* * Amy Wetzel Doolan reminisces about her "Dream Team"

In a recent movie made about “The Dream Team,” the 1992 American Olympic Basketball Team, superstar Michael Jordan said, “What we did will go down in history as one of the biggest things that ever, ever happened, and it won’t ever be duplicated.”

Amy Wetzel Doolan played for Virginia Tech’s Dream Team. I met her for tea to talk about her experience playing experience on the Hokie Women’s Basketball Team from 1996 until 2001.

“It was special. I came to Blacksburg in 1996, recruited by Beth Dunkenberger who was an assistant to Carol Alfano at the time. I was recruited by lots of schools, but I chose Tech even though I had no ties to it whatsoever. Before I met Beth I had really never heard of it. It was far enough from my home in Pennsylvania but not too far. I was from Ashland, Pennsylvania which is a coal mining, rural area, near Reading. I participated in AAU sports and that’s how Tech found out about me. I set lots of scoring records at my high school.

“I didn’t start playing ball until seventh grade. I was a cheerleader and gymnast, which goes hand-in-hand. At 116 pounds, I got too big and heavy. I started playing ball at a nearby park. I played good defense, had good footwork, and became a starter for the team. I became one of the better players and once in high school, started getting some attention.” She led her North Schuylkill team to a 107-12 record, four league championships and a PIAA Eastern Pennsylvania Class AAA title in her four years. “Kobe Bryant was from Philadelphia. In 1996, he and I were named the Keystone State Games Basketball Most Valuable Players of the Tournament.

“I remember my first visit (to Tech). I loved the place. It felt like home but even better. Everyone was so friendly and supportive. I remember making my decision and telling my folks that Virginia Tech was the place for me. It felt right to me then and has felt more right to me every day since.”

Not everything went well for her and the team, at least right away. She made the starting line-up for Alfano, but she got a stress fracture in her foot and was sidelined. Alfano was fired and Bonnie Henrickson was hired in her place. Henrickson was a taskmaster who demanded total dedication from her team while outworking everyone herself. Amy, playing with Lisa Witherspoon, Michelle Hollister, Katie O’Connor, Tere Williams, and Kim Seaver, soon found unmatched success. “It was grueling and difficult, but Bonnie got us where we needed to be. We had a love-hate relationship at the time, but I give her a lot of credit for making me who I am today.”

Winning started coming more frequently. But what was incredible was the exploding fan support. Soon the Women’s team was outdrawing the Men’s and the Blacksburg community embraced the team like nothing ever seen before. That’s when my family met Amy, as we loved attending games and showing our young daughter how women could be successful in sports. The players became beloved like rock stars! Everyone in town talked about them. “Being in the moment back then,” Amy admitted, “I’m not sure if I appreciated how special it really was. But now I realize…

“I am a very competitive person; I’m competitive in every aspect of life.” Amy gestured widely with her long, expressive fingers and brushed her signature blond bangs from her forehead. “My competitive nature has made me who I am today.” Amy ended her career as the sixth-leading scorer in Tech history with 1,444 points. The 2000 Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year also ranks second in steals (235) and third in assists (399).

 She studied Biology at Tech and later went to the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine where she got her Doctor of Osteopathy degree. She met her husband, Keith Doolan, who is a trainer for the football team. They married in 2003 before she started med school.

“Bonnie instilled in all of us that we needed to make good decisions in life as well as on the court. She insisted we reach out to the community and become role models for the children. It came naturally to me and I loved it.” Amy admitted that her team’s popularity involved a bit of unexplainable magic, too. “The community embraced us in a way I never thought possible. But I think there’s something magical about the Blacksburg and Virginia Tech communities overall that can’t really be explained or engineered. People in Blacksburg and Christiansburg love sports and Virginia Tech. On a weekly basis, people still recognize me and thank me for being a part of their lives. It’s very moving for me, very special. There were kids then who are now in their 20s and they still idolize me. I hope my children have good role models as I tried to be for those kids.

“Without Virginia Tech Basketball, I wouldn’t be where I am today, a doctor, wife, and mother of two. I am forever grateful to Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, and all the people who have supported me. It has been a wonderful ride. In 2008, I was inducted into the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament Legends and I was recently named to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. It’s a great story and it continues on, every day I’m here.”

I’m guessing it will never be duplicated.

* * Seeing the President of the United States

Friday was a special day, historic. My wife, Jane, and I, along with two old friends , went to Roanoke to see the President of the United States.

Just typing the phrase “President of the United States,” has a bold, proud feel to it. We don’t see too many Presidents out here in the provinces. In fact, the last sitting President visiting in Southwest Virginia was 33 years ago. We’re all fans of this one, so it was an event we didn’t want to miss.

