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Twelve is the new sixteen
By Kevin Kane
kkane@ss-times.com
The Olympics are behind us, but the controversy isn’t.
The events are over, the scores tallied and the medals awarded, but the dispute over the real age of the Chinese female gymnasts is far from settled. In addition to multiple individual medals, the Chinese women won team gold for the first time ever behind a group of talented, but suspiciously young, gymnasts.
The Chinese government says these young women are 16 — the minimum age required for competition — but proving otherwise would mean China’s disqualification and a gold medal for Team USA. So with Michael Phelps out of the pool, this is what we’re focusing on now.
To shut us up, the International Olympic Committee and International Gymnastics Federation are conducting an investigation into the matter, reexamining the same information China originally provided. So far, the IOC has stated that it is still convinced that the gymnasts are 16 because their government-issued passports and identification cards say so.
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Not-so-happily playing the pack mule
Many times in the last few years, I have been my son’s pack mule. When he moved from home to the college dorm, I tearfully matched his socks, folded his favorite T shirts and stacked his treasured CDs.
“It breaks my heart to move your things from your bedroom,” I sobbed. “But it’s time for you to grow up and leave the nest.”
When he moved from the dorm to an apartment a couple of years later, I rallied again.
“Now, you’re building your first beginning,” I sniffed.
This time, we collected different pieces of hand-me-down furniture from an assortment of friends.
By the end of the day, the truck bed was full of enough stuff to start my kid’s first official bachelor pad.
Most of the time, while I was playing pack mule, I must admit that I was also yelling.
(Those days of sniffing and sobbing were long gone by the second pack mule calling.)
I was yelling about the fact that my son has always lived on the third or fourth floor of not-so-wonderful apartment complexes.
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Play Clothes aren’t for giving speeches — my mom said so
A reader came up after a speech the other day and seemed disappointed in the way I looked. This is nothing new for me. I feel that way every time I glance in a mirror.
Her complaint, however, took me completely surprise.
“You’re too clean,” she said. “I expected you to come here in a t-shirt and jeans and boots with a do-rag on your head.”
Well. That was a new one on me. I’ve been called lots of things in my life, but to my recollection, this was the first time “too clean” ever entered the picture.
I guess I should explain that I was wearing one of what Jethro Bodine might have called his Fancy Speakin’ Suit. That is, I had on a charcoal suit with a nice crisp shirt and a perfectly knotted necktie. On my head was a Panama hat and my shoes were my all-time favorites, black and white spectators. Read the rest of this entry »
I was clean. I was too clean.
Locals complete basic training
Army National Guard Pvt. Jasson C. Oudin has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches and field training exercises.
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Flipping isn’t easy
MAKING MONEY IN REAL ESTATE
With so many TV networks introducing viewers to the process of flipping houses, more investment seekers are putting their money into fixer-uppers, hoping to quickly remodel and resell them for a fast profit. But Dan Moriarty said simply jumping into such ventures is very risky.
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Swim team offers plenty of preparation
The Olympics may have closed, but Michael Phelps mania will probably stretch a few months longer, and swim coaches on the south side are expecting a larger than usual turnout for their teams this school year. Perry’s Southside Swimming Tsunami is preparing for swim season with swim school and stroke clinics.
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The couple that crashes together
Some families go camping, some hit the theaters and some just sit all night together in front of the television. Tony and Melissa Adams have a different idea of family togetherness. They like to spend the night in the garage, welding and hammering on their demolition derby cars.
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Dispatches
Five Bargain Stocks -
Looking for a great investment? If you are following the long-term investor’s time-proven strategy of starting with a small position and then adding more each month by dollar-cost averaging, these five stocks may just be for you, according to Jim Jubak of MSN Money: General Cable (BGC), McDonald’s (MCD), Proctor and Gamble (PG), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and Toyota Motor (TM). In case you’re wondering, in dollar-cost averaging, you buy the same dollar amount of a stock each month. That means you buy fewer shares when the price per share is high and more when it’s low. Read the rest of this entry »
- moneycentral.msn.com
5 ways to take control of your expenses
The economy’s recent rollercoaster ride may make you feel like shouting, “I want to get off!” But while you can no more seize control of the national economy than you can exit a rollercoaster car mid-way through the ride, it is possible to take control of your personal economic situation.
“In the face of national economic uncertainties, getting a handle on your own personal finances can be both financially and emotionally empowering,” said Stephen Semprevivo, president of LowerMyBills.com. Read the rest of this entry »