“Hi, it’s Joyce Grierson Shephard,” said the lady on the phone. “I’m in town for my Fairview High School class reunion…class of ’45! Can you imagine? There are sixty one of us here. That’s a pretty good turn-out for we ‘aging’ alumns. Dinner will be at NCR Country Club on Saturday evening. I live in Bozeman, Montana now – our son Brad lives there. It’s a great spot. Now, tell me about…” and she asked after dozens of old friends from Fairview and from her class at Denison University….Gee Gee Cheslock, and Dr. Bill Cassel…
Friday evening’s CNN ten o’clock news had an exciting piece dateline: Dayton, Ohio. The TV screen showed a ‘bombollio’ that equaled the worst, most violent, fist-flying-street-fight-cum-riot. “This fight took place on the playing field of the Dayton Dragons Ball Park earlier this evening,” said the commentator. “One player is in jail, a spectator is in the hospital…full details at eleven!”
Well, who can stay up ‘til eleven, but…Saturday morning’s New York Times carried a picture and two columns of ‘print’ re: Dayton Dragons Riot. Seems there were several incidents during the first few innings of the game where the pitcher hit the batter. When the third batter ‘got it’ the fur started flying…the benches of both teams took to the field…players were flattened, slugging, leaping on piles of players…and the Peoria pitcher, Julio Castillo, threw a ball at a heckling spectator. Julio was arrested by the Dayton Police, and the spectator was taken to MV Hospital. The hospital spokesperson, Nancy Thickel, “ … could not comment.” The game was ‘delayed’.
Dayton’s Municipal Judge Carl Henderson was quoted. Montgomery Country Prosecutor Mathias Heck, Jr. was quoted. The Manager of the Cincinnati Reds was in the audience – and he would not be quoted. The Dayton Dragons may be just ‘an A Team’ but they made the ‘big time’ in the Sports section of the New York Times.
Seems poor-pitcher-Julio-Castillo has been in the USA for just one month and he had an ‘interpreter’ speaking for him. The Judge suggested poor Julio might be ‘deported’ back to the Dominican Republic.
Nancy Heck Sternal, Oakwood High School ’67, and her husband, Ron, attended the Henley Races at Cambridge University in England where their son, Code Heck Sternal, was rowing on the Trinity Univ. (Hartford, CT) team. Trinity’s team was second in their division – Stanford (CA) was first. Following the races the rowing Coach of Cambridge asked Code if he’d consider taking his Master’s Degree in Economics at Cambridge – and rowing on the Cambridge Team! The Sternals had arrangements to go on to Oslo and stay in the Embassy Residence with their Minneapolis friend who’s Ambassador to Norway. So, frantic calls to Trinity for transcripts etc. were made from Norway. Code returned to Cambridge for interviews…and to make a long story somewhat shorter – he was accepted! “Oh, and by the way, we’re rowing in Moscow in September…classes start in October…will that schedule work for you?” added the Cambridge Coach.
July 29, 2008
Volume 17, No. 31
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