Play Ball!
Ernest Bywater
Play Ball!
All rights reserved © 2016
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This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. All rights are reserved by the author, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
Product names, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this book are the property of their respective trademark holders. Unless otherwise specified there is no association between the author and any trademark holder, nor are any expressed or implied. Nor does it express any endorsement by them, or of them. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark, service mark, or registered trademark.
Cover Art
The images are BaseballStadium.jpg by Bspanberg and Baseball.png by Tage Olsin are used with their permission under Creative Commons Attribution. The cropping, size adjustment, and text are by Ernest Bywater. All rights to the cover images are reserved by the copyright owners.
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12 February 2022 version
Published by Ernest Bywater
E-book ISBN: 978-1-365-08976-3
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Note: Due to the main character and the narrator being Australians UK English is used in this story, except for dialogue by a US character where US English is used in the dialogue and some nouns.
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The title styles in use are a chapter, a sub-chapter, and a section.
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Do what you do do well
Do what you do do well boy
Do what you do do well
Give your love and all of your heart
And do what you do do well
Ned Miller, 1965
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Foreword
This is a story about people, their attitudes, behaviours, and actions. It is also meant to be entertaining at the same time. Baseball was chosen as a sports venue to help carry and focus the story plot and characters.
When I started this story I wrote to a number of baseball clubs and universities to obtain permission to use their real names in the story. A few responded by saying they couldn't give permission for legal reasons to do with contracts they have, and some didn't respond at all. After six months I gave up waiting and I went ahead to write the story without naming any specific organisations. I did choose a real life town to base the main character, Mo, in to have a place people can relate to. To the best of my ability, while using maps and search engines, I located Mo in a place where you've a selection of real life universities and colleges to pick from, plus there's a selection of both Major and Minor League baseball clubs within suitable commuting range of the base location. Thus, you, the reader, have a choice as to which teams you wish to feel the story is linked to. I deliberately refrain from naming the teams for legal reasons. The same is true of the key people in the organisations. Everyone named is fictitious and they're made up by me from my fertile imagination.
This story is about the people and their attitudes, but not the sport which is a key part of the story and the development of the people; thus the sport has a big part in the story. The baseball scenes are to show the person's ability, skills, and attitudes so they're important because of that. I've not played baseball in my life, so I ran every inch of play, action and rules, through a friend who is a baseball umpire in the USA. Each scene was taken apart in fine detail and then woven back together again after lengthy talks on what is within the rules and the bounds of possibility in the field. Then they were put to another USA baseball fanatic for approval as to the play validity. So, if you don't agree with them please do not email me about them. I'm not going to change them unless those two say I should. This is known as 'ducking out from under and leaving it up to the expert witness.' There is one scene I thought of that many will say can't happen. A week after writing it I found this video to show it can happen in a real life game. Since then I've seen other examples in games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dob7is7zkYw
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Changes
In late February Morris 'Mo' Walker is standing beside an open grave while the family's friends file past. While watching them all give their last respects to his mother he thinks, Fucking cancer. Now there's nothing for Dad or me here. I hope he takes the promotion they're offering him.
Randolph 'Randy' Walker sighs while watching the people pass the grave and he thinks, Last night Mo was right when he said we have to move on with our lives, and I can't do that here. There are now too many memories that hurt a lot. Tomorrow I'll tell Jim I'll take the job and list the house for sale.
Thirty minutes later the two are talking while driving away from the cemetery. Each has lost more than half of their life. Alice Walker, wife and mother, was very good in both roles. Also, she was the main force for her family's involvement in the community. She'd pushed them both to be involved in many sporting, outdoor, and community activities. With her death a lot of changes will happen, and they'll likely not be so active or involved with the local community. They'll still continue with some sports and outdoor activities simply because those activities are now too much a part of their daily lifestyle, thanks to Alice's training of them. However, when they move to the new job some of the sports will likely change because they'll be limited to what's available in the new area they'll be living in, and to what's on the list of school sports Mo can sign up to play. Without Alice to drag them out of the house all of the time the two will probably cut back on some of the other community activities to spend more time at home with each other.
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The Job Offer
Randy walks into the office of his boss and says, “Jim, tell me about this other job you want me to do. If it's still open I'll give it serious consideration. I want to know more about it because it's a major change for us to move house. However, that looks like a good idea right now.”
Jim gives him a weak grin. Although Randy is the best person for what they want done he's been refusing to discuss the matter before now. However, with his wife's death in just six weeks from the first symptom to the end it's been a hell of a time for Randy, so management has held off on taking any action on the job. Jim doesn't like the idea of Randy's interest only being due to his wife's death, but that's the real reason for it and it's understandable. He stands while saying, “Right, Randy. This is really Bob's baby and he has all of the details. So we'll go talk to him.”
A couple of minutes later the two of them are sitting in another office where Bob, the Australian company's Chief Executive Officer, is saying, “Corporate Head Office wants an Australian to head up the Tampa office. There are some big problems at the Tampa office and a prior manager is in prison for a number of crimes. In the last five years there's been four managers and they haven't been able to get the office sorted out or working right. Staff turnover is high right now, thanks to the manager just fired. HQ is aware we've a different way of doing a lot of things and they want to see if one of our managers can fix up the Tampa office since they can't. I've looked at all of our managers and spoken with all of the senior staff. It's our considered, collective, opinion you're the best one to have a shot at this. We do have two others senior to you, but they agree you'd stand a better chance of fixing up the office.” He places a thick file on the desk, “This is the latest report on all of the problems there.”
When Randy goes to speak Jim jumps in with, “Due to the way the corporation is structured you'll be transferred to the US company at your grade and then promoted one level to take over the Tampa position. HQ has no information on staff pay grades here in Australia. To entice you to go we'll promote you one level today and another level to take the official move in two weeks. That's a total rise of three levels so your next jump should be as the CEO of an overseas subsidiary or a Junior Vice President in Head Office, but not until after four to ten years in Tampa.”
Randy shakes his head in wonder. The pay rates vary a lot due to the different living standards and costs of each country, but the offer of three jumps in grade is more than double his current salary, which is already very good. He looks at them and asks, “Why the big pay rise?”
Bob sighs and replies, “Normally positions at that level are for three to five years on contract. Due to the recent failures they want a one year contract, but I got them to agree to a two year contract since you have to move countries. I suspect they think the issues at Tampa may be so far ingrained they can't be fixed. So you need to be compensated a lot more than usual, or well rewarded. No matter what happens in Tampa we'll always be glad to see you back here at your current level or any level above it. That'll depend on what's available then, if it happens.”
Randy opens the file to start reading the reports while Jim says, “I think you'll be able to fix Tampa because most of our innovative ways are your ideas. Also, being US born you'll have a better chance to fit in and be accepted than an Aussie born manager will.”
Looking up Randy says, “I might be US born and a US citizen with a current US passport, but I've lived here since I was five years old. I've no idea what life is like in the USA.”
Bob says, “Oh, that's another thing. It's in your file, but don't say a word to HQ about your citizenship. I know you have dual citizenship due to your parents becoming naturalised after arrival, but the bosses in HQ only see the Aussie citizenship. So don't wake them up about it. I'd suggest you mention being US born to your staff in Tampa in a casual way, probably very soon after you arrive, but not before.”
Randy gives a slow head shake while saying, “Well, that's one thing Mo and I don't have to worry about. Since we're both dual citizens we don't need visas for either country. We can leave here on our Aussie passports and enter the US with our US passports.” After a few minutes more of report reading he says, “Start the paperwork for the shift. I'll take this report with me to make notes and to start thinking about the work.”
