→ Finally, the Great Mystery is Solved! – Where to Hang Your Hummingbird Feeder

→A Fire Country Home That’s Beautiful and Defensible – That is A Pretty Darn Nice Lookin House

→ Walk Like A Bohemian- In Your Garden

→With A Name Like Tootsie – It’s Gotta Be Good (Recipe)

(WBR) Wayne’s Book Review

Aren’t you lucky?  Yes, I think you are.  Because I am continuing my quest to read a book every month (last year’s New Year’s Resolution), and you get a rare glimpse into the somewhat chaotic mind of Wayne Romain and his take on said book.

Just so you know, I’m not a reader.  Other than last year, I have probably read six or seven books in the previous 10.  No literary giant here, but like a lot of things in life, you get outside your element, do things you don’t normally do, and you might learn something.

What does this have to do with the outdoors?  Maybe nothing.  Maybe a lot. But it does represent another pastime that we can enjoy (or muddle through) in The Outdoors.

This month’s book:

The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory

by Thomas Fuller

Book Overview

The crazy thing is that I picked up this book at a small bookstore in Bainbridge, a small island by Seattle, Washington while on a family vacation for spring break.

Being born raised in our little big town of Riverside, CA I was vaguely familiar with the California School for the Deaf.  I practiced on it’s fields for a variety of soccer teams in both elementary and high school, have had numerous customers and clients who attended or taught at this school, and even had a member of our staff fluent in American Sign Language due to a sibling being deaf.

Despite all of this, I knew nothing about the history of the school, how it operates, the culture of this population, and the most recent events of this nationally publicized team.  This book is a wonderful revelation by offering a peak not only into the school and the football team, but the society of this often overlooked populous.

The book follows the journey of an all-deaf high school football team’s climb from underdog to undefeated, their inspirational brotherhood, a fascinating portrait of deafness in America, and the indefatigable head coach who spearheaded the team.

The Boys of Riverside looks back at the historic 2021 and 2022 seasons in which the California School for the Deaf chased history, following the personal journeys of Keith Adams (their dynamic deaf head coach), a student who spent the majority of the season sleeping in his father’s car parked in the Target lot, a fiercely committed player who literally played through a broken leg in order not to miss a crucial game, and myriad heart-wrenching and uplifting stories of the players who had found common purpose. Through their eyes, the author reveals a portrait of high school athletics, and deafness in America.

Synopsis: Good Reads

The book and storyline are laid out well.  I particularly liked the descriptive outline of what 8-man football is and the in-depth analysis of not only the California School for the Deaf, but of the teams they played against.  Including a private school exuding affluence and privilege on the coast of southern California, a military academy nestled in a lower income community surrounded by warehouses, rural agricultural small schools in the heart of the central valley, middle class Christian institutions, their archrival up north – California School for the Deaf, Fremont…along with many others.  A revealing and compelling story from this segment of society.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it an 8.

Note: This is my unprofessional, biased, informal review. I make no claims and receive no money or support for my reviews.  It’s just an extrapolation from the mind of WR.

La Última Palabra (The Last Word)

“As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer.” – William Shakespeare