Tuesday night, Edward “Ted” Kennedy passed away. His battle with brain cancer over.
Kennedy battled his demons, he had his failings, but as a Senator he fought for the American people with integrity and passion. He fought for civil rights, equal rights, and fairness. We have him to thank for many of things we take for granted today such as the American with Disabilities Act, Cancer funding, Meals on Wheels, Title IX, sCHIP-Children’s Health Insurance, minimum wage increases, saving Social Security in the 1980s, and so much more. He earned the respect of his colleagues no matter which side of the aisle they were from.
A group of American World War II Veterans met up with Japanese World War II Veterans in Hiroshima in April. The men gathered together to pay respects by visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Then they played softball.
Most of those who participated were in their 80s. They played their game at an elementary school where some 400 children died during the bombing of Hiroshima.
This was the second time the group got together for a softball game. The last time they met in Hawaii in 2007.
This is a great story! A 5 year old named Phoebe from San Francisco had her first encounter with the downtrodden a few months ago. She say a man holding a sign asking for food. She asked her parents about the man, why he didn’t have food, and so forth. She was appalled when she learned that some people don’t have the money to eat each day.
Phoebe decided to do something. She decided she would raise money for the San Francisco Food Bank. She set a goal of raising $1000 in two months.
Though the goal seemed awfully high for a 5 year old, her parents and day care teacher helped her put it into play. She decided to collect aluminum cans. She sent out letters to 150 family members and friends asking for them to donate cans.
If you think Phoebe set herself up for failure, you’re wrong. People dropped off cans at the day care center. They mailed in donations. In the end, Phoebe beat her goal by collecting $3,736.30! She helped feed 17,800 needy people in San Francisco.
On Sunday, Phillies second baseman, Eric Bruntlett, became the second player in Major League History to complete and unassisted triple play to end a game. The last time it was performed was in 1927.
Runners were on first and second. Both runner were in motion for a double steal. The batter, Jeff Francoeur, hit a line drive directly to Bruntlett. The quick thinking Bruntlett caught the ball, tagged second base, and then tagged the runner coming from first base.
It’s hard enough getting a triple play, let alone one player doing it all by himself. Here’s the video. I think Bruntlett is surprised too!
A shout out to the Niles-Centerville Little League baseball team. They made it to the Little League playoffs. They won the US West Championship. Then went on to the World Series in Bangor, Maine.
They played West University Little League team out of Houston, Texas. Texas jumped on the board fast with a 7-0 lead. Niles-Centerville fought back. In the end, they came up short, losing 9-7.
We still think they are great! Way to go Niles-Centerville for going all the way to Bangor, Maine!