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Family Talk
Over dinner Randy tells Mo about the job offer and having to move to Tampa, Florida, USA. Until now all they knew about the job was it meant a move to another city plus a higher rate of pay. But this is a lot bigger move than either of them expected. So they talk about it for a while.
Randy raises some points, “The US school system starts in August and it goes to around May. They also have some different subjects. We'll be arriving there in March. I think it'll be in your best interests to do home schooling with a tutor for a few months to get you up to date with the US school system subjects instead of signing you up to start at high school as soon as we arrive.”
Mo responds, “Good point, Dad. It also means I can settle into the local community before I have to worry about the school community. I hope they're paying you enough to compensate you for all of the trouble involved with such a big shift!”
“Because it's a promotion and transfer the company pays the cost of the move. But the pay grade is two and a quarter times more. One thing you'll like about Florida is the age for driving over there is lower. So not only will I be able to buy you a car you'll be able to drive it. In Florida you can get a learner's permit at fifteen and a licence at sixteen. So you can also get that done before you start school.”
The talk moves on to what they'll take with them from here and what they'll sell as it's not worth the cost and trouble to take. Both agree most of the furniture will be sold, but they each have a couple of favourite items they want packed up and shipped over. Most of their clothes and other things will be sold as well. In the end the list of what to ship is very small: family heirlooms, the good china and cutlery sets, their favourite chairs, books, sports equipment, and the best of the clothes they have. Everything else will be sold or given away.
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The Move
After a few busy weeks of sorting the clothes and things to sell or give away they've only three days of travel clothes in their bags and they pack what else they want to take with them ready to be shipped, then they sell all of the rest. Randy and Mo are flying First Class to the USA as a company expense. Randy thinks the First Class is an unofficial upgrade organised by Bob because the company policy is for Business Class on all work travel by all staff, regardless of their level. Whatever the cause of the upgrade the two are enjoying the luxury and comfort of the seating.
They arrive in Los Angeles and they have no trouble passing through the customs check because all they have is one carry-on bag each. After a fast move between terminals they've a short wait for their Florida flight.
They arrive at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday morning, and take a bus to a good mid-level hotel. The afternoon is spent settling into the hotel, buying a couple of sets of suitable clothes, and checking the real estate listings. Phone calls for morning meetings are also made.
On Thursday morning the lady from the real estate company is very surprised to be taking sixteen year old Mo around to look at the places to live while another person from their office is taking Randy to look at some business properties. The files made it very clear the biggest issues at the office are work space, staff parking, and public transport access. The file has information on the current amount of work space so Randy is looking for a new office space as his top priority. Both Randy and Mo spend all day looking at properties, again on Friday, and on Saturday.
Sunday Mo tells his father about the properties he's looked at and they have a taxi take them around the three best. They agree on a house in Seffner which is within walking distance of a good high school and an easy drive to the new office Randy wants to use in Brandon. The last manager moved the office to a slightly larger premises in the Tampa main business district, but it's not big enough and the parking is difficult there, which is why so many people quit. Randy wants them in a place with better parking and even more space than they have now. The reports state the staff are angry at the crowding and daily access problem, so he wants both of those issues resolved first.
First Day at Work
Monday morning Randy has a few meetings. The first is during breakfast at the hotel to sign the papers to buy the Seffner house, which makes the estate agent happy about her work over the last few days. The next is at the Tampa Office with the Head Office Management people.
Five people sit in the conference room while Randy goes through the paperwork about his employment by the main company. The papers all match the email copies he has, so he signs them and the Head Office Management people sign them. Copies are given to all concerned.
Randy looks at the two men who are his immediate boss and his boss as he says, “First things first. The lease on this building is up in a month. I know the company moved in here last year, but this place isn't big enough. Also, the staff have major parking and travel issues. That's why so many are leaving. I've found a new space that's about a third bigger and it's a lot cheaper than here. This area has a premium rental rate for it while the one I've found in Brandon doesn't. It even has parking included with a lot more parking nearby.” He places papers on the new office space on the conference table, including a number of photographs. They talk for a while then agree to the move. The cost of moving will be less than another year of the rental difference between the two offices.
Dave, Randy's boss, says, “Randy, we're in a major bind with this office and we hope you can sort it out. We've been told you can, but we need to step back to let you do it. So, as much as it pains us to do so, we're not going to be checking anything you do for six months.”
Gary, Dave's boss, nods his agreement and says, “For six months you've got a free hand to do anything you want. Then we'll audit this office and we'll discuss the results. Due to the move you want to make, which I think is a good idea, to allow the staff to get settled into the new office space we'll start your six months a week after the move.” Randy agrees because he's happy to not have them second guessing everything he does each day; at least until after he has time to get a few things organised and the place running smoothly, he hopes. They talk about many other matters before the Head Office Management people leave.
The next meeting is with the real estate agent to finalise the rental of the new building, thus making this real estate agent happy as well.
The fourth meeting is with the department heads. Introductions are made and Randy hands out plans of the new building while saying, “I just signed a three year rental agreement for this building. I want you to sit down and plan out the office layout for your areas. Work on having the space you currently have with twenty-five percent more. Get your staff involved in the planning and let them all know we'll be moving as soon as we can get it ready. Also let the staff who recently quit know about the shift, in case they want to apply for their old jobs. The building has a lot of parking on the grounds plus a lot more nearby and it's close to the bus routes. I also want reports on where you think we can improve the operations here. They've given me a free hand for a few months so I want to see what you'd like to change before I make any changes.” They all look a bit stunned. First day on the job as their boss and he's already making some big changes. “I'll walk through the place to talk to all of the people over the next few days. No point in trying to do much else until I see your draft plans for the new building on Friday morning. Now get busy!” The stunned managers stand and make their way out of the room to get busy planning their new office space.
It's not quite lunchtime, yet Randy has done all he needs to do and all he can do today. So he heads back to the hotel to talk with Mo about the new house, also to go shopping for more clothes plus some things they'll need for the new house.
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First Day at Home, Almost
After his father signs the papers and hands over the cheque for the house the real estate agent takes Mo to the house and hands him the set of keys to the empty house. On the way there they stop for Mo to buy a cell phone, a digital camera, a tape measure, and a writing pad.
Mo spends the morning taking lots of photos of each room as well as sketching all of the rooms with their dimensions and the cupboards, including the hallways. He also takes notes on work to do on the house. Most of the work is to the building's outside or in the yard, but the whole interior needs cleaning and painting right away.
With that done by mid-morning Mo takes a walk to the high school and he says to the lady in charge of the administration office, “Excuse me, Ma'am. But I've just moved to the area and I'll be enrolling here next semester. However, I do need to find some tutors to teach me a few subjects you have here they didn't teach at my previous school.”
The woman frowns as she asks, “We teach the approved curriculum, as is required by the law. How come your last school didn't?”
He smiles at her, “Oh, they did follow the law, Ma'am. But the high school curriculum in Australia is a little different to the one here.”
She laughs and says, “That, I can understand. It might be best if we have you tested to be sure of what you do know. I can arrange a set of tests for Wednesday and Thursday, can you be here by nine each day?”
“Yes, Ma'am, I can. On a side issue, do you know of any good locals to do some house repairs and painting, plus a yard person as well?”
She grins while grabbing a pad to write a name and phone number on it before she hands it over as she says, “My sister's family have a business doing all sorts of general home and yard work. This is their name and number and they don't charge people the earth, either.” He thanks her and goes back to the house. On the way there he rings the number and arranges for the lady's brother-in-law to visit to assess the work he wants them to do on the property.
