I had all but finished the video below, about the April 18th, 2007 Main Street Mile, some time ago… In the video please notice the quintessential Dave Herlocker moving the race finishers along at the finish line…
Dave Herlocker and Caroline Babylon keep the finish line moving at the annual Westminster, Maryland Main Street Mile on April 18, 2007.That’s Dave on the left in the blue pants, yellow shirt and green sleeves.
Carroll County Times photographer, Kyle Nosal, runs to get a photo…
Carrie Ann Knauer, Carroll County Times Staff Writer, covering the event…
Her article: “Road runners” appeared in the Thursday, April 19, 2007 edition of the Carroll County Times…
Westminster Police officer Tony Ott (gray shirt - center) kept everything moving smoothly throughout the event…
Mary Katherine Ham to Alicia Silverstone: Go Hunting
October 3rd, 2007
Although I have spent a large portion of my life as a vegetarian; as I grew older and life got particularly hectic, I gave it up – for now anyway.Who knows, tomorrow, I may go back.Whatever.
A number of years ago, as I was attempting to reason with an unreasonable person and losing miserably, a colleague said to me:
“You know what your problem is?”
“Ugh.”I really did not need advice at that particular moment; however, I prized his friendship and sheepishly asked: “What?”
“It's a dog eat dog world out there, and you're a vegetarian!"
We solved that by going out to a sub shop where I gave up the anorexic bliss of salads and voraciously scarfed down a cheese-steak sandwich.
It was a road to Damascus experience
I still lose miserably with folks who accept narcissistic fiction as fact, however, I am bigger now and I figure that if I am to be eaten alive, I might as well give folks a flavorful super-sized meal.
Then again, to be candid, I was never good at being a vegetarian.I never stopped eating animal crackers and every once and awhile at Moms, I’d dive into a steak – and I can rarely remember missing turkey at Thanksgiving.
I have a number of colleagues and some family members who are, at the moment, practicing vegetarians - and I respect that choice. Besides, I really like vegetables.Then there are folks who don’t like vegetables or are otherwise broccoli intolerant.To them I say, ya really ought to “give peas a chance.”
A member of my family, who is an avid vegetarian, recently gave some seafood a try.
Bold.
Writing for the Washington Post, Joel Achenbach says:
“Certain kinds of seafood, such as lobster, clams and crabs, are honorary forms of meat, but a small filet of a low-fat white fish should be viewed as essentially a vegetable. Raw oysters are manfood, as is any fish served with the head on and the mouth gaping in horror.
Me, I could live off of Dr. Pepper, coffee and grits.Hey, don’t knock the cooking with Dr. Pepper book.There are some great recipes in there.
I never tried the “vegan” approach.I often wondered how the term came about.When I was quite young I had a great deal of confusion over the term “vegetarian.”If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?
Mr. Achenbach calls to our attention a savior for vegans, who every once in awhile, go Jonesing for a milkshake – “soy cows.”
In the column he was initially singing the praises of his new “Fabulator 5000.”
What is a “Fabulator 5000?”I am so glad you asked.I was fascinated about this development since I am still using the Fabulator model No. 1953.
I’ll let Mr. Achenbach ‘splain:
“I love my new food printer, the Fabulator 5000, which makes the previous food printers look not just clunky but positively medieval. There's no more click-and-point nonsense on the screen, no more waiting five or six interminable minutes for the food to print. You just tell the Fab 5 what you want. The food comes out in about three or four seconds, complete with garnish and a complementary wine.”
Oh, the “soy cows?”Apparently Mr. Achenbach recently “took the kids … to Homewood Farm to see a good old-fashioned agricultural enterprise…”
“I got a look at the new soy cows, grazing in the large field just north of the orchard. The USDA apparently felt that soy milk could be produced much more efficiently if it came from cows made of soy. These cows are so green they nearly blend into the landscape. They say the soy milk is a lot better tasting (not as beany, somehow) than the stuff derived from plants, and the soy burgers are more tender. But you've probably read about how the soy cows dry up badly in drought conditions -- they literally wilt -- and even catch fire. Bored teenagers have been blamed for setting some of the cow fires.”
There is much to be appreciated by the vegetarian lifestyle; nevertheless my goal was to not be evangelical about it all.
But – and ya know there was going to be a “but” in here soon – I’ve never been fond of PETA’s Strindbergian gloom and bleakness approach to advocacy.
