eyeballs & lady sportswriters

nothing to do with wv life--only two remarkable things i need to put down in words so as not to forget.

first things first: mary garber is fascinating! she's one of the first female sportswriters, and for a long time was the only one to cover acc sports. she also began reporting on winston-salem state and black high schools in the forsyth county area--pretty unheard of in the jim crow south, especially for a woman. there's a series of oral history interviews with her, which are just great--and a very welcome distraction from grad apps.

also: i've been reading from set shot to slam dunk, a collection of oral histories from basketball players in the early years of the nba, which was formed in 1949 with the merger of the basketball association of america (baa) & the national basketball league (nbl). so good! lots of great moments, but none as jaw-dropping (and unrelated) as the following quote from slater martin, who played with george mikan for the lakers in the 5os:

"When I first came into the league I was wearing contact lenses....I've been wearing them for thirty-seven years. In those days you wore big ones. Put water in them. Got a bubble in them, you couldn't see. You'd tell the referee, "Hey, let me change them," and he said, "Get the hell out of here and play." They didn't know what they were. You couldn't take a time-out. So when they had the time-out, I'd change them. I never lost them. They were so big they covered the whole eyeball. Took a mold of your eye; put clay in your eye, then molded it. Not like the little ones."

wow. talk about the sacrifices of our forefathers, eh, hansbrough?

canning: now with more blisters!

since last year's foray went so well, i decided, why not can something far more onerous, when i have neither the time nor the equipment to do so? typical.

this week has been crazy, what with preparation for the roadkill cook-off (which needs an explanation, later). still, i've been up to my eyeballs in apples for the last two nights, and have a refrigerator full of homemade applesauce to prove it. (SO full! applesauce in pitchers and pots and tupperware!)

some of it (eg, the pink applesauce!--what variety of apple produced this effect, i have no idea) will be kept as applesauce--the rest is going to, magically, with sugar & heat & time, become apple butter! baby brother will be getting a lot for christmas (since he, like most people, has no idea this blog exists, i think the secret is safe).

why all the trouble for apple butter and applesauce? no idea. i've never really eaten apple butter--as children, my brother loved it, while i was convinced he was eating poop on toast. i have tasted it to dispel the notion, but still prefer eggs on my toast as opposed to mass quantities of sugar. still, there's something extremely satisfying about putting food by--knowing that you've done everything from picking the fruit to preserving it.

still--as soon as the canning's done and a lone apple pie is baked, i'll be happy to not see another apple until spring!

cars

what a week. after driving up to pittsburgh, flying to chicago for a few days, and driving allllllll the way back to nc, my poor beloved car has bitten the dust. rip mazda--gone but not forgotten. i'll miss you, baby. i was really excited about our upcoming tenth anniversary, which would mark the single longest commitment that i've ever made to...well, anything.

owing to these unfortunate circumstances, my sweet/kind/loving/oh-so-generous parents had a surprise waiting upon my return from hopscotch last night...a station wagon!!!!! ten years ago, i would NOT have been amused, but wv has taught me that the following characteristics are the only thing that matter in a car:

--can you sleep in the back of it?

--comfortably?

--will it slide off the road?

yep, that's it. and thus, it appears i'm one step closer to owning the wv fantasy dream car: a pickup truck with a camper top & mattress in back. so sexy!

swoon.

and, in the spirit of 'business in front, party in back', i should mention that my amazingly rad hairdresser gave me a mullet this week. quite posh, but a mullet no less. bring on the hall & oates halloween!