Half an hour later Mo has a quote from Danny, the workman he phoned a short while ago, listing all of the work to be done on the house and the yard, plus a firm promise he can have the interior cleaning and painting started in the morning if a deposit is received for the work today. After Danny leaves Mo calls a taxi and he returns to the hotel. He arrives there at the same time as his father arrives at the hotel.
The two Walker men check an address then they leave the hotel to eat at an inexpensive restaurant down the street. After lunch they take a taxi to the nearest Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHSMV) office to lodge paperwork for a Florida Driver's License each. They also get a list of the approved training centres in their area.
From the FHSMV they go to check out a few furniture stores until they find one where they like the look of the furniture and prices. Then they sit down with one of the staff to plan a house full of furniture from the notes and photos Mo has. The next task is a paint store to examine paint colour cards to select the colours to use in the rooms and for the house exterior.
A taxi back to the hotel is followed by a talk about the rest of their day prior to eating dinner. Next is an after dinner visit by Danny to collect the deposit for the work on the house and the paint colour cards for the paint to be used in and on the house. Before they go to bed they talk some more about their plans for the house and what else they need to do over the next few weeks.
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The next morning Randy goes to work to visit more of his new staff while Mo goes to get the workers busy on the house. Once he lets them in and he makes sure they're aware of what paint goes in what room Mo is off to the nearest driver training school to spend the rest of the day in classes on how to drive: some theory and lots of practice on their track.
Mo smiles when he takes his break for lunch and he sees his father in the classroom where he did the theory work that morning.
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Wednesday morning Mo is at the school sitting exams so they can establish his current knowledge levels, then he has driving lessons after the tests. Randy spends half of the day wandering the Tampa office to meet the staff then the rest of the day in driving lessons as well. Both of them study the traffic laws and they test each other on them after dinner.
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For both Mo and Randy Thursday is the same as Wednesday.
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Friday morning Mo is at the house directing the delivery of the new furniture. The delivery men place everything where he wants it. The men are amused the job is being supervised by a sixteen year-old boy.
Randy is at work in a meeting with his department heads while they all go over the plans for the new office space. Further changes are made, and when the final layouts are agreed on he signs for them to be given to the builder for the build-out. The other agenda item isn't so easy. Each department head lists the various changes they want to make to the office operations, but they often run into problems they'll make for other areas if all of the changes they want are made. The conflicts require a lot of discussion, and some need a lot more work. The meeting ends so all of them can have a late lunch. The initial reports and the meeting notes are given to Randy before he goes home to get his house organised.
Walking out of the room one department head says to another, “You know, we may just get things fixed right. This new guy only works half a day right now, but he's already fixed over half of the problems we've had for many years. I hope he can keep up the good work.” All those who hear him nod their agreement with his assessment and wish.
Randy buys sandwiches for lunch on his way home. When he gets there he finds Mo in charge of placing the last load of furniture. Father and son take a break for a late lunch of sandwiches. The house looks totally different with fresh paint and new furniture. Randy smiles when he spots their bags are still sitting just inside the front door. They checked out of the hotel this morning and Mo brought their gear here, but he hasn't put any of their things away yet. He must have been a bit busy with the furniture deliveries, is Randy's thought about the situation.
After lunch Mo walks to the high school to collect his test results and to obtain a list of tutors to contact. Randy checks the outside work they've done plus the work being done while he waits for the locksmith to arrive to change all of the locks after he does a full security survey of the whole premises.
In the late afternoon both Walker men are in a mall buying a lot of clothes to expand their wardrobes. They also buy a lot of groceries for their new house. They have to hire a mini-van taxi to carry it all back to the house.
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Saturday is another day of driving lessons for both Randy and Mo. Both are getting very proficient and comfortable with driving on the Florida roads. In an odd twist of fate it's harder for Randy to learn the US road rules than it is for Mo to learn to drive in the US because Mo has no prior training he has nothing to unlearn first, thus his first responses are better then Randy's first responses. However, they both do learn to drive safely on the Florida roads.
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Sunday the father and son take a casual walk around the area to see what churches are around and to unwind from their busy week. They note where various parks and business are while they enjoy their walk. The activity also reminds them to think about and organise activities to keep fit.
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New Life
The last Monday morning in March is the real first day of their new life in Florida for Randy and Mo. Sure, they've been in Florida for a week, but it was all interim arrangements. Now they've their own house and are ready to live in it as part of the local community.
Today Randy will take a taxi to work for the last time as tonight he'll be driving a company car home after a full day at work. Today Mo's job is to spend the morning collecting the text books he's been told to get to study and to contact the tutors on the list who are available for work. Some are in full-time work and only tutor at night. He'll try to get as many day tutors as he can so he can have more study time with them.
Randy's first task at work is to go to the Information Technology unit to collect the new notebook computer they have for him to use. It's all set up with the company software and passwords to link into the office network. The rest of the morning is a series of meetings with staff about the changes they want to make: he approves many of them and defers the rest. After lunch is his appointment for his driver's licence test, and he passes. From today his day to day work is the typical range of top management tasks. Unlike many at his level he restricts his work to the regular office hours each day, so he only works later or takes work home during a major event. One good thing Alice taught him was not to work himself to death. Evenings and weekends are for the family, fun, and recreational activities, so he makes a point of scheduling them that way.
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Mo's Day
After breakfast Mo takes a taxi to the bookshop to buy a number of text and reference books to study and learn before the new school year starts. Back at home he takes them to the room he set up as a study before he checks on the workmen outside. The yard work is done and it's now looking good, but the men are still busy with some minor repairs to the outside of the house. Something nags at the back of Mo's mind while he walks about the yard looking at the completed work. He has a feeling there's something else that needs doing, but he can't say what it is. He decides to get on with the phone calls to tutors.
The first call is to a woman to teach him about the government and history of the USA as according to the state curriculum, this'll cover two topics for him. She's been on maternity leave and she doesn't have a job at the moment due to her leave running out and her new job doesn't start until August. When she answers the phone Mo says, “Hello, Missus Davis, I'm Morris Walker, an Australian starting school here in Grade Ten in August. I've been given your number as a tutor for the US high school subjects you teach. Are you available to tutor me during the day, and what are your rates? Oh, I live in Seffner.”
Mrs Davis is happy for the work offer because the family finances are a bit thin at the moment. She replies, “Mister Walker, I live in Seffner as well, so the location is perfect. However, I don't have the room to tutor at my house and I've children I need to supervise during the day right now. I usually do tutoring at night because my husband is available to watch the children of an evening while I'm out tutoring.”
“Ma'am, please call me Mo, everyone does. Our house is quite large and you'd be welcome to bring your children here to play in the large yard we have or the lounge room. We can study in the dining room so you can watch them in the yard or lounge room while teaching me. We also have a pool, but if they use that we'll have to study beside the pool because it's in a walled area and you can't see it from the dining room.” He thinks, That's what's nagging me. The pool! It's walled but no roof, so the leaves get into the pool in a wind and it'll be worse during autumn. Tonight I'll have to remember to talk to Dad about having the pool covered.
“I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble, Mo!”
“You won't be. I'm reading the text books for the prior years on the subjects of US History plus Civics and Government, but I need a tutor to expand on them the way they do in class. With just me to teach I figure we'll go a lot faster than in a normal class, but you'll be able to watch the kids while you talk. I've got a large portable whiteboard in my study which I can move to the dining room for you to write on.” He gives her the address and the phone number.
“You live in the next street to me. I'll walk around to have a look at the place at lunchtime, if that's OK with you.” He assures her it's OK, and they hang up so he can make another phone call.
