Bits & Pieces

By Kim J. Harmon

I remember watching that ball explode off her bat in the 12-0 season-opening win over Weston and thinking, ‘Wow, this is going to be great!’

Freshman Ashley Ferris – who was so strong in middle school and travel softball – made her presence known right away at Newtown High School with a triple. She finished the season with three of them (to go along with three doubles, a homer, and a team-high 16 runs batted in) and was named All-SWC Honorable Mention.

But she wasn’t on my list.

I blamed the gaffe on SWC commissioner Norm Winnerman, but it was probably my mistake (I don’t have the email to confirm this, but it was no doubt my bad). I mean, I should have been looking for her name and should have expressed some measure of surprise for having not found it.

A little mistake, but nevertheless it certainly won’t be the last time Ashley Ferris will receive recognition for her prowess on the softball field.

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In case you were unaware, that shiny orange thing in the sky is the sun.

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Whitney Farms Golf Club looked to be in spectacular shape for the Jack Friel Memorial/Newtown Scholarship Association Tournament on Monday. One of the benefits, I suppose, of having a lot of moisture around.

Which reminds me of a funny story.

My brother was all set to play in one of those benefit scramble tournaments at the Watertown Country Club last week and – oddly enough – it was on a day when the sun appeared for the first time in two weeks.

But the tournament was canceled, anyway.

Seems that all the rain had drenched the course so badly that no carts were being allowed out and no one is going to want to walk 18 holes on the Watertown Country Club (which has some hills that go straight up).

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So there I am, standing on the 17th tee at Hawks Landing in Plainville and looking out (a little nervously) at the fairway about 220 yards away. It lies just beyond a small lake and I’m going to have to carry all of that 220 just to put my ball in play.

Normally, there would be no chance.

But I have a new (to me) driver.

And I haul off and whack that ball 250 yards to a nice flat landing area. It was the single best drive of my life and I celebrated by hooking the next ball into the ball, chunking the next two shots, hitting a poor chip to the green and then two-putting for an eight.

That’s golf.

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I don’t know why, but I find it really strange heading back to my old high school for an athletic event.

A few years ago, I was up at Kennedy High School in Waterbury for an Newtown Age Group swim meet and Monday I was up there for the Newtown Heat U14 travel softball game. The funny thing is (and this is typical Waterbury), it has been 23 years since I left those not-so hallowed halls and less than historic grounds and NOTHING is different.

My daughter was in a play last summer and the company rehearsed in the JFK auditorium. The first thing I noticed was the same worn carpet, the same seat with the same beat up upholstery, and the overhead clock that displayed the same time it displayed when I graduated back in June of 1984.

Ah, Waterbury.