Today's News

He was skinny—like me. A famous athlete—which I wanted to be.

I wanted to be the center of attention, and this skinny runner was getting all the attention I craved.

I was in elementary school, and the collegian Jim Ryun gave hope of athletic acclaim to this 76-pounder. It seemed every month leading up to the 1968 Summer Olympics, Ryun was setting record after record in distance running. During 1966 and 1967 he set world records in the 880-yard run, the 1,500-meter run, the one-mile outdoor run and the one-mile indoor run.

The middle of summer is a lot like the middle of winter when it comes to fishing. It is less a question of what you want to catch than of what is willing to bite.

Fortunately, while familiar species may be hard to find under the sun, there are several other kinds of fish that show up in the warm water and can provide an alternative to leaving a pier empty-handed. Since these fish are as great tasting as our more familiar targets, you need to know what you have if you pull one up.

I have been involved with youth programs for most of my life. Gene and I had four daughters and for years we were immersed in Girl Scouts, church youth groups, softball teams, gymnastics, a children’s choir, and the junior golf program at our club.

Mike Alderson leaned back in his chair and pointed at a white board that had a baseball diamond, outlined in black, drawn on it.

“That board up there,” he said, “I got three question marks up there: right field, left field, third base. This summer probably answered some of those questions. And that’s what it’s all about.”