It was a great sunny day at Santa Monica beach on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. Perfect for a few competitive rounds of Over-the-Line. No umpires. Keep your own scores. Few rules and a lot of latitude made for a fun day in the sand.
Rick Denning started the event with some nice words about 9/11 and for our old friend and mentor, Lane Kemper, who passed on 9/12. Sure the turnout was smaller than last year – but it was still a lot of fun. After all, you get to pick your team of three to five players, whoever they are, wherever they work. You get to name them whatever you want and wear whatever uniform (crazy is encouraged) you want. The only offensive skill required is the ability to hit a softly pitched softball over one line and between two others. The only defensive skill required is the ability to move a few steps and catch, with your bare hands, a not-so-softly hit, not-so-soft ball.
There was a good mix of both active and retired members in attendance. Retirees John White and Tom Czubek came out to just join in the fun. Retired Mike Deaken took time to pick up and deliver the food –the sandwiches were donated by Subway and the drinks were donated by Coca Cola. And once again, Santa Monica Beach Maintenance took care of us by preparing the beach for play.
As the day wore on, two teams emerged as the finalists. They were the “Bintang Ballerz” (Travis Foellmer, Casey Glynn, Trevor Insley, Greg Felix, Travis Rice) and the “Slater Slayers” (Cory Darrigo, Chad Corona, Bobby Hays, Clark Hills). In the end, the Bintang Ballerz came out on top and took home the big trophy.
I hope you enjoy the photos here, but there are some others we are unable to show due to their mature content. So if you want the full and uncensored experience, make plans to join us next year for some camaraderie and fun extra-curricular activities. Thanks to all the players that showed up to support the event and also raise a few bucks for the Widows, Orphans and Disabled Firemen’s Fund.
By Bill Bringas, Engineer FS 23
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View photos from this event by clicking here.
