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The Day I Hit A Home Run Blog

• Stomping Their Feet at Orange Elementary
  Orange Elementary is incorporated within the Waterloo Public Schools. And yet what surprised me when I drove up to the school was the fact that it was in a rural setting. The school was built in 1914 and once housed high school students.
  
  Barbara Dierksen was my host and she was very excited - excited for her students who hadn't met a real live author until today. The gym was large and its age reminded me of the gym in "Hoosiers". The students filed in and sat in the bleachers. One-half of the entire gym was full with kindergartners having to sit on the floor.
  
  Because I was speaking to K-5, I started out addressing the younger students and the older students sat quietly until I finally called on them. During the 60-40 drill where my baseball infielders do what I call "happy toes" the whole audience got involved - stomping their feet on the wooden bleachers. The stomping sound echoed throughout the enclosed gym and I could feel my chest pounding from the loud banging noise.
  
  But then when I raised my hand to continue the skit the students politely stopped. We had a great time and Mrs. Dierksen was quite pleased with the level of enthusiasm.
  
  As I was about to leave two students asked if I wouldn't mind shaking their hands. Of course I was happy to extend my hand. As I walked out to my car, I overheard one student say to the other, "I'll never wash this hand again."
• Tip Top - Ar-We-Va
  Today's journey was traveling on I-30W (Lincoln Highway) to Arcadia. Arcadia was once named Tip Top because a boulder on a peak just outside the small town that was placed by John Minchen is the dividing line between how the waters flow east and west and into which river. All waters west of the boulder flow into the Missouri River - the largest river in the United States. All waters east of the boulder flow into the Mississippi River.
  
  I was to speak to three schools in Arcadia, Westside, and Vail and thus the name of the school district is Ar-We-Va. Rosemary Cameron was my guide and did an excellent job of getting students interested in the book. The students dressed in Little League uniforms and several teachers dressed in their baseball/softball uniforms. It made the shadow baseball skit that much more authentic and we certainly had ourselves a fun time.
  
  What was amazing to me was the day before I spoke in a gym with hundreds of students overfilling half court. And today I was speaking to groups of 40 to 60 students. A student's gift holds no boundaries. It doesn't matter if a student is born into a rich family, financially strapped family, or the student attends a small farming community school or a thriving city school numbering students in the thousands. Each and every child is born with a special gift no matter what his/her situation is.
  
  Rosemary suggested I eat at Dem Beanies Coffee House on Main Street in Arcadia. It was a great suggestion. For 6.25 I was offered two pork loin chops, fresh coleslaw, a heaping of mixed carrots/peas/beans, and steamed red potatoes. Ann Lander, the owner, sat down and talked to me. She said she had a story to tell about living out dreams. When she turned 18 and graduated from high school in Wausau, Wisconsin she purchased a one-way airline ticket to Hawaii and lived there until she met her husband who was in the Air Force. After he retired they moved to his home town in Arcadia.
  
  Before leaving the diner, Ann offered me a piece of Shirley's cream cheese raisin pie and said that Shirley was the best pie maker in the state and was going to prove it by entering Shirley's pie in the state fair. After sampling the yummy filling I also became a believer.
  
  After my visit, I stopped at Minchen's boulder and on this particular rainy day I have to admit my loyalty was tilting slightly westward toward Tip Top.
• Take Me Out to the Ballgame at Jordan Creek
  Jordan Creek Elementary is located off I-35 and George Mills Civic Parkway in West Des Moines. George "Lefty" Mills who the parkway was named after was an honored chief political writer for the "Register" for nearly 30 years. He was also a pitcher in Marshalltown where the nickname stuck, and he got his start as a reporter traveling across Iowa writing about the places he visited. In many ways this blog can be considered a tribute to this well-respected reporter.
  
  Jordan Creek Elementary was opened in 1992 and is the largest elementary school in the district with 770 students from PK-6.
  
  I was scheduled to speak to grades 4-6. Betty Anderson, who had scheduled the event greeted me at the door. She said that the students were very excited to hear me speak and she, too, couldn't wait. She remarked, "You will find these students some of the best kids you'll ever want to meet."
  
  Mrs. Anderson's words were comforting knowing that I had a busy schedule speaking this week.
  
  What caught my immediate attention when I walked past the office were the parakeets housed in this elaborate habitat. It certainly was soothing watching the colorful birds frolicking without a care in the world.
  
  Betty said that the students had a surprise for me. A piano was rolled into the gymnasium and a group of students gathered around their music teacher with big smiles plastered across their faces. Soon, half the gym was completely filled with eager students. And then after the assistant principal introduced me, the choir sang: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"... in perfect pitch. We then joined in song for the second verse as a collective group. It was such an inspirational tribute that I became energized wanting to give these students all the energy I had left to give.
  
  Mrs. Anderson was correct. The level of enthusiasm in the gym was second to none. No matter what I did with the students who volunteered the audience cheered. The student who won the screaming contest cowered to his knees as he gave us his thunderous scream. When I offered my actor the X Games hat the students clapped in praise. The students even clapped when I showed them Erin's Team USA uniform.
  
  I left Jordan Creek Elementarywith a lump in my throat because I was deeply touched by the students' kindness and deep appreciation. These young adults most certainly believed in dreams and were busy pursuing them.
  
  When all we hear about in the news is how our children all falling behind the rest of the world in terms of educational performance, I suggest news commentators like Katie Couric of "CBS Evening" news and Barbara Walters of the "View" offer their viewers hope by touring Jordan Creek Elementary in West Des Moines, Iowa. I was glad I had had the opportunity to speak to these bright, young minds.
  
  Jordan Creek teachers/students you have inspired me. "For it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ballgame."
  
  Students - keep swinging away to your future glory.
• The Sky is the Limit at Indian Hills Junior High
  It was refreshing to speak to the students at Indian Hills, a middle school located in West Des Moines School district. Before I was to speak in the auditorium two band students set the stage lighting and the speaker system to my specific needs. The students were very thoughtful and considerate.
  
  My host was Lindsey Aikin. She was so excited about the Principal Park book that she went out of her way by physically bringing several students to one of my Waukee speaking engagements to convince me to speak to her students. I spoke to the seventh grade group on the day they were to attend an Iowa Cubs game, so naturally they were pumped for baseball. Their enthusiasm and zest gave me the energy to stage an exciting presentation. We had some fine screamers and the volunteers I had called on just loved to perform on stage.
  
  After my presentation the students asked me questions like: "What is my favorite pet?""Is it hard to get a book published?" And "Is the story about Creeper and the glass eye real?"
  
  Ms. Aikin took several pictures of me with the students and I was then asked to autograph books. Many of the students were interested in music, soccer, basketball, and hanging out with friends. I reassured the students that although this book was about baseball they'd enjoy it because this was a book about many of the same adventures they might have had like Fuji and my goal was to get them to start thinking about their own personal dreams - and their dream didn't have to be about baseball for them to enjoy reading the book.
  
  Ms. Aikin is very passionate about teaching and her enthusiasm for the book and reading is why well over half of the students she mentors had purchased the Principal Park book. Ms Aikin enjoyed my visit and asked if I wouldn't mind making this an annual event.
  
  I have to admit that I'd found a home at Indian Hills.
• Battle-tested in Fort Dodge
  Fort Dodge is a blue-collar community and is located a few miles from US 20 approximately 1.5 hours northwest of Des Moines. Fort Dodge is known for its Gypsum which is quarried and manufactured into wallboard. Fort Dodge produces 75% of all of Iowa's Gypsum and the mineral is one of the most pure in the world. At one time the city was inhabited by 30,000 citizens however with factories moving over