The Unofficial End of Summer is Here

Random thoughts and notes on the final day of August which in itself is a topic of discussion.

Ran into several people on the beach Sunday who like me were trying to squeeze the last bits of what has been a tremendous summer. Yes I know how great September is but for me and most others the routine changes dramatically so this is really it for the summer season as we know it.

Teachers and other staff members in many school districts are back on the job tomorrow and students will follow in a day or so. Of course you know my take and that is school should not begin until after Labor Day, especially in a tourism-dominated area like we live in.

If you’re like me and you watched any of the Little League World Series Championship game Sunday it was hard not to go back in time and think of that August day when on the same field a team from the Toms River East Little League won it all by beating a team from Japan. In that game 12-year old Todd Frazier hit his fourth home run of the World Series and got the final out on the mound as Toms River prevailed 12-9. Saturday was the 17th anniversary of that very memorable moment and now 29-year old All-Star Todd Frazier of the Reds celebrated by hitting a home run in Milwaukee as Cincinnati won by a score of,you guessed it, 12-9. As I told Todd’s mother Joan on the beach Sunday, he does have a flair for the dramatic.

Flipping dials on the TV Sunday and came across beach volleyball. It was the AVP Kingston Chicago Open. There on the sand playing in the finals was Ryan Doherty, the 7’ former Toms River East baseball and basketball player. Doherty and his partner John Mayer were the top seeds but lost in the finals and while disappointing continued what has been an amazing journey for the 31-year old who has become one of the top players in the country.

After graduating from East, Doherty had an outstanding career as a relief pitcher at Notre Dame and later spent three years in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Following his release he took up volleyball and moved to southern California where he turned pro in 2010 and has steadily moved up in the rankings.

Movie alert. Saw “No Escape” over the weekend starring Owen Wilson and while I didn’t think it was that bad my wife thinks the name is appropriate if you want to walk out and your husband says no. I’ll leave it at that but feel free to wait for it to come out on demand.