Menifee Valley Little League Closing Ceremonies

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, popcorn, peanuts, and cracker jacks, are all iconic symbols of the United States of America. They are so ingrained into our culture that I didn't even have to specifically mention the word baseball for you to understand what I was talking about. 

Like so many kids out there I played baseball as a kid. I played at church, at school, and even on a Pony baseball team for a few years. There were some great times I had doing it too. I learned to catch, throw, steal bases, but most of all I learned that my future was not in athletics. Don't get me wrong, I know my way around a field and could probably hold my own in a friendly neighborhood game. However if my family's livelihood depended on it we would be eating a lot of hamburger helper. Still I look back on those years and experiences with extreme fondness. This weekend another generation of youngsters got to celebrate making another season of memories too.

A mother and son play catch before the ceremony

This was the scene at 8:30 this Saturday morning as families gathered to celebrate and acknowledge achievements made throughout the season. As I walked around, people greeted me with smiles and waves. I saw families arriving with ice chests, and barbecue grills ready for a fun summer's day. There was even a bounce house and obstacle course for the kids, courtesy of ABC Bounce Co.

As the MVLL called the ceremonies to order. parents and players lined up in the outfield and faced a table laden with trophies. Everone turned towards the flag and recited the pledge of allegiance, and then gave their traditional promise: "Trust in God, Love my Country. I'll play fair and strive to win, but win or lose I will always do my best." followed by a rousing cry of, "PLAY BALL!" Many awards were given that day. While all were significant, one of the more noteable awards went to Amy Ross Frahn. Ms. Frahn received the Jesse Zingg "Making a Difference Award" for her contribution to MVLL as well as the community in general.

The award was named for Jesse Zingg, a former player of many years who passed away at the age of 21 due to a car crash, however his donated organs saved five lives. Board elections and Fall signups began Saturday as well.  For more detailed information please visit the official MVLL website at http://www.eteamz.com/mvll/

Bounce House provided by ABC Bounce Co.

The awards table had plenty to hand out courtesy of Anady's Trophies and Awards in Hemet

Players and their families await the beginning of the ceremony

New Features Coming to Man About Menifee

It's time to reveal a peek behind the curtain here at the offices of Man About Menifee. We have some terrific new spotlight articles to be featured on the website and Facebook page. Your response to our Athlete of the Month has been superb, thank you. I wanted to share with you some other ideas that we will be rolling out in the next few weeks.

Precious Pets: Who says Fido can't have his fifteen minutes of fame.  We welcome you to send us a picture and story of your furry, scaly, or feathered companions.

Living Spaces: Have a recently remodeled home that can't wait to be shown off? Show it off here. Tell us your story, let us see the before and after.

Radical Rides: Do you own a classic car? Maybe you've put months or even years of work into restoring it? Maybe you just have a new toy and you can't wait to share it with the world (at least or corner of it)? Send us your story with photos, and we'll publish it here.

Do you have a story you can't wait to tell? Do you have an idea that we missed? Let us know. Email us at manaboutmenifee@gmail.com or leave a post here. As always thank you for your support. We love this town!

Pool Caution and Secondary Drowning

I've been a father for a few years now. My oldest of the four kids is 20 years old and the youngest is 3 years old. That job description means I have seen plenty of injuries over the years. I've also seen at least a few pool or water related accidents, luckily none ended in tragedy. The only losses we've experienced have been a couple of cell phones.

Naturally I was pretty surprised when I read this article from the Huffington Post describing something called "Secondary Drowning". For those that want to skip to the meat and potatoes of it, this happens when a small amount of water is left in the lungs, just enough to keep the lungs from oxygenating the blood. The scary part is the symptoms don't start until later, and look a lot like a kid that's played too hard at the beach. 

So for those with pools please be aware, be careful, stay safe, and trust your instincts. Go to the doc if you even suspect something is wrong. Better safe than sorry. 

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5500471

Cub Scout Pack Pack 374 Recruitment Night - June 2

I remember sitting in the back as a Scout Parent listening to a recruiting presentation one night.  I had sat through many versions but this one was very different. The Cubmaster pulled out a string, stretched it out to 10 feet and had two boys hold it on either end.

"Most doctors estimate that with advances in medicine, our children will live to an average age of about 100 years old, and this 10 foot string represents that timeline, with one decade per foot," he said.

"The average parent over 30 today is estimated to live to the average age of about 75 years old. If your son was born when you were about 25, then that gives you about 50 years on this earth together," and he cut the string in half leaving 5 feet.

"Of course these 50 years aren't all under one roof, because kids move out eventually - we hope - sometime in their twenties," and he cut the string in half again, leaving 2.5 feet.

"Naturally, however, these aren't all formative years. It would be nice if kids listened all throughout their teens, but we all know that music, friends, and other social activities tend to fill their vision and mind and our voice begins to fade into the background between 12 and 13 years old," and he cut it in half again, leaving 1 foot 3 inches left.

At this point the two scouts had moved comically close. The audience gave a chuckle.

"Now for those boys that are here that just graduated kindergarten you are between 5 and 6 years old. I hope your parents consider that time well spent because it is in the past," and he cut it in half one last time, leaving a piece about 7.5 inches long. He held it up.

"Parents, this is the time left that you have left to make a strong meaningful impact in the person your son becomes," he said. "Yes, we will go on camping trips, participate in various patriotic parades, and community service. We will have fun with Pine Wood Derby races, and other types of Scout Crafts.  Our most important task, however, is to prepare these boys to be young men with a strong sense duty to god, and duty to country. We've been doing it for a century, so we've got it pretty well figured out by now," he smiled.

Next week Pack 374 in Menifee with host their recruitment night. Any parent of a child who is finishing Kindergarten through Fourth Grade is welcome to attend.  The meeting will be held in the Multipurpose Room of Ridgemoor Elementary at 25455 Ridgemoor Rd. in Menifee and it will start at 6:30 pm. Please come and check out the fun.

2015 Annual Father's Day Campout

For several years there has been an annual tradition here in Menifee on Father's Day. Fathers and children of all ages gather together at La Ladera Park, pitch their tents, and engage in a variety of fun and frolic.

In years past there have been carnival style games, craft projects such as Lowes Build-and-Grow, and even nighttime stargazing with a high-powered telescope.

The contract and responsibilities have shifted over the years from the County of Riverside, to Valleywide Recreation, and now that responsibility is held by the city of Menifee.

Right now we know the dates are Saturday and Sunday, June 20th and 21st. We know the cost is $15 for adults and $10 for kids. The variable right now is approval from the city of Menifee on the actual registration flyers. Once the city approves the flyers then registration can begin. Registration is expected to be similar to years past where participants will fill out a registration form and email it in to reserve a spot. 

As soon as more information is available it will be posted here.