When I was a practicing vegetarian, invariably, some folks would suggest some linkage to me, a vegetarian, with PETA’s in-your-face humorless lactose intolerant militancy. An approach which often seems more oriented to being obnoxious and annoying instead of being compelling and persuasive to what is otherwise, a perfectly fine lifestyle, vegetarianism, for which PETA routinely does an injustice....
At a local government - social event, a local elected official’s wife was horrified that I was a vegetarian.“How can a big strapping former Marine be a vegetarian,” she gasped.
I solved that in quick order.She was a dog lover and the owner of a huge dog.I mean huge – about the size of a water buffalo.
I asked her if she had ever eaten dog.When I was in the Marines, a South Vietnamese ranger once cooked-up a mess of dog.
It tasted like chicken.
I suggested to my scowling friend that her St. Bernard could feed an entire village…And one wonders why I lost my last election?
Recently Alicia Silverstone did an ad for PETA that has garnered a great deal of attention.I can’t believe that it is winning over any converts to vegetarianism, but it has attracted attention to PETA.
Whether it is really the sort of attention that an advocacy organization wants is a bigger issue for which there is not right or wrong, it just isn’t my cup of tea.
Nevertheless, in age of so much strife and discord, I yearn for a time when peas will rule the planets, and love won’t be such a fuss.I long for the dawn of the age of asparagus.
Enter stage right, Mary Katherine Ham.Ms. Ham has done a spoof on the Ms. Silverstone ad that is a real crack-up.
Westminster High School Owls entrance on to Ruby Field
September 20th, 2007
My September 19th, 2007 Westminster Eagle column is the “rededication” of the “Ruby Field” sign under the scoreboard at the WestminsterHigh School football field right before the Westminster – Francis Scott Key football game on Friday, Sept. 7.
(See: 20070919 Part 1 of Herb Ruby and Ruby Field - Resetting a local gem to mark Ruby Field)
I had the pleasure to attend the “rededication.”
A gathering of friends and family of the late Coach Herb Ruby were in attendance.In the tradition of Coach Ruby it appears the sign rededication was the result of many folks working together as a team.
Over the roar of the pre-game excitement from the large crowd, the football team warming-up, the cheerleaders and the band practicing, my conversation with Carroll County Schools Superintendent Dr. Chuck Ecker and (my high school football coach,) Jim Head turned to the sign and the history of “Ruby Field.”
Just then the Westminster Owl football team made its entrance on to the field through the “fog” of a smoke machine.I captured this quick video of the entrance – and the “Ruby Field” sign.
And: 20070919 Part 1 of Herb Ruby and Ruby Field - Resetting a local gem to mark Ruby Field
Westminster Eagle sports writer wrote:
Thomas' run clinches season-opening victory
They gained only five yards of total offense in the first half and made only seven first downs the entire game.
Their best player was limited to less than two yards per carry, and they didn't complete a single pass during the warm, muggy night.
Yet somehow, Francis Scott Key found a way to win.
The Eagles utilized a standout defense that limited Westminster to just 53 yards on the ground and big plays from two unlikely heroes to record a 14-9 win over the host Westminster Owls in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
While the Westminster defense bottled up last year's county rushing leader Brad Martz for most of the contest, the Eagles got game-changing plays from two less heralded running backs.
Dustin Ebaugh raced 22 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and David Thomas added the clinching score on a 55-yard run with just over two minutes remaining.
"Everybody knows about Brad, but we also have other playmakers," said Key's second-year head coach Bill Hyson. "Dustin came close to popping some long runs and David had a nice one for the touchdown. Along with Tyler Bridges, they're going to give Brad some opportunities down the road, because defenses will have to start respecting them, too."
The win enabled defending county champion Key to take an early lead in the county race.
The Eagles host a formidable North Carroll team this Friday, while Westminster travels to South Carroll to continue the county's oldest rivalry.
Key gained just five total yards in the first half, as Westminster clearly won the battle at the line of scrimmage. Martz, who led the county with 1,443 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns a year ago, had seven carries for minus-8 yards in the opening half.
The Owls picked up nine first downs to just one for the Eagles, but Westminster could not convert opportunities into points. On their opening drive, the Owls kept the ball for 13 plays but did not score. On Westminster's next possession, a 10-play march resulted in the only points of the first half, as Tom Magrogan booted a 31-yard field goal that gave the Owls a 3-0 lead at the break.