The evening was overcast and light rain was forecast, so we carried raincoats; umbrellas weren’t allowed. The venue was the 1900 Church Street firehouse in downtown. While the backdrop was inspiring, I soon concluded that it was a poor place to host the 3000 or so folks who attended.

Former Governor and current Senator John Warner spoke first, followed by former Governor and current senatorial candidate Tim Kaine. I have met these gentlemen many times and know them well enough to be on a first-name basis. Both have been ardent supporters of Southwest Virginia and Kaine’s wife, Ann Holton, is from Roanoke. So they were clearly comfortable with the audience who greeted them warmly. At the same time, they spoke briefly, knowing whom we’d come to see.

By the time President Obama took the podium, many of us in the audience had been standing for over an hour, some much longer. But our enthusiasm wasn’t diminished by the wait. Every president has engendered strong emotions from the citizens, but it is hard to dislike this one in person.

Obama is a dapper, charming, charismatic man with a bright, eager smile, expressive hands, and an innate elegance of form and movement. He punctuated his speech with animated gestures and expressions. His speech was the typical stump stuff, focusing primarily on the economy and jobs. He said the opposition party continues to espouse trickle-down theories, saying “Their basic theory is if wealthy investors are doing well, everybody does well.” But, “we tried that for most of the last ten years and it didn’t work!” He added, “I believe that the way you grow the economy is from the middle out and from the bottom up.”

It goes without saying that I agree with him. Rich people don’t create jobs. Consumers create jobs by creating demand for products and services. Companies hire people to fill that demand. Channeling more money to the top just broadens income disparity. Obama added, “The top 2-percent (of income earners) are doing just fine.”

My guess is that the African-American population of Roanoke is greater than here in Montgomery County, and they were clearly delighted by this man. Obama’s story, I think, still resonates with minorities worldwide.

As enthusiastic as the audience was with the President and his messages, it was clear that lots of feet were hurting and lots of people who were elevationally challenged (like me) were unable to see what was going on. Most of us are limited in how long we can stand on our tip-toes, an act that was only marginally helpful anyway. In front of me was a boy of perhaps 10 or 11 who was too short to see anything. His grandmother held him up to see from time to time, but this clearly strained her physical skills. With my bad back, I couldn’t help. We were all jealous of the scattered six-footers in the crowd who got the whole show.

Obama made many references to the area, including our great schools “like VT” where his wife Michelle appeared two months earlier as a graduation speaker. But he acknowledged that this is not one of his strongholds. “The last time I came to this part of Virginia, all the political writers were like, ‘He’s not serious. He’s just making a tactical move.’ I’m serious. I’m going to get some votes down here.”

I assume the President of the United States can speak wherever he wants. So my advice to the campaign is this: next time, choose a venue that allows your audience some comfort. Everyone would appreciate it.

Reaching the car, Jane understood the historic personal nature of the event, saying, “It was an extraordinary experience to see the President and hear what he had to say. Kaine, Warner, and Obama make a good team.”

Our friend Sheila added, “The most amazing part of the evening was the crowd. The attendees were so diverse – by gender, age, ethnicity and race. Wonderful to see all those folks coming together. It represented the best of what America is.”

The Presidential departure back to the airport required that several downtown streets and the northbound lanes of I-581 were closed. So we weaved our way through different arterials to reach I-81. We reached home much later and more tired than I’d anticipated, but it was worth it.

* * Strangers come to visit with us

Months ago I wrote here an entry entitled Taking in strays, about joining a couple of Internet-based hospitality services and participating both as a host and as a guest. We had interesting visitors on the Fourth of July, Halef and Michael from Atlanta.

We’ve hosted several groups over the months we’ve been members. Most are bicycle riders, headed cross-country on the nearby TransAmerica Bicycle Route. Most are Americans, but we’ve hosted a Korean and two Englishmen as well. Most are kids in their early twenties, taking a break from college or their career before really diving into having children or taking on other adult responsibilities.

Here’s the note I got from Halef several weeks ago, “My partner Michael and I are planning on a road trip along the Eastern Board of the United States, on our way to New Brunswick in Canada. We will be passing your beautiful town of Blacksburg, and would love to request your couch for the night, for the two of us, while celebrating the 4th of July celebration with you. I'm originally from Indonesia, and Michael is from Canada, so of course we would really enjoy an authentic USA Independence Day.”

I assumed that these two men were not business partners, but were life partners (i.e., they were gay). We had no plans for the 4^th, so we accepted their visit request. They arrived by car at dinnertime, which I was already in the process of preparing. Once our dogs stopped barking at them, we let them in and got acquainted.

