It was one of those typical Florida afternoons when the sun had completed its work of heating the air to unbearable heights, opposing winds met from the East and the West, cloud tops piled into towers of purple gray and the first rumble of thunder could be heard getting closer and more ominous. I sat on hard bleachers with a group of anxious moms, watching my nine year old catcher and two teams of players hold their positions on the soft ball field as two coaches stood face-to-face, locked in a time-out match; no one would budge. Neither coach wanted to call the tournament game. The teams were tied.
A bolt of lightening struck close by, and I just knew the coaches would give up their stand off and call the game. The short stop squealed with fright and Nikky, my tough catcher, looked up at the sky and then at me with fear in her eyes. She knew it was not a good situation at nine years old. Why wasn't anyone doing anything about it? I was afraid to sit in the stands any longer. How could I expect my daughter to stay on the field. I jumped up from my spot, went to the chain link gate, pushed it opened and walked out on the field to Nik and very quietly said, "Come on, Nikky, we're going home." She looked at her coach for his approval, but the coaches were not watching the girls. They were still in a heated debate. Other girls on the field started walking towards me, and other mom's left the bleachers and came through the gate to take their child off the dangerous field. The right fielder, coming in after the others, looked at Nik and asked, "What's going on?" Nikky yelled back, " My mom just called the game!"
That's why I'm running for school board. I care about the players in the field, and I'm tired of bickering coaches who have taken their eyes off the kids.
Linda Oliverio
A bolt of lightening struck close by, and I just knew the coaches would give up their stand off and call the game. The short stop squealed with fright and Nikky, my tough catcher, looked up at the sky and then at me with fear in her eyes. She knew it was not a good situation at nine years old. Why wasn't anyone doing anything about it? I was afraid to sit in the stands any longer. How could I expect my daughter to stay on the field. I jumped up from my spot, went to the chain link gate, pushed it opened and walked out on the field to Nik and very quietly said, "Come on, Nikky, we're going home." She looked at her coach for his approval, but the coaches were not watching the girls. They were still in a heated debate. Other girls on the field started walking towards me, and other mom's left the bleachers and came through the gate to take their child off the dangerous field. The right fielder, coming in after the others, looked at Nik and asked, "What's going on?" Nikky yelled back, " My mom just called the game!"
That's why I'm running for school board. I care about the players in the field, and I'm tired of bickering coaches who have taken their eyes off the kids.
Linda Oliverio
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