"How many opportunities did we have that we didn't take advantage of in the first half?," said Westminster head coach Brad Wilson, who watched the Owls lose their first season opener in his four years at the helm. "We made young mistakes and just didn't finish."
Francis Scott Key scored on its first possession of the second half. After Thomas returned a Bobby Krauk punt to the Westminster 36-yard line, the Eagles needed just five plays to reach the end zone. Ebaugh followed the blocking of Martz and dashed for a 22-yard touchdown to put Francis Scott Key ahead for good with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
The teams picked up a combined three first downs on the next nine series, as the defenses dominated into the latter stages of the fourth quarter.
Krauk sailed a 55-yard punt past Thomas that was downed at the Eagle 37, and Martz moved Key to midfield with a 13-yard burst up the middle. After a delay of game penalty, Thomas put the game away for the Eagles.
The senior running back moved through a sizable hole then cut to the left sideline and outraced two Westminster defenders for a 55-yard touchdown that gave Key a 14-3 advantage with 2:05 remaining in the game.
"I can't say enough about the blocking of our line," said Thomas, who led all rushers with 74 yards on seven carries. "We didn't change our blocking schemes (in the second half). We just came out and played hard."
Westminster found new life on its next offensive play.
Senior running back Hunter Smith took a short screen pass from sophomore quarterback Andy Gilford and raced 73 yards down the right sideline for the Owls' only touchdown of the night with 1:45 remaining.
Smith was stopped short on the two-point conversion try, but a well-placed onside kick by junior John Hajnos was recovered by Westminster at the Key 49.
The Eagles' defense smothered Westminster on its final offensive series to preserve the win, as Key linebackers David Groomes and Dean Seal sacked Gilford on consecutive plays to end the game.
"I was proud of their effort," Hyson said of his defense, which yielded just 189 total yards. "We were fortunate to be down only 3-0 (at half-time) with the short field that we were playing on."
Smith, who was the only Owl back to run with the ball, accounted for most of Westminster's offensive output.
A former wide receiver who was moved to running back after senior Jesse Astlin suffered a season-ending injury in a late August scrimmage, Smith gained 68 yards on 20 carries and also caught five passes for 75 yards.
In his first start, Gilford completed 16 of 33 passes for 136 yards and one score. Junior linebacker Brett Baer led the Owl defensive effort, recording a game-high nine tackles while also playing a strong game on the offensive line.
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WestminsterHigh School – Francis Scott Key football game at Ruby Field on Friday, Sept. 7 in Carroll County Maryland. www.kevindayhoff.net
Francis Scott Key vs Westminster High Game Video Clips
September 7, 2007
I took three quick videos at the Westminster – Francis Scott Key football game on Friday, Sept. 7 in Carroll County Maryland.
I had the pleasure to attend the “rededication” of the “Ruby Field” sign under the scoreboard at the WestminsterHigh School football field right before the Westminster – Francis Scott Key football game on Friday, Sept. 7.
After the rededication ceremonies, I stayed to watch some of the game and took several short videos…
“The Eagles utilized a standout defense that limited Westminster to just 53 yards on the ground and big plays from two unlikely heroes to record a 14-9 win over the host Westminster Owls in the season opener for both teams Friday night.”
This video clip portrays the Westminster Municipal Band playing a portion of the Marine Hymn, “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli” at this year’s annual Belle Grove Square summer concert on August 26th, 2007 – in Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland USA.
According to an article, “The Marines' Hymn,” on the U.S.M.C. Band website, http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/: “The author of the words to the hymn is unknown.”
“The music to the hymn is believed to have originated in the comic opera Geneviéve de Brabant composed by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Originally written as a two-act opera in 1859, Offenbach revised the work, expanding it to three acts in 1867. This revised version included the song “Couplets des Deux Hommes d’Armes” and is the musical source of The Marines’ Hymn.”
“From the Halls of Montezuma” refers to the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War.
“The Shores of Tripoli” refers to actions during the First Barbary War and the Battle of Derne.
In the top picture, the first cars travel freely on West Green Street in Westminster, minutes after it was reopened early Friday evening, December 15th, 2006.
Westminster Street Department workers (LtoR) Wayne Reifsnider, Danny Schaffer, Larry Simpson and Alan Miller wrap-up the finishing touches on the crosswalk at Cover Lane and West Green Street just before the first phase of the $2.2 million project reopened December 15th, 2006 just as Westminster Mayor Tom Ferguson promised.
