Danny January: Blog

I’m just finishing up Jack Pierce’s Spring semester story and will publish it shortly after Something Fishy is done.

When I started this, I did it to practice writing dialog but it has morphed. First of all, I didn’t expect a lot of people to like it and am surprised I even wrote Summertime, let alone Fishy. A bit of reminiscing and nostalgia have sort of taken over. I’ve listened to a lot of music I hadn’t heard in years. I’ve also been to the batting cage and done a lot more swimming than I had. A five-mile ocean swim is a lot farther than it used to be, so I only swam two. I’m not as fast as I used to be and a sports massage isn’t just nice, it’s necessary at my age.

I’ve done more riding than Jack Pierce does but I have the opportunity so, why not? Years ago, on my first trip to Africa, I was outnumbered by women riders ten to one. I hadn’t really thought about it before, and the numbers haven’t changed over the years. I recently went into a tack shop on Daniel Island – Bits and Pieces. I asked the proprietor what percentage of their customers were men. She asked if I was going to buy something for myself. I said ‘no’ and she said it’s pretty close to 100% women, then, but if I bought something I’d dramatically change that. Why is that? Why are there a lot more women equestrians than men? There are plenty of men that ride in places like Texas or Montana, but they’re working cowboys and that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about recreational riders.
I did some research and the answer is surprising and fascinating.

I’ll give you a chance to guess before I post the answer. The change started about 100 years ago. Send me an email if you think you know.

I've received a lot of great responses and feedback from my stories. I've asked for it and you responded. Here's a sampling:

The school newspaper - One reader noticed I said we didn't have one and later we did. I corrected that to say it was published inconsistently, which is more accurate.

Corpulent is a nine letter word. Sometimes, I miss the obvious. Corrected.

I spelled Mrs. Diedrich's name incorrectly throughout Summertime and the Living is Easy. I corrected that.

Rum is not the national drink of Puerto Rick. It is, however, the national drink of Puerto Rico.

A few others:

I have used several restaurants that are currently open rather than those that were open at the time and have since closed. Some of my readers have visited Charleston and gone to locations I've mentioned. Rather than have them look for a great restaurant that no longer exists, I've used the name of one that does.

Loran C was used rather than GPS at the time of these stories. I used GPS rather than Loran C since everyone knows what it is.

Rarely have I used song or album titles outside their proper time. Coney Island by Van Morrison is a rare exception. It fit too well not to use it.

I do my best and have a couple of great editors but readers help and I appreciate it. If you find an error, send me an email with the story title, chapter # and the error and I'll address it.

Thanks for the input and feedback.

As I write for the Jack Pierce universe, I realize that I probably have some younger readers that lack context or older readers who have forgotten. Here’s a refresher, or introduction in no particular order:

In 1982:
Video-taping athletic efforts to analyze them was pretty new. Instant replay for NFL games wouldn’t begin until around 1986.

Sports massage wasn’t common. By the late 80s, it was common to have a massage booth at the end of a triathlon. Those were great.

We didn’t have YouTube or Google. A lot of the techniques we were experimenting with came from word of mouth, watching sports on TV, or reading about them in a book or magazine.

Jim Galloway’s book, “On Running” hadn’t been published yet. It was my training Bible for years.

Aluminum baseball bats were relatively new. Some guys loved them, but most of the guys I played with hated them. “Ping” isn’t nearly as satisfying as “Crack” when you hit a ball solidly. To this day, I still take my own wood bat to the cage.

Shoes have changed a lot since then. In 1982, you could buy gel inserts for your new shoes but I don’t think they became a standard part of shoes for quite some time. If I remember correctly, Sorbothane was the brand.

The book “Aerobics” by Kenneth Cooper was published in the 60s (1962, I think) but until Jane Fonda popularized the term in 1982 or so, no one cared.

The exercise physiology and dietary information “Dr. Legare” provided was absolute cutting edge. The typical high school kid didn’t have access to the wealth of information he provided. For me, this is the most important thing on this list.

SAT testing has changed several times over the years.

Cell phones were a long way off.

Everyone used maps and a Thomas Guide was essential. We all had them in our cars.

Shopping malls were popular.

Gas was about $1.20 a gallon

We had the best music.

I just posted a new chapter to Something Fishy and it really got the nostalgia going for me. I find that, as often as not, it's music that gets me in a nostalgic mood. For this chapter, that was definitely the case. I found myself listening to an album I hadn't heard in a long time. Too long.

On top of that, there has been some great swimming competition at the Olympics this year.

Katie Ledecky is a fish.

It's been raining for nearly a week here in Chucktown. It might sound funny, but it's tough to get a good swim workout in when that happens. Lightning nearby closes the pools and drives people indoors to train. With the end of the triathlon season upon us, no one wants to lose a day of training so the Aquatic center is packed.

Nearing the end of summer is a sad time. It will be even sadder if the Yellow Jackets don't do better on defense this year.

If you're like me, you love the Olympics. Everyone has their favorites. I'm sad the Baseball is not part of the Olympics this year and hope to see it back when it goes to LA in 2028. The swimming has been amazing, like always.
It's almost impossible to describe just how much time and effort goes into becoming a world class athlete in any sport. I understand that better with sports I've participated in. At one time, the idea of swimming at the college level, with hopes of competing on the Olympic stage, captured my imagination, I have no regrets in not pursuing that. You have to be single-minded in your pursuit of excellence.
I'll be watching the women's 1500 meter finals on Wednesday to see if Katie Ledecky can do it one more time. What an amazing ambassador for the sport.