Mo is happy because that sounds like he may have the two subjects with the most work organised. Now for the third subject. He tested out as advanced for the subjects that are the same around the world, but he's in need of tutoring for the two US specific subjects and a language new to him: Spanish of the Hispanic variant common in Florida. This one needs to be organised for in the evening so his father can learn it as well. Mo only needs to be brought up to the level for the Grade Ten class he'll be starting while Randy wants to do the full advanced language course.
Mo dials the number he has, and when it's answered he says, “May I speak with Sophia Pérez, please?” They reply, he laughs while he adds, “I'm not sure which one. I need to talk to the one who teaches Spanish, please?” A further response elicits another laugh and, “You decide. I'm Mo Walker. I start in Grade Ten in August and I need to be able to understand what they teach in that grade. My total knowledge of the language is its name. Also, my father wishes to learn the language on an evening or weekend schedule so he can talk with his Hispanic staff at work.” After a little more talk they agree to someone calling in after school hours to talk to him about tutoring both of them.
The rest of the morning is spent reading text books. Mrs Davis visits while Mo is preparing sandwiches for lunch so he asks her to join him and they talk about tutoring while eating. He shows her the house and they agree for her to tutor Mo at his home on school days for the next two months.
More studying for Mo until Mrs Sophia Pérez drops in after school. She gives the house a close study while they talk about the tutoring needs because she has concerns about teaching there. An agreement is soon reached for her to start tutoring them both tomorrow night.
Alice taught both her men how to cook reasonably well so they can look after themselves. Thus it's no problem for Mo to prepare and cook a stew for their dinner that night so it's a good hot meal waiting for his father to get home after work. The conversation during dinner is about their day each, and Randy doesn't take long to recount his. Mo has a big smile when he recounts his success in arranging tutors. He finishes it with, “When I rang the number for the Spanish tutor I ran into some troubles.” Randy looks up and half frowns. “There are three ladies with the name Sophia Pérez there and they all tutor Spanish. The family matriarch, her son's widow, and her granddaughter. She's a retired Spanish teacher, her daughter-in-law teaches Spanish in high school, and her granddaughter is a college student who tutors high school students in Spanish in the evening.” Randy laughs at the scene he envisions of Mo handling that on the phone. “Missus Pérez senior will be tutoring both of us after dinner Monday to Friday, starting tomorrow.”
“Good. I want to be able to talk to all of my staff in their native language as it reduces misunderstandings and leads to happier people.”
“Good idea. We should be up to what I need before I start at school full-time and then I'll do my homework while you continue with the Spanish classes until you finish.” Randy nods agreement. “On another issue, you know we have a nice brick fence around the pool area for the extra privacy!” Another nod and a half frown in reply. “The leaves from the tall trees along the boundary fall in it so it needs cleaning already. I was thinking if we can roof it over with Plexiglass we won't need to clean it as often and we'll be able to use it in any weather as well.”
“Good idea. Tomorrow you talk to the handyman fellow about it. See if he can do it or can recommend someone. Also, I think we should hire a housekeeper to work half days. She can do the cleaning for us and cook a dinner too. Ask around tomorrow.” Mo nods his agreement.
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The next morning Mo sees his father off to work then waits for Danny, the handyman, to arrive. After dinner Mo phoned Danny to arrange the visit. When Danny gets there the two of them look over the pool area.
After a very thorough examination of the brick fence Mo asks, “Well, what do you think about putting a roof on this for us, Danny?”
Danny sighs then replies, “No and yes.” Mo frowns at him. “This is a fence, not a wall. There's no way it'll take the stress of having a roof added to it. I can build a pole barn over the pool and then extend the fence up to the barn's eaves with windows. Add a nice door in place of the gate, and you're done.” Seeing the frown on Mo's face he adds, “A pole barn is a simple job. We put in some big steel poles set in blocks of concrete, steel trusses and eaves, then roof with steel panels, except you want Plexiglass panels there, we'll use the tinted Plexiglass for that. That way you don't put stress on the fence. In fact, the cross braces for the poles can be set to brace the fence as well to give it more support.”
“OK! That makes sense. However, I was thinking to include a nice covered and protected walkway from the pool gate to the back porch, and to also enclose that part of the porch with Plexiglass.”
They both turn to look out the gateway to the section of footpath from the pool area to the back porch. Danny leads the way out the gate to have a better look. He smiles and says, “I've a better idea. We'll run the pole barn from right up against the garage to the far end of the pool. I'll extend the far side fence to the garage, concrete the area behind the garage, then build a nice big hot tub and spa unit in the ten foot gap.“
Mo looks at the area while thinking on the suggestion. He says, “I like the idea. But that's a huge walkway area at the pool.” He thinks for a moment and adds, “What about building a nice barbecue area under the barn roof against the pool wall with a brick fence beside it up to the line of the porch with a door in the middle. You leave a nice walkway between it and the spa. Then build a normal wall and door between the walkway and the spa area. Add a short fence and a window on the yard side to protect the barbecue area from the weather. Do some sketches and pricing for Dad to look at, please.” Danny nods his agreement.
“If you don't mind spending a little more than the minimum I can do the barbecue area up well and make it all look like it's part of the original work until you go between the pool fence and the boundary. I can't make that look like original, it'll just look good.” Mo nods approval and Danny leaves to work out the details. He'll be back with drawings and a contract later, probably early tonight, knowing Danny.
A half hour later Mo is busy learning US History. During the lunch break Mo asks if Mrs Davis knows of anyone he can contact to be a part-time housekeeper for them. She nods, makes a phone call, and says, “My neighbour is suffering from 'Empty Nest Syndrome.' She's a nice older lady with two children in college and two more working on the west coast. Her husband died last year and she's going crazy sitting at home alone, but she doesn't want to work a full day. This is just perfect for her. She'll come around later today to talk to you about it.”
“Good,” is Mo's response. He calls Randy to find out how much pay to offer her to do the work. An hour later Randy calls back with a rate, which Mo notes down on his pad.
Mrs Emily Fisher is in her late fifties and she's just the person Randy and Mo need for a housekeeper. Mo and Emily discuss the work while Mrs Davis is collecting her older children from the school bus. She takes the baby with her while the next youngest is playing in the lounge room, watched by Emily and Mo. Starting tomorrow Emily will work from three until seven at night. She'll do the cleaning, washing, buy food, cook dinner, eat dinner with them, and wash the dishes before leaving.
That night Randy approves the plans Danny has for the new spa and barbecue area as part of roofing the pool over.
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By Wednesday the Monday to Friday schedule for Mo is set: studies with Mrs Davis all day, dinner, and an evening of Spanish lessons. Emily grandmothers both Mo and Randy every afternoon and evening. They're all happy with the arrangements, and they all appreciate them a lot.
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Weekends
Saturdays and Sundays are for family, fun, sports, and exercise.
For now Saturday morning is driver training for Mo. Randy is new at Florida driving and he's not happy with being the supervisory driver for Mo, so he pays professionals to train Mo on Saturday mornings. Even at only four hours a week Mo will be ready for his licence before school starts. But it doesn't take that long because Emily helps out with night driving supervision for an hour on Saturday evenings. Thus Mo is able to go for the road test as soon as he passes the minimum number of months and hours on a Learner's Permit. So when he does the test he has lots of hours in his book with many road and weather conditions listed.
