^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

13 APR 04: CLEANING UP THE COURTS

At first glance, the walls appear to be solid black - and they're right in the middle of the Baker Village neighborhood. When I saw them, they made me wonder if the city is trying to market handball and racquetball as hip, gangster sports.

Last summer we took you to the outdoor racquetball/handball courts at Benning Park [23 Jun 03] - and revealed they were graffiti-covered and sad-looking. A return visit Sunday was surprising, as the graffiti is gone and there's fresh paint all around. OK, which group of college students on spring break was given this assignment?

The racquetball (for me, since that's what I play) improvements have occurred since February 22, which was the last time I worked out there. This was done so quietly that I'm not sure anyone noticed except the construction crew working next
door.

I was concerned if anything happened to the racquetball courts, they'd be torn down. There's a new building going up next to the Benning Park gym, and construction fencing practically surrounds one of the two courts. Stacks of concrete blocks sit there, just waiting for a church "muscle team" to break them in two.

But the good news is, the racquetball courts now look practically new. The big wall actually is dark green, not black - so does this mean Spencer High School is adjusting its colors?

The front half of the racquetball courts isn't concrete gray anymore, either. They've been painted white, and you have to look VERY hard to see that outline of a child's body which was obvious before. There goes city government again - whitewashing the crime problem.

I suspect the biggest problem in keeping these racquetball courts in good shape comes from children, heading to and from nearby Baker Middle School. Some of them seem to enjoy throwing rocks onto the courts. I know this, because they did it toward me one afternoon while I was practicing.

For the record: I've had racquetball workouts several times at Benning Park - and every time I've been there, the tennis courts nearby have been vacant. Maybe girls in the neighborhood only want to be like Serena Williams for her clothing.

BLOG UPDATE: The radio station which plays my CD from time to time changed its call letters Monday. AM-1270 is now known as WSHE. For Jim Foster's sake, I hope those letters don't stand for "Se Habla Español."

Let me see if I have this straight: WMLF has changed to WSHE - yet the web site for the "Solid Gospel" part of the station is still "WPNX Radio," the call letters which were dropped almost a year ago?! Is Clear Channel running some sort of racket here?

But let's be honest: AM-1270 badly needed a change of call letters. WMLF may have worked when the station played something like "the music of your life" a few years ago -- but nowadays, those last three letters sadly have become (ahem) an
X-rated abbreviation.

BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: Congratulations to Phil Mickelson, who proved me wrong and won the Masters golf tournament by a - oops, wait. We need to do this the proper golf way. "The Masters....... (pregnant pause for drama) in Augusta."

I did NOT watch the final round of the Masters on Sunday. For the second year in a row I boycotted it, because I believe Martha Burk has a point. The Augusta National Golf Club should do something to accommodate female golfers. Of course, I attend a church denomination where women aren't allowed to preach....

Instead of the Masters, I went back and forth between the NBA and arena football - where the Georgia Force lost to the Austin Wranglers. You'd think for "arena ball," the folks in Austin would come up with a more creative nickname. Like the "City Limits," for instance.

Now let's send some scattered Instant Messages here and there:

+ To the youngster who sang the national anthem badly off-key at Golden Park Monday night: At least you brought rain - so thank you.

+ To the crew which installed the new back door on my apartment: When that rain came, water STILL got into the kitchen. Can you come back and lower the door about 1/8 of an inch?

+ To WRBL's Jeff Donald: That was some spiffy new radar you showed on TV Monday night, as the storms moved through. So why didn't you have a big news conference at the RiverCenter to introduce it, like other stations do?

+ To Tara Darby, Miss Alabama-USA: Congratulations on doing so well Monday night! No, not making the top ten at the pageant - but winning the "Miss Fear Factor" show which preceded it. [True!] It took plenty of poise to eat those sea cucumbers.

+ To the managers of Columbus Burger Kings: Why have you already introduced new salads at a location in Macon Road - but they don't arrive at your downtown store until Wednesday? If Carmike Cinemas did this, there would be talk of discrimination suits.

+ To the attendant at the downtown Burger King: No, really - I couldn't eat those crackers you offered me until after 8:00 p.m. It was the end of the Biblical "Days of Unleavened Bread." Why do you think I avoided all the sandwiches in your non-air conditioned restaurant, and ordered chili?

To offer a story tip, make a donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post a reply.

If you quote from this in public somewhere, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-04 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.