October 31, 2005
Bare Bones
The barefoot season came to an unofficial close yesterday when a handful of my barefooting buddies helped take out the pier in record time. (I didn't even get a chance to get a photo of the skeleton before it was dismembered.)
We then drowned our sorrows in 50-degree water until the sun was long gone and ended with a blazing barefoot run through the channel. Not a bad way to end the season, if it has to end.
October 23, 2005
Hamline Hall of Fame
It wasn't officially homecoming, but it certainly felt like it when Steve took us back to Minnesota this weekend.
Steve was invited back to his alma mater to be inducted into the Hamline Athletic Hall of Fame. We received red-carpet treatment including brunch at the President's house, priority parking, tail-gating passes and seats on the 50-yard line to watch the Hamline Pipers football team.
At halftime, the Hall of Fame inductees were introduced on the football field. Almost before the announcements were over, Steve and team-mate David Wenberg were greeted on the track by their mentor and coach, Kent Stahly. Even Coach's wife remarked on how good it was to see "her boys" again.
The day culminated in a dinner ceremony and each inductee gave a tribute about their experience at Hamline. No one talked about winning, but each one talked about the wealth of love and learning outside the classroom at Hamline.
For Four years, Steve was a point-producing member of the Hamline Track and Field team which earned him four varsity letters. Steve's event was the pole vault and during his time at Hamline he set the school record for both the indoor and outdoor events. He also added numerous meet and conference records to his resume during that time. For his accomplishments, Steve was honored as a four time All-MIAC performer and awarded All-American status in 1979 and 1980 at the national indoor and outdoor meets.
Team-mate, fellow pole vaulter and and co-inductee David Wenberg '83 also publically recognized Steve at the Hall of Fame ceremony for teaching him how to break Steve's records. Steve was also inducted into the Hamline Hall of Fame several years ago with the 1980 Men's Track & Field Team.
Appropriately, Steve's Hall of Fame plaque will hang in the original field house and in the same corner where he used to pole vault.
Both girls have decided against going to Hamline --- It's too cold!
We saw Steve's dad who was just around the corner from our hotel in a rehab center recovering from a hip fracture and we even connected with the Senator and the Sister too.
The rest of Mike's clan even met us for an early breakfast before we headed back home. (I'm not sure if they really got up early to see us or because they were headed to the Packers' game.) Nevertheless, we enjoyed reminiscing and razzing together. I'm always amazed at the stories that surface when they get together.
October 21, 2005
Trying
South Carolina Repertory Company play brings young and old together
BY JACQUELYN LEWIS, The Island Packet
Published Friday, October 21, 2005
Memorizing lines, building sets and coordinating costumes are challenges any theater company faces when mounting a production.
But South Carolina Repertory Company had to overcome another set of obstacles even before it started rehearsals for the play "Trying," which opens Thursday at the company's theater on Beach City Road.
Hank Haskell, who runs South Carolina Repertory Company with his wife, Pat Haskell, said the theater group had to get special permission from playwright Joanna McClelland Glass to produce "Trying" on Hilton Head Island because the show is in such high demand, with 25 regional theater groups planning to present it this year. Not to mention that the Canadian script hadn't yet been published in the United States a few months ago, when the Haskells were auditioning actors for the show. With Glass' agent's permission, the Haskells had to download the entire 83-page script from the Internet.
Still, Haskell said, the effort it took to meet those challenges was worth it, because "Trying" is the perfect play to start off South Carolina Repertory Company's 2005-2006 season.
"This summer, we probably read 20 or 25 great plays, but we really stuck to our guns on this one," Haskell said of "Trying," which calls for two actors. "It will make you laugh; it will make you cry; you'll beg for more."
"Trying," which made its United States premiere in 2004 in Chicago, is set in the late 1960s. It tells the story of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's aging, irascible former attorney general Francis Biddle (J. Michael Craig), and the friendship he forges with his assistant, Sarah Schorr (Tracy Jo Jungbauer), despite the fact that she is 25 and Biddle is 81.
The play addresses issues of getting older, the generation gap and politics, through gentle comedy, said Tom Evans, who is directing the local production.
"It's a piece of history," said Evans, who has directed more than a dozen plays at South Carolina Repertory Company. "It has characters you can relate to because it's based on real people."
In fact, the character Schorr is based on playwright Glass herself, who spent a year as the real Biddle's assistant.
"We spent our months together 'trying' to negotiate and span our enormous differences of youth and age, of class and culture," Glass wrote of that year.
In the play, Biddle has to accept the fact that he's getting older and learn to accept Schorr's help, Evans said. As Biddle and Schorr find ways to relate to one another, they also forge a deep connection.
"They do fall in love," Evans said. "Not sexual love, but they become great friends. We see (Biddle) admit that he really needs (Schorr)."
Portraying the nuances of that relationship calls for very talented actors, Haskell said, so finding the right performers for the roles of Biddle and Schorr was imperative.
While actor Craig, of Greenville, S.C., only is in his 50s, both Haskell and Evans said they knew he would be the perfect performer to portray 81-year-old Biddle.
Haskell said Craig, who appeared as Mitch in South Carolina Repertory Company's 2004 production of "Four Beers" has a versatility that allows him to play almost any character.
And Craig, who has appeared in more than 150 plays across the country and in television commercials, said he's up for the challenge.
"You have to work from the outside in," he said.
Jungbauer, who is making her debut with South Carolina Repertory Company, said she was interested in playing Schorr because she was drawn to the play's message.
"There are some real universal truths in this," said Jungbauer, who lives in Alpharetta, Ga., and has apprenticed with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company and studied at The Shakespeare Institute in England. "I love the budding, growing relationship that develops (between Sarah and Biddle)."
Haskell said Hilton Head is an ideal place to stage "Trying," given that younger and older generations often find themselves forging the same kinds of friendships here.
"There are a lot of old people here, and there are a lot of young people," he said. "'Trying'" is something anyone can relate to."
For more information call 681-5194.
Correction: This article originally reported the wrong residence for actor J. Michael Craig. He lives in Greenville, S.C.
Contact Jacquelyn Lewis at 706-8125 or jlewis@islandpacket.com. To comment on this story, please go to www.islandpacket.com.
October 15, 2005
Tip of the day
The Lakeland volleyball season closed this weekend. In stark contrast to last year, this year's record was almost flawless.
LCA went into the final tournament as the #1 seed. Although the photos make it appear as though the tournament was won by just one player, it was a great team effort.
The fans also put forth a great deal of effort in the championship match as they cheered the team on to win 25-23, 24-25 and 15-14! WHEW!
October 10, 2005
Sky High
Height: 14,600 ft above solid ground
Avg Speed: 135 mph
Max Speed: 143 mph
Fear Factor: Only when I was pushed out of the plane
Pity Factor: The guy next to me was green and everyone teased him
Next Jump: ASAP
My new expensive hobby, skydiving. Six more jumps and I’ll be certified.
October 7, 2005
This is why
Surely you have heard poor Patrick whining on my blog from from time to time. (Like yesterday, for example.) He complains that he is always left out of all the fun and photos.
Well . . . . . . now maybe you'll understand why. Notice that he is not in MY boat.
Open at your own risk . . . . . . . 
Double click if you dare . . . . . . 
October 4, 2005
Ten year-old centerfold
From the October issue of The Water Skier, the official publication of the USA Water Ski Association. This was taken at Nationals, where the Lake City Skiers placed second.
Rachel is on the top right. She's only a few pages away from a feature article on Ron Scarpa, the National Barefoot champ for the 14th time!
That's twice this year that she's had her photo in a national magazine. Maybe Hollywood is closer than we think.