Saturday afternoon is walking around the neighbourhood to learn a bit more of it and to see what's there. After a few weeks it includes visits to some parks a bit further away where other kids are playing various sports. Flag football and baseball are the two main ones being played. Both look like good sports for Mo to play at school, except flag football is for girls only at the school and he doesn't want to play the full contact football. Softball and volleyball are the other two 'girls only' school sports while wrestling and golf don't appeal to Mo. That leaves him with cross country running, baseball, basketball, swimming, soccer, tennis, plus track and field as sports options. Randy and Mo talk about what sports he should play at school, and they eventually settle on him trying out for the swim, basketball, and baseball teams when he starts at school. That'll give him a sport for each season during the school year.
Which leads to one problem, he knows how to play basketball and how to swim, but he's never played baseball before. The current season for baseball is about half over so they decide to start studying the rules and to see if Mo can get some coaching. Randy decides to join in on the coaching because he can see having to help with practice for Mo.
Another of Mrs Davis' neighbours is a retired professional baseball player who coaches a few teams of kids in the local leagues. When asked to coach them both he's happy to do so on a Sunday, if they'll help him in the afternoon practice of a little league team by catching for pitchers in the bullpen as well as being extra fielders in their training sessions.
The little kids in the team he coaches in the Sunday league are amused to see a teen and an adult being taught the real basics of baseball fielding. However, it does help the team members a lot to have the basics shown to them again and to know how much they've learned from their coach since they started playing on the little league team.
Both Randy and Mo are quick to learn new things and both are fit. By the end of April they know basic fielding skills and are training with the teenage players of a local junior amateur league team to help them get ready for the regional play-off games. Mo and Randy decide to arrange for more training for Mo over the summer holidays, if they can get it.
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Note: The baseball coach is very happy with how well Randy learns the basics of the game and can help with practice. But he's a lot happier with how well Mo picks up the game and the skills needed to be a fielder. He tells Randy, “Mo's ability to follow and read the ball in flight is better than anyone I've ever seen play baseball before.” The coach even predicts a good future for Mo as a professional baseball player if he keeps playing the sport up to that level.
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When a training activity ends Randy and Mo pick up new activities, or, as is often the case, pick up old activities again. An example is them taking up playing squash of a Saturday morning when both of them are happy to stop Mo's supervised Saturday driver training in late May.
One other fitness activity for Mo is to get up early for exercise. To start with he walks a couple of miles around the area. Over time this expands to jogging, then running, and bike riding, then the distance increases to the point he's running five miles every morning during the week and ten miles on most of the weekend mornings. This helps build up his leg muscles for all sports, and it's an exercise regimen he keeps up for the rest of his life. The only days he doesn't exercise of a morning are when he's unable to do so due to other activities like travelling or work. Then he tries to make it up with afternoon or evening exercise, when he can.
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Until School Starts
It's the end of March before Randy and Mo get their lives into a good routine. However, a lot of peripheral events happen in April and May. The first is the delivery of their gear from Australia, being only two big lounge chairs and a few cubic metres of cartons their gear was packed in a container with other items which were delivered first. When the chairs are put in the lounge room the room doesn't look so empty and the almost empty bookshelves now have a lot of full shelves.
The shift of the Tampa Office goes well in late April with all of the staff liking the extra space and the new layout. The few work changes already made are appreciated for the work and time the changes save the staff. Those working off their notice withdraw their notice, which is quickly accepted. Also, most of the staff who'd quit return to work for the company. A few don't because they have other jobs. Productivity in the office is well up and some new clients are being signed up. The Head Office Managers are already happy with the way Randy is improving the Tampa operation, and he's really justifying the decision to import him.
In mid May Sophia tells Mo he's reached the point needed for him to sign up for the advanced Spanish class in August, so he doesn't attend any more of the Spanish lessons with her. However, both Mo and Randy enjoy talking Spanish with Sophia and Emily each day. In late June Sophia presents Randy with a very nice certificate for his successful completion of Advanced Spanish. He has a copy made so he can hang one in his office while the original is at home. His staff are surprised by the certificate because he didn't say anything about learning the language until he finishes the course and he starts speaking to the Hispanic staff in Spanish. The fact he's their first senior manager to take the personal time and trouble to learn their language endears him to the Hispanic staff, which is about two-thirds of the total Tampa office staff.
A few other events delay Mo's driving test until mid June, which he passes, and he's issued with an Intermediate Licence allowing him to drive from 6:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. each day. He won't get a full licence until he turns eighteen in December of next year, but that's OK with him. He's far ahead of where he'd be in Australia. The choice of a family car is left to Mo because Randy has a work car he uses most of the time.
The Family Car
Randy smiles at Mo and says, “The majority of my driving will be down a few streets to work and back, so you select a car you want to drive around in. But keep in mind how much we've got left in the bank. We've already spent most of the money from our savings plus the money from selling the old house. In a few months my salary will provide a nest egg again, but what we have is all we have right now!”
Mo smiles, “Yeah! The house wasn't all that dear, but the furniture, renovations, repairs, and the deposits for the services cost a lot. But the big ongoing costs are our training expenses and they'll cut back soon.”
“Yes, the training was expensive, but also a very important need.”
After a couple of weeks of searching Mo finds a vehicle he likes. It was a Ford van of some sort, but it's longer than usual and it has a raised roof. Dual rear wheels with independent suspension and drive motors at each wheel-set, one near each corner means it can go most places with safety. They can both stand up in the van, except where the roof slopes down to the windscreen, because the two front captain's chairs can swivel around they can do that and then stand up. The van is converted into a camper with two fold out double beds, a mini-kitchen with a stove, a fridge, storage, a folding table to fit between the seats, and it seats six in the normal drive mode. A full set of environmental controls, entertainment gear, a set of cameras covering all sides, heavily tinted windows, white, and is two years old. It's in very good condition with only ten thousand miles on it. The price of forty thousand dollars is very low for what it is.
Randy is still looking the van over in the man's yard when Mo asks, “Why is it so cheap?”
The seller shrugs and says, “My brother had it custom made. He died a year ago. I've been trying to sell it since. People are interested until they find out how small the water tank is and there's no shower or toilet built in. The few still interested after that don't like the motors.” Mo half frowns, so the man adds, “You've not looked at them yet! A diesel motor runs a generator for the electric motors on the wheels. All wheel drive with adjustable power on each wheel-set. People worry about it having an electrical failure. The motors are solid, but they don't trust them.”
After a thorough mechanical inspection by a third party a payment is made and they're off to have the registration transferred to Randy with Mo listed on the insurance papers as the main driver.
The Pool
The pool renovations take a little longer than expected due to having to redesign it once they start to dig the footings for the support poles. In the end they have to replace part of the fence foundation to underpin the fence with the large cement anchor blocks for the poles. No major issue, just a bit more difficult work than they anticipated. The finished work is a lot better than Mo or Randy expected. There's a nice large hot tub / spa unit with decking around it because it's better to build it above ground; a set of rinse-off showers and drains on both sides of the wall between the spa and the pool, one for each set of users; a large barbecue area; drink fridges in each of the three areas created; and the roof is double-glazed with a strong tinted material like Plexiglass. There's also a two and a half foot high set of double-glazed windows with insect screens between the eight foot fence and the eaves, half of them are fixed shut while the other half are linked on a single slide per wall so they can slide shut when they want to close them. Down facing Light Emitting Diode (LED) area lights are installed near the top of the walls to light up the pool area for use at night without annoying the neighbours. They provide a good clear and diffuse light for night and evening swimming. The spacious six foot wide protected walkway from the back porch to the pool now means they can walk from the house to the pool in comfort, regardless of the weather conditions.
A robotic pool cleaner is installed, and that's all they need to keep it clean. One half of the robot roams around the bottom of the pool and a tethered partner cleans the pool surface while it's pulled around by the lower half. A power line and hose connect the two, then they run to the pump on the side of the pool. Twice a month Danny will come to check the robot and the chemical balance of the pool and spa when he does the lawn and garden for them. Danny advises against using a robot lawn mower because they get stolen as soon as they're put out to work.
