BB - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 22, 2003 SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN ROB BROWN Blood Sport Two ill admired the sockeye I'd just killed. B We waded to our knees in the river. The landscape was sepia. Bill had a broad grin. He was backlit by the strange orange light, his arms outstretched as if to embrace the surroundings, “Will you look at this!” he shouted. There was a flash of lightning, “That was close,” I said. “I’m not sure we should be standing out here with lightning rods in our hands.” The eerie light was gone. The land was an: amalgam of large black shapes. We stumbled over the stones. The electric storm was almost atop us. 1 waved goodbye to Bill, then peeled off my waders and stowed the fish in the cooler. “I climbed into the camper. Karen looked up from her book. Pawsome was curled up at her feet. By the time we were in bed, the storm had arrived. A crack of the lightning shook the cam- per. Gale force winds ripped through the cotton- woods, Rain pelted down. [ Jay awake listening to the lightning storm roll up. the valley, catnap- ping until the small hours when J finally fell asleep. A few hours later light was shining through the hatches. I pulled on my clothes. Bill was testing his theory that the fish bite best between seven and nine, morning and night. [ watched him fish. The land was recu- perating from the violence of the night before. There was no lustre to it. The fishing was slow and tedious. Eric Sweeney and his friend Bill arrived from Kitwanga and reported that “there were only hurpies there.” I invited them for a drink at our , camper to help ease their disappointment at’ finding the same conditions here. Del brought a bottle of scotch whiskey and some glasses and joined us for happy hour. ‘ “Migawd, what are you doing, Eric?” | asked, as he lit up a cigarette. “Those things will kill you stone dead.” Eric waved his hand in front of his face as if my comment was a foul odour. “T got a woman at home - a aurse — who’s on me about that all the time, I get enough of it.” “L used to smoke heavy,” said Del. “Before I had my stroke.” Del's stroke taints his existence; it was the big electrical storm that rolled through his life iMluminating and altering everything. “Six years ago now,” Del shook his head at the recollection, “I was standing in my kitchen. My wife was out and — bang —[’m on the floor. I reached up with my right hand and pulled the phone off the counter. I just managed to dial 911. [ couldn't talk! The guy on the other end kept saying ‘Slow down! Slow down! Finally, I managed to mumble my address.” Del paused. “And the next thing I know there’s a paramedic over me with needle in his hand yelling ‘stroke!’ I was in the hospital for six weeks. It took me months to recover: I had to learn to walk and talk all over again.” After finishing their drinks, Eric and Bill packed up. Shortly after that we did too. 1 wished Del good fishing. “Karen,” he said, pointing in our direction with the scotch bottle. “You watch his blood pressure. It’s real important, Watch your own We waved and drove. off for Terrace. At home I cleaned the fresh pink given me by Del and the sockeye I'd killed- on the eve of the electrical storm. [ was achingly tired. 1 flopped on the couch and napped. When I awoke, 30 minutes later, ] wasn’t refreshed. 1 was forced to lie down again after dinner. My eyelids felt like lead. When } reached for a glass of water, my right arm seemed unnaturally heavy. The next morning I kept bumping into things. . I picked up my guilar, atlempted an arpeggio, and found that everything was broken. A skill [ could normally execute effortlessly had eva- porated. The diagnosis — discovered after num- erous blood tests, physical exams, and a CAT scan — was a cerebral embolism, a stroke, As I lay in the hospital bed, looking at the right hand that could no longer write, cast a fly, _type, draw or play a guitar, ] vowed it would. | ; closed my eyes and imagined myself on the Os- trich Run at Cedarvale. Bill would come down to the river, meet me, and say, “I heard you had a stroke, Rob, I didn’t expect you back so soon.” Then [ll remind him of the time he walked that narrow path, that roof peak in the clouds to the top of Mount Weeskinisht, “It's just like that, Bill,” Tl say. “All you have to do is sit down when you feel like you’re going (to fall, and when the diz- ziness is over you get up and keep going.” By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN “YOU'RE A GIRL. You suck.” Not exactly the height of sperismanship, but they’re words local bantam rep hockey goalie Amanda Bedwell has learned to shake off, The five-foot-one, 110-pound goalie is the first girl ever to play for Terrace’s bantam rep team and she’s taken her fair share of abuse to get there. “T used to get made fun of a lot by the guys — if you get scored on some of the guys fram the other teams will come up to you and say, ‘you suck, you suck because you're a giri,’” says Bedwell. - When that happens the 16- year-old Grade 9 student tries her best to let the remarks fuel her desire to perform better instead of letting them get her down. “I don't usually say anything and just walk away.and and think, ‘you just watch,”” she says. Bedwell is one of two goalies for the Terrace Inland Kenworth bantam reps this year. She made the cut literally by one goal. Dur- . ing try-outs the team played two exhibition games against the fast- skating Kitimat bantam reps, Lavy Sangha, the coaches’ un- animous first pick, played the first game while Bedwell and another goalie wannabe, whose skills were even across the board, each took half of the second game, says head coach John Amos. “It basically came down to that performance and she let in one goal less than him,” he says. Bedwell wasn’t sure if she'd AMANDA BEDWELL is one of two Terrace teens stopping pucks for th eel reps — she the first female goalie ever to play for the team. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO made the cut. “[’ve never seen someone so excited when I told her she made the team — she literally jumped in the air,” Amos says. The biggest obstacle Bedwell has in front of her is her size - a setback she shares with Sangha, Sangha is also short in stature which is why Amos has brought in goal tending coach Craig Walsh to help the two netminders think big. Because of their size they'll have to come out of the net a bit more and be more mobile. Playing rep hockey is faster, harder and more challenging than playing house hockey and when the pucks come at her they’re not going any slower or softer because she’s a girl. The level of play motivates Bedwell to play harder so she can continue playing with the boys. There’s been some adjustments - the team’s had to make since Bedwell’s name was put on the roster. Firstly, she has to use a different change room — but after three years of playing house lea- gue with the boys it’s something west. 5 a a M It’s aring thing TERRACE’S petite ringette team hit the ice Sept. 18 in a tight game against Prince George as the annual Merrill Meyers ringette tournament got under way here. Teams from as far away as Quesnel came to the three-day tournament. The petites put up a_ strong fight in this game keeping it scoreless until the five minute mark in the second half when Prince George squeaked one past Terrace’s net minder. The out of towners to fall run _ By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN IT’S. BECOMING one of the biggest running events in the northwest. The All Seasons Source for Sports 23rd an- nual half marathon and fall run drew 180 parti- cipants from throughout the region and as far away as Toronto. Half of those runners came from Terrace with the remaining competitors flowing from other cities and towns throughout the north- she’s used to. After a game the guys have to wait a few minutes longer before stripping out of their uniforms so Bedwell can sit in on | the post-game talks. Aside from that she faces the -: same challenges nine of her team- mates this year face — it’s their first year playing rep and adjusting to the demands of a higher level - of play requires some hard work, . But that doesn't scare her. — “She has a really good/attitude, she works hard and | think she’l! improve as the year goes on,” says Amos. Twenty-eight brave runners tackled the half- marathon with Houston’s Rod Woodbeck crossing the finish line first in just 1:24:59. - He was followed up by Prince Rupert’s’ Bruce Dudas and Mike Hamilton. Terrace’s Carolina Polanco was the first scored again at the two minute mark leaving the score 2-1. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTO Little hoopsters put on big show | By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN EVER tried shooting a basketball into a hoop while on your knees with your arms tucked into the sleeves of your T-shirt? People here got to see just how hard-that is to accomplish Oct. 14 when the Canadian Half-Pints basketball team hit the hardwood ~ at the Caledonia gymnasium. talking about their Don't Tease program. One of the team’s stops was al Veritas Schoal and the players were a big hit. “They entertained us with their hoops of course, but their message of not teasing, of accepting differ- ences and building friendships with people who appear different It’s a was right on gimmick — ‘the money it frequents “All the kids were just fixated — vas conlly y use j ao piri : by the just completely focussed. al” says super- Veritas prin- short hoopsters to demonstrate some of the challenges of being little. The team's average height is just four feet tall but what they lack in stature they more. than make up for in entertainment and talent. - 10,000 games against towering opponents and only ever lost 11, The team’s annual stop in Ter- race included two packed basket- ball games. against the Terrace Big Brothers and Sisters’ celebrity team and visits to. local schools They’ve played more than cipal Glen Palahicky. “They did it in a direct and simple yet, very effective way with role playing, with humour with even some rap songs.” It was the first time the team gave their presentation at, Veritas and Palahicky says he'd have them back in a split second. “Ali the kids were just fixated - just completely focussed.” The back. to back basketball: games last. Wednesday raised $1,200 which was-given to the local Big Brothers and Big Sisters society... ey woman to complete the 21 km road race fi- nishing in L:41:01. Terrace’s Shirley Hahn finished second of the women in 1:48:29 followed by Kitimat's Jacki Minaker in 1:50:27. Continued Page B9 TWO Mini-Hoops basketball players ham it up at one of two fun- - fillad games played here Oct. 14, SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN PHOTO. é@ Inland Kenworth bantam |