For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. "

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Girls with Balls



My girls have both played a LOT of softball.
It seemed to come naturally to them.
They both excelled at the game.

Where did this talent come from?



This is a picture of Kerry's grandmother running to first base in 1948.


And here is Kerry running to first base today.







This is a picture of the Seabrook Farms softball team in 1948.  Grandma Alice is in the first row - 5th from the left.  Her sister Nancy was also on the team (2nd from the left in the back row).



And here is Kerry with her current team representing the University of Vermont.  Kerry is 3rd from the left in the front row.

So DIFFERENT but so much the SAME.
Girls with balls.  
I predict there will be many more in this family!


Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. AnnieOctober 10, 2011 at 2:34 PM

    Wow, Gayle, those pictures of Alice are priceless!!! Did she play for a school team?

    ReplyDelete
  2. GayleOctober 10, 2011 at 7:25 PM

    One of the goals of the War Relocation Authority was to determine which evacuees were actually loyal to the United States, and then to find places for them to work and settle away from the West Coast, outside of the relocation centers. At first, each case had to be investigated individually, which often took months, since each person had to find a job and a place to live, while convincing the government that they were not a threat. Eventually, to streamline the process, every adult evacuee was given a questionnaire entitled "Application for Indefinite Leave Clearance" whether or not they were attempting to leave.

    Those who answered "yes" to the loyalty questionnaire were eligible to leave the relocation centers, if they found a sponsor. One of the largest single sponsors, Seabrook Farms, was also one of the largest producers of frozen vegetables in the country. The company, experiencing a labor shortage due to the war, had a history of hiring minorities and setting them up in ethnically segregated villages. About 2,500 evacuees went to Seabrook Farms' New Jersey plant. They worked 12-hour days, at 35 cents to 50 cents an hour, with 1 day off every 2 weeks. They lived in concrete block buildings, not much better than the relocation center barracks, and had to provide for their own food and cooking.

    So, Ann, the owner of Seabrook Farms sponsored this girl's softball team that Alice and her sister played on.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)