After the pool and spa is ready for use in late May the rest of the Pérez family members come over each evening for a swim while Randy learns Spanish. The youngest female family member, Maria, will be in Grade Nine at the same high school as Mo will be at in August. She wants to be on the swim team and Mo was on the swim team at his last school, so he coaches her with what he knows.
By the end of May there are several other locals enjoying the pool with Mo and the Pérez family in the early evening. This is good as it helps introduce Mo to more of the locals, especially those around his own age. Also, many of them will be going to the same school as Mo.
Mo is doing so well with his studies Mrs Davis is able to test and prove him ready on one subject by the end of May. After another week of only the remaining subject all day he's up to date and ready to start classes in the new scholastic year in early June. This allows Mrs Davis to be with her children over the summer school holidays and for Mo to have time with the other kids his age during the summer break.
While talking with some of the kids he practises baseball with Mo learns of three baseball camps in the area in June and July. They're five to six hundred dollars each and are 'live-in' from Sunday to Thursday. All of them are highly recommended by those Mo talks to. Randy arranges for Mo to attend the camps. They'll take up some of his summer holiday time in a useful and fun way.
When Mo is told about a swim camp in Orlando he wants to go to it until he learns the price. The one four day swim camp costs more than all three of the five day baseball camps together! So he decides the swim camp can wait. But a five day basketball camp is only a bit more than one of the baseball camps and it'll help hone his skills while filling in another week of the summer holidays. That gives him four camps of five days each during June and July. With about half his time already booked with skills courses he's happy to let the rest of the school holiday period flow as it will while enjoying time with the other kids in the area.
The three exams and results are given to the school for their records.
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Camps
Mo loves playing squash from the first moment he can run with a racquet in his hand. It's the 'most perfect of games' for him because he can run as hard as he likes and hit the ball as hard as he wants to in any direction, plus, best of all, he plays it with his mother and father. When playing it's just Mo and Alice or Mo and Randy, and he has their full attention. With age comes better control and the application of the usual game rules. The rules place restrictions on where and when he can hit the ball thus making the game harder, but it's still a lot of fun for Mo. Alice and Mo often have long rallies together. Playing squash builds Mo's muscles by running and hitting while also improving his eye-hand co-ordination. Mo is an accomplished player despite not participating in competitions. For the Walker family squash isn't a competitive sport as it's a fun way to exercise together as a family. They stop playing in the last month of Alice's illness because she can't play. Mo and Randy don't start playing again until early April. But the skills are still with Randy and Mo so they soon get back to their usual hard and fast game.
The good point about playing squash is the skills transfer to other games like basketball, soccer, cricket, and baseball. All require the players to watch the ball to track its movement then co-ordinate their action on the ball. The ability to track the small squash ball and quickly get into its path is very useful in fielding the larger baseball. Ball tracking is also a good skill when batting. However, as of the time Mo goes to his first baseball camp all he's done is fielding and tossing the ball. During that period of learning he didn't bat, run bases, or pitch because that's where the team players needed their practice so Mo only fielded for them.
A couple of the players from the team Mo helped with fielding are also at the first camp, so while they wait around after signing in they join in a scratch game the coaching staff have going to keep the kids busy. Naturally, Mo gets out his glove and he starts fielding while others take turns to bat and pitch. One of the coaches notices Mo doesn't field the way he should. Because of the way the team coach ran the practices Mo wasn't taught how to field a position, just to field the ball. Thus he goes for every ball in the area he's covering, which is part of left field, the shortstop position, and part of the second baseman's area.
Mo is fast to cover the ground, reach the ball, catch it or scoop it up off the ground, and to throw it to the most appropriate base. Often this is first base, but he throws to third or home when appropriate to get the runner out. On seeing how much field Mo is covering a coach walks out to talk to him about it. While waiting for the next batter the coach asks, “Who are you? And why do you leave your position so much?”
Stunned by the second question Mo takes a moment to respond. A glance at the mound, a moment for the pitch, a foul, and he says, “I'm Mo Walker. I don't know what you mean about position. Until a couple of months ago I'd never seen a live baseball game. I've been helping out a team by fielding for them while they practice their batting. Since we only had a few fielders during the extra practices I try to cover the gaps left by the players unable to get there. All I've been taught is to how to catch, scoop up a ground ball, decide where to throw to, and to throw the ball to the person on the base. I'm here to learn how to play baseball properly. I'm also signed up for the two other camps in the area to learn all I can.”
“Well, if you're going to all three camps maybe we should have you concentrate on a couple of skills in each camp. For this camp let's look at making sure you learn how to field properly in every position as well as the basic game rules. That OK with you?”
“Sure thing, Coach. You're the coach and I'm here to learn.”
For the rest of the camp they teach Mo how to play every position on the field. They do give him some basics on batting, base running, and pitching, but the main effort is on understanding and performing well at each fielding position. They learn Mo can work any position, but he's best at shortstop, left field, or second base due to his early training.
The head coach speaks to the head coach of the other camp about Mo and he passes along all he knows. Along with a request to teach him all they can about hitting, bunting, and base running because their camp has a couple of retired pros who were top batters in their day. By the end of that camp Mo is an accomplished batter and base runner.
The third camp is run by the same coaches as the first camp. They have two in the area to give people a better chance to attend one of their camps because they know some of the kids go away to holiday camps in early summer and some go away to holiday camps in late summer. Thus they offer a baseball camp in each time period. It also allows those who don't go away a chance to attend both of their camps
Mo is happy to concentrate on pitching at this camp. The head coach has a friend in the camp to help out, a pitcher for one of the Major League teams. Once Mo has the basics of pitching he's put in with the advanced group to learn from the professional pitcher. Although Mo is learning to play baseball most of the skills are ones he already has, but he has to learn how to best apply them in this game. Swinging the bat to hit the ball in baseball is different to hitting the ball in cricket, but the basic skills to keep an eye on the ball and get the bat in front of it are the same. This is also true of pitching. The motion is different to bowling in cricket, but the basics of handling the ball to get a desired effect is much the same, just a different arm motion and release. Thus Mo is able to quickly be proficient in pitching. The pro pitcher is surprised about how fast Mo picks up on pitching a variety of balls and why it's a good idea. By the end of the camp Mo has a good command of several pitches. He has a good fast ball, but not a real 'hot' fast ball. Several of the other kids can pitch a fast ball with more speed than Mo can, but none of them can get the amount of movement out of the ball he can, even with his fast ball. Mo uses a modified throw due to an issue with his arm muscles.
On the final morning of the camp the attendees are playing a scratch game to demonstrate their skills for the coaches and the few parents who are there early to collect their kids. While watching Mo pitch the pro pitcher turns to the camp's head coach and asks, “Dave, why did you strong arm me to come and coach this week?”
Dave grins as he replies, “That boy pitching is Mo Walker. I spoke to him on the first day of the first camp. He'd never touched a baseball in his life until he started to help a team by fielding for them a couple of months back. He showed lots of promise and was eager to learn. He did so well at the camp I thought to give him a chance and a challenge by having you coaching his pitching. He's responded well to it.”
“Well enough I'll be telling my management to keep an eye on him when he becomes eligible for the draft. Yes, it's a few years away, but he's already good enough for our club development teams to work on him to be one of the best. The only thing that'll keep a few people from looking at him real close is his speed is too slow for what they want in a pitcher today. The issue with the tendons in his arm muscles gives him an odd throwing motion many won't like, but it's legal and works for him. And thanks for helping me fill in the time while I'm on the DL.” (Disabled List - a mandatory time off when hurt for recovery after an injury.)
