third base.

Caden, my grandson, who has played 3rd base during most of the tourna- ment, takes the throw as he straddles the bag, drops his glove with the cather's throw and swipes the ball across the sliding runner.  Out!! yells the home plate umpire.  Game over!  Pirates go to the Championship Game.  Caden, as well as all the infield players jump up and down as they head toward the coaches, charging from the dugout.  The Pirates are still undefeated!!  

Twilight arrives to greet the final game of the tournament.

The Champion- ship Game is set for 8:00 PM.  Carol and I, along with our daughter, grand- daughter and friend arrived a few minutes early and watched the grounds crew putting the finishing touches on the field.  Field lights were turned on and the game began right on time with Mountville taking on the Warwick Diamondbacks.  

Colin is safe at third as a Pirate steals third base.

The Pirates are home team for this game.  Warwick starts the game with a run in the first inning, but the Pirates matched that run in the bottom of the inning.  Game went back and forth until the top of the 5th inning arrived with the Pirates leading.  Warwick put some runners on and were threatening to score with two outs when a Diamondbacks player hit a hard grounder to third.  Caden moved to his left, scooped up the ball and fired to first for the final out.  The Pirates exited the field all excited.  Over a month ago the same two teams battled in the finals of the Warwick Tournament when Mountville coming out on top.  

Ace Noah pitches the final three innings for the Pirates.

Would this game end differently?  Pirates failed to add to their lead in the bottom of the 5th and Warwick came to bat in the top and final inning.  The Pirates were able to win the exciting game with a runner in scoring position in the top of the 6th.  I found my way onto the field to take some celebratory photos of the coaches and players.

Springtime bugs are drawn to the lights above the
Pirates dugout where they fly into the lights and drop
to the ground below. 

As I stood next to the home team dugout, the sky seems to be raining bugs.  They are dropping by the hundreds as they flock to the bright, hot stadium lights above me.  They strike the lights, dying instantly and drop from the sky on those standing underneath them.  

The winning Mountville Pirates.

I learned very quickly to keep my mouth shut.  I took photos as the tournament director, Tim, helped hand out the trophies and medals to both teams in the Champion- ship Game.  Parents from both teams lined the infield with cameras as the teams posed at home plate for team photos.  Once again, baseball is America's favorite past-time in the eyes of all who watched this exciting Memorial Day competition.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Nobel rounds third on his way to scoring.

The Pirates dugout.

Zander pitching for the Pirates.

Colin ready to catch strike three.

Coach Hodge and his son.

Bird's eye view of the ballpark.

Warwick and Mountville battle for the championship.

Caden waiting for the pitch.

The final score: Mountville Pirates 5, Warwick Diamondbacks 3

Players gather after the game.

Coach Woods, Caden and Mom Woods

Home dugout

End of a great tournament.

The "Nice Day For A Ball Game ... Let's Play Two … Or Maybe Three: Part I" Story

Game #1 against the Ephrata Squires.

It was an ordinary day.  8:00 AM on a Saturday morning and I'm sitting in my lawn chair wearing a Villanova Baseball sweatshirt watching the away team bat during the first inning of the Memorial Day Mt. Joy Baseball Tournament.  

Caden awaits the pitch.

The tournament is for little leaguers, both boys and girl (I only saw one girl playing), ages 10 and under.  Teams from towns in Pennsylvania with names such as Mt. Joy, Mountville, Warwick, Ephrata, Donegal and Hempfield all came together for two days of pure baseball.  Mt. Joy Baseball Association declares on their webpage: "The greatest of all, the game which seems to breathe the restless spirit of American life, that calls for quick action and quicker thinking, that seems characteristic of a great nation itself, is baseball." And, this morning my friends, that statement seems to prevail.  Three fields all carry action with family and friends  screaming, coaches calling out instructions and giving hand and body signals while players shout and yell encouragement to their teammates.  

The customary high-five.

My grandson, 10 year-old Caden, is a member of the Mountville Pirates "B" traveling team.  He loves the game as does his dad and granddad have for ages.  His bright yellow shirt and white pants won't look like that for more than maybe 15 minutes,  for you see, dust and dirt, black eye rub, sunflower seeds, spit and just being a kid are also part of the game of baseball.  A man dressed in a dark blue Mt. Joy baseball shirt walks up and down in front of us telling us the tent on the hill to our right now has breakfast sandwiches and drinks for sale.  The Pirates scored in their first at bat and never looked back while beating a very overmatched Ephrata Squires team.  After the final out the two teams form a line down the foul lines and go through the customary high-five at the end of the game.  

Caden firing a strike.

Ten minutes later, after the field had been relined and water sprinkled around the bases to try and settle the dust, the Pirates slip the helmets back on again and game number two begins at the strike of 10:00 AM.  The Pirates are once again the home team and open the 1st inning with a few runs off an extremely young Donegal Red Sox team.  

Caden getting hit in the shoulder with a pitch.

As the Pirates took the field we noticed that Caden was taking the pitcher's mound and starting to warm up.  Back in April Caden pitched in a practice game before the regular season opened and walked player after player and we thought that would be the last time he pitched this year.  Then last week, while playing in another league game, he was called on to pitch once again and he struck out the side.  Wow!  Well, as he began throwing we could see he was really pumped up.  Three innings later, when the coach used another pitcher as he always does, Caden had struck out all nine batters.  

Caden pitching in the afternoon game.

Another big win for the team and a game time of 3:00 PM was set for the next game.  Carol and I came home to rest and we didn't even play in the game.  3:00 PM and we are back at the field for the third game of the day.  The weather is perfect with the sun warming the air and the sky a perfect shade of blue.  Again the Pirates were home team with the same results.  Bottom of the 4th and Caden takes to the mound once again.  

The final high-fives.

The Pirates built up a big lead and after Caden mowed down the Mt. Joy Blue team in the bottom of the 5th, the game ended an inning early because of the 10-run rule.  Once again Caden had prevailed striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced.  By the end of the day the Pirates knew they would play the next day at noon against the Hempfield White team.  Two wins tomorrow will give the Mountville Pirates their second tournament medal this year.  Stay tuned!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Coach/son/dad Woods congratulates pitcher/grandson/son Caden.

Head Coach talks to the team after the game.

A smiling baseball player.