“He's not the fastest, but he has the best pitching statistics for the camp. That damn corkscrew ball of his! I've never seen a ball like it, and I've no idea how he does it.”
“It is a good one! I asked him about it and I still don't understand his reply. He told me he puts spin on it the same way he used to bowl a googly in cricket. Whatever that is!”
“That, I can answer as I looked it up. In cricket a typical spin ball will hit the ground and turn away from the line. The intent is to get the edge of the bat when the batsman swings through the line of the delivery. If the batsman is expecting a spin ball he plays a little further out to cover the swing of the ball away so he gets the full bat on it instead of an edge going for a catch in the 'slips' position. But the googly spins back the other way to catch the batsman off guard by cutting between the bat and the pads for the wicket. There is a variant some bowlers get where it turns in the air more than expected. I think this is what Mo is doing. I think he's using the seams on the ball to get more turn from it. Cricket balls only have one seam and the bowlers use it well. Baseballs have a lot more seams to play with. I find it interesting how well he transfers his cricket skills to playing baseball.”
“However he does it, Dave, he's good! He's got the potential to go far in this game. I expect to see him playing pro ball. But I don't sense the determination in him I'd have expected from someone that skilled.”
After a short laugh Dave says, “Mo has a lot of determination in him. Of that you can be assured! But the question is: determination to do what? I saw him playing squash last week. He could be the state junior champion but he doesn't play competition, it's just fun exercise for him.”
“You think he may be the same way about baseball? It may be just a game and exercise for him and not a potential occupation. Is that it?”
“Sort of. I think he'll see it as an avocation with a potential income ability. But I don't think he'll be as consumed with being a top pro ball player as you are, or I was. He doesn't see baseball as the centre of his life, but as an important and fun side event.”
“Yeah. I see what you mean. But still, even like that he'd be a great player for any club.” A nod of agreement is the reply.
Mo finishes the baseball camps with a huge advancement in his baseball skills and knowledge. He's very happy with the training and results. Now all he has to do is keep in practice until he can apply them in a real game for his school or a local team.
Basketball Camp
The basketball camp turns out to be a bit of a loser in Mo's mind. The only thing he learns in the camp is how much more physical the game is in the USA as against the way it's played in Australia. Contact you'd be called for a foul in Australia is let go in the USA. It's a lot more physical and high contact as well as the slight differences in the rules to what he's used to playing. Although there's no advance in his skills it's better to learn to be a lot more physical in a camp than on court during a game that counts! It also helps him to learn the differences in the rules they play under in the USA.
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Overall, Mo is happy with the camps he attends and he's very happy with the new skills he learns at them. Randy is happy Mo is happy.
Unknown to Mo a few of the kids from the last camp are from his new school and they're already telling the baseball coach about him while some others are telling their local league coaches about Mo. All of the coaches put his name and information aside for consideration at the start of the next baseball season.
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High School
School starts and Mo fits in well due to the number of students he already knows from meeting them over the last few months. Mo is one of the oldest students in his class. Most are fifteen and will turn sixteen later in the school year, but he'll turn seventeen during the year. This is due to the differences in the school systems. In both Australia and the USA they start kids in school at five years of age with Kindergarten, but the school year starts at the end of summer in both countries. In Australia the school year starts in February while it's August in the USA. Being born late in the year, in December, Mo started school after he turned five instead of the year he turned five. The move to the USA and the change of system saw him at home catching up on subjects in what should have been the second half of his Year Ten in the USA, but had him at home catching up on the US high school subjects new to him. The end result is he's a year behind his US age group contemporaries so he's starting in Year Ten just like he would've in Australia in the February of this year, but some months later than he would have in Australia.
Being on the short end of the height range for his age Mo fits in with his classmates as regards his appearance. Due to his age he already has a driver's licence, but he walks to school since it's so close. Only Maria Pérez knows he has a licence. Mo isn't the type to brag so he doesn't say anything about having a licence. However, when the others talk about Driver's Education class he admits he's done a formal class with one of the driving schools over summer and is exempted from the school class. They wonder why, but they never ask him about it. Mo does Business Administration classes while his classmates do Driver's Ed classes.
The first few weeks at school are a case of settling in for Mo. Which he does fairly quickly because schools and teaching are much the same in both countries. What is different, and it takes time for him to adjust to, is the school student social structure because it's much more complex and defining of the students than back in Australia. It takes time, but he does learn to understand it and settle into the different school student culture it represents.
One thing that helps with him settling in is joining the swim team. He's not the fastest swimmer on the team, but he is the best at the long distance events because he can maintain a good pace for a longer time than most of the others. He's also good at coaching the other swimmers. During the course of the swim season he's second or third in the events he enters as an individual, all of them being long distance freestyle or backstroke events. However, he makes a significant contribution to the team's long distance relay events too. This is due to the long distance events being toward the end of the meets with the relays being last. Mo's ability to go at a steady pace for a long time means he swims as fast in relays as he does in individual competitions while the competition is slower due to being tired after the individual races, especially the ones they competed against Mo in. Thus he's able to give the team a good lead in the distance relay races. For the first time in many years the school swim team wins the regional races and the team ends up second at the state finals. Many of the swim team members credit Mo with the wins.
In general Mo's school life flows evenly with him participating in the various school activities and events. He dates a number of girls, but he doesn't go steady with any. Although some wonder about Maria Pérez because they spend a lot of time together. It's only when they visit Mo at home and they see his pool do they understand their relationship fully.
Maria and a few others of the swim team who live near Mo are able to get in a lot of practice at his pool, especially out of season. When the weather starts to cool off Randy has Danny install a heating unit to the pool's pumping system to warm the water going into the pool. Some low power heating units are also added to the pool area to warm the air up a little. The overall effect is to keep the pool and its enclosure at a nice warm temperature all year long. Thus giving visitors a chance to practice all year as well. Mo also coaches those who ask him for help.
By the time the basketball season rolls around Mo is settled into the school life. So when he's at the office to sign up for the school basketball team he asks Mrs Willis, the senior school clerk, “Do you have a list of on-line courses I can do which are recognised for Advanced Placement and college entry?”
In their many encounters since he first met her to ask about tutors she's come to like Mo. Unlike many of the other students he's always polite and friendly with all of the staff. She smiles as she asks, “Why didn't you sign up for any of the AP classes at the start?”
“I was in a totally new environment with a new home and school, so I didn't want to risk getting in over my head. Now I'm settled I want to do something with a bit of a challenge, and I think an on-line course I can do at my own pace of an evening and weekend is best.” She nods to show she understands and she goes to get a set of papers they have about courses and how they stand in state and national recognition schemes. Some of the papers are the last copies they have so she photocopies them for him and hands him the copies. Mo smiles and says, “Thank you, Ma'am. Do I register through here, or not?”
“Mo, some of the courses require you to register through the school and they have that on the registration form. Some of the others require you to notify the school and they check with us, but you register with them on-line. While a few of them only require you to register with them. Regardless of the registration process we'd like to be informed of what you do so we can contact them to make sure the marks for the courses you complete make their way onto your transcript as they can affect your grade average. In the papers I've given you I've marked some with a big 'S' because you can register for them through the school at the start of a semester so you can get the school to pay for them if you qualify.” He goes to speak, and she holds up her hand. “You can register with them anyway, but if you go through the school at the start of the semester you can save money on the course.”
“Thank you, Missus Willis. I'll look into that. I think it best to have the school involved where I can. But I'll look at my own priorities first.”
Having copies of all the suitable material allows Mo and Randy to study them to work out a suitable path to augment his high school studies to help with his future college studies. The hard part is to sort out what courses he should do because he has an interest in business administration and management as well as teaching plus law, and Mo can't make up his mind on one or the other. However, many courses do count toward all college degrees so he plans on doing all of those.
The next aspect of the plan is to lay out which can be done as school AP courses and which have to be done as extra-curricular courses at home. A few have pre-requisites so it makes planning those courses easy. They're listed for his senior year with the pre-requisites in order before then. After setting out what will be a definitive list of courses for each of his other five high-school semesters he lists others to do when he can fit them into his schedule. The idea is to do what he can as official school courses each semester and to add extra on-line courses at home when he finishes one of the official school courses during the semester.
With his first course signed up, plus the rest of it planned for the next semester and the following years, Mo has a meeting with Mrs Marks, the school's educational guidance counsellor. At their meeting he hands over a copy of his plan while saying, “Missus Marks, this is my educational plan for the rest of my time here in high school. Can you please go over it to see if I've missed anything?”
She smiles while accepting the plan as it's not often a student goes to this much trouble, but she likes it when they do. She checks the plan against the information she has on the various courses and responds, “Mo, this is a good plan and it should help you reduce your college time by quite a bit. Is that your aim? This seems very generic and not set up for a specific college course, is that deliberate?”
“The intent is to reduce my time in college. However, I can't make up my mind to be a businessman, a lawyer, or a teacher. So it's set up to allow me to go in either direction when I get to college. I may even look at getting degrees in multiple disciplines. From what I can find on-line a bachelor's degree in education is sufficient for most teaching jobs and the same level is suitable for most business management positions.”
She smiles as she nods her agreement while saying, “Yes. With good planning you can get a suitable degree in both at the same time. Most degrees have a major and a minor subject, but there's no reason why you can't get two major subjects if you get enough credits in each of them. You also need to pick up a bit of law for each of those and they can count to a minor law degree you can expand on in post graduate studies if you want to go that way.”
“That's what Dad said last night. We've even started to lay out the courses for college on the assumption I pass all of these. Also, any of the extras in the side list will mean less I have to do at college and the more diverse I can be with the main studies there. At the moment it looks like I can do all three to the point a clear decision isn't needed by me until I have to select post graduate studies. Then I'll still have the qualifications to do some work in the other two areas.”
“Well, this looks good and you're planning ahead. That's something I wish a lot more of the students would do. Just don't get too buried in the studies, and be ready to back off if something is too hard to do.”
“Yeah, that's something I've got to keep an eye on. And it's why I've got Dad down to get copies of all of my marks. If they start to drop he'll be on me to find out why, then we'll make any adjustments to my studies or time management if we need to.”
They chat a little more before he leaves her to go back to the library for the rest of his study period.
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Note: During the course of Mo's high-school years he finishes all ten of the courses in the main list reviewed that day. He also does an extra ten on-line courses from the second list. The result is a lot of the generic first and second year college courses are done as Advanced Placement courses while in high school. Which frees up a lot of time in college for him to do more subject specific courses.
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Mo's basketball season has him start with the Junior Varsity team, but he's soon moved up to the Varsity team. He's not good enough to be a starter, but he is in the game, off the bench, fairly early. Due to his height and weight he hasn't got what the coach is looking for in a player to be making rebounds and scoring in the key, both skills he wants in all of the starters. But Mo is fast and has good general skills, which makes him a good substitute for defensive play. But what has him in the game as one of the lead substitutes is his ability to score well at long range. Mo's ability to hit over ninety percent of his three point shots from just inside the halfway line means the opposition has to open up their defence to hassle him or they let him sit out there to score all game long. When they open up their defence they make holes for the other team members to get inside for the rebounds or to take a pass and drive for the basket.
During the course of the season the other teams adjust their defences to handle the situation, which does make the game harder on Mo's team, but the other teams can't totally negate the effect of having him on the court. The adjusted defences simply slows down the play and the scoring. The effect of the situation also causes the coach to adjust his thinking on the height of his better players. The basketball team has made their way to the state finals most years, but this time they're in the final which they lose by one point on a last second long shot by last year's state champions who are from a much larger school with a larger student population to call on for players.
Being seen as an important cog in two of the school sports teams is good for Mo's social standing in the school. It's not as good as if he'd been in a premier team like the football team, but it is enough to have the majority of students happy with his place in the student hierarchy.
Christmas and the New Year come and go. At home it's a bit sad due to this being the first Christmas without Alice and also the anniversary of her death looming up before them. However, January is the start of the baseball pre-season practices. Both Randy and Mo are looking forward to seeing how well he does in baseball after all of the training they did in the middle of last year.
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Mo's First Baseball Teams
High School Team
The players gather for the first after-school baseball training session and the head coach tells them, “I've got three rules you all need to know up front. If one of these applies to you don't bother me with asking for a change. First, no one gets on the Varsity team until I've seen them play a season on either the Junior Varsity or Freshman teams. The second flows from that, no Freshmen on the Varsity team. Only the best players will be on the Varsity team. So those who come under the first two rules should now move to the other diamond for the Junior Varsity coach to look you over. The rest of you can line up to show me how fast you run.” Mo joins the students moving to the other field, about a fifth of them. He knows he's new to baseball so he sees no point in arguing with the coach about something the coach is probably right about, thus Mo just accepts the rule and he goes to where he needs to be.
The Junior Varsity coach has a different approach to the head coach in he appraises all of their skills first. He starts with the players listing their names and preferred positions in the field then they take turns fielding in different positions. He hits a ball to the position for the player to field it and throw it to a stated base. He runs all of the players through every position while his assistant makes notes on their play in that position. Then each player has a turn at batting both a solid hit and a bunt, and last is to pitch in turn. About the time he finishes running these players through he has several extra players to process due to the head coach's winnowing of players. That's how the first two hour training session goes. The head coach cuts players based on physical fitness levels while the J V coach evaluates their skill levels.
The second day is more of the same. The Varsity coach continues to cut players while the Junior Varsity coach evaluates the skills of the cut players. At one point in the session a player who was at the last camp with Mo approaches the coach and says, “Coach, when you get around to evaluating the batter's ability to hit a ball hard you should put Walker on the mound with orders to pitch 'fat' balls in the strike zone.”
The coach turns to him and asks, “Why's that, Romano?”
“I was at a camp with him and he's a very consistent pitcher.”
A little later Coach Henry puts Mo on the mound with instructions of, “I want to see how hard they can hit. So put the ball in the middle of the strike zone for them to pound it out of the park. Got it?” Mo nods and then sets about doing just that. Two balls dead centre of the zone per batter. They all know what he's doing, but not all can hit that well. The ones that can hit really smash the ball while the rest do their best.
After the others have finished hitting the ball Coach Henry takes the mound to pitch at Mo who slams both balls over the fence. Coach has Mo stay in while he pitches a few more and Mo hits everything he can pitch. Not all get hit hard, but he gets wood on every trick pitch. Coach Henry walks up to Mo while saying, “Walker, you seem to be tracking every ball I pitch, but you can't get hold of them all fully. Is that the case?”
Mo nods and replies, “Coach, I've played squash since I was a toddler. I've no trouble tracking this ball because it's so big. However, when you put those fancy spin pitches in it's a bit hard to get the bat to hit in the right spot to punch them out. The result is they spin off the bat to go foul instead of getting a solid hit. I think I'll do better with a lot more practice. I first learnt to bat in a summer camp, so I need a lot of practice.”