Halef is in his early thirties and is from Bandung, Indonesia. I knew that Indonesia was a multi-island nation south of Vietnam and that the principal island, Java, was densely populated. Halef explained that in fact Java was the fourth most populous nation on earth (behind China, India, and the United States) and its capital, Jakarta, has over 10 million people and is the largest city in Southeast Asia. Amazingly, Indonesia is spread over 17,500 islands! Halef came to the United States to attend college. He was accepted at four universities, in Michigan, Arizona, Oregon, and Iowa, and he chose Iowa State. We teased him about the shock he must have felt moving from a warm, volcanic island in the South Seas to the winter-frigid pancake-flat prairies of the United States. He spoke exceptional, albeit accented English. He is a landscape architect.

Michael is ten years older than Halef, and he’s Canadian. He grew up in the Maritime Provinces in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Clarenville, Newfoundland. He works in computer training.

Both men moved to Atlanta for jobs and met each other there.

After dinner, we drove around the area so I could show them some of the sights we’re proud of. We drove through Prices Fork to McCoy to see the falls of the New River. Then we drove up to Mountain Lake to see the hotel and what’s left of the shrunken lake. Then we drove back into town to see the Virginia Tech campus where we stopped to pay homage at the memorial to the April 16^th victims. Like everybody we’ve taken there, these men were visibly moved by the enormity of that senseless, brutal tragedy.

As we drove through downtown, we talked about politics. Michael was more politically motivated and interested. Being from Canada, living here in the States was a significant sacrifice (Atlanta’s brutal summer weather notwithstanding). Canada recognizes gay marriages, and in fact Michael was once married to another man and his divorce was still pending. Health insurance is provided as part of citizenship in Canada, something he had here only through his employer. When I suggested that some of the opponents of the Affordable Health Care Act were reacting angrily to the Supreme Court’s Decision not to repeal it by threatening to move to Canada, he laughed heartily. “They are clueless!”

Halef told me that Indonesia, being predominantly Muslim, “Will not recognize gay marriage for another 200 years!” Nevertheless, they were making active plans to “retire” together and live a quiet life together there.

The next morning, I fixed them my famous blueberry pancakes (not my best batch, I must admit) and they were too soon on their way, inviting us to visit with them in Atlanta and to Michael’s friends in Canada.

The following day, Jane said, “You know, I really like gay men. Did you see they brought their own sheets and towels, and they cleaned the bathroom sink before they left? They left a thank you note on the pillow of the bed. I think that was very thoughtful.”

Opening our door to strangers might someday leave us vulnerable to problems. So far, however, we’ve never had a bad experience.

* * Our nation's greatness

On this Independence Day, a friend posted on his blog, “It’s time to honor the country we call ours and remember that even with our problems we’re still the greatest nation on earth.”

While I make it a regular habit of counting my blessings and enjoying what this nation has provided for me, the notion of whether we are the greatest nation on earth is a question I don’t really ask.

We can ask if Johnny Unitas was the greatest quarterback ever.

We can ask if Beethoven was the greatest composer ever.

For me, asking what is the greatest nation on earth is a fruitless exercise.

You see, I’ve been to lots of others. They’re populated by folks mostly trying to do the same things we are: feed, clothe, educate, and keep their families healthy.  The degree to which they are able to do that is largely dependent upon the governance and power structure of their nation. For many of us, we’ve been very fortunate in that regard. But certainly not everybody.

Our nation was pieced together by a Dream Team of Founding Fathers. The aggregate wisdom and intellect of Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Adams, Monroe, and the others had never been seen before and will likely never be seen again. Nevertheless, we lead the world in too few of the positive indices: access to health care, access to capitol, education, per capita income, etc. The Dream of the Founding Fathers is still in our hands.

Today is our nation’s birthday. So let’s go drink some beer, shoot off some fireworks, and spend time with friends and family. Tomorrow, let’s get back to work making this country what we all know it should be.

* * Riding the Ride of Silence

Let me start off by saying that for most bicyclists and for most motorists, it’s really not a war out there. I put many more miles each year on two wheels (bicycles and motorcycles) than on four. Most of the time, everything works pretty well; bicyclists obey the rules and enjoy the benefits of utilitarian and recreational riding and motorists obey the rules and are willing to share the road. Ninety-nine out of a hundred drivers are patient and accommodating. Then there’s the one-hundredth.

I participated in the Ride of Silence in Radford, co-sponsored by the New River Valley Bicycle Association and Pathways for Radford on a beautiful recent evening. The local Ride of Silence is part of an international event, held throughout the world on the same day, to honor those riders who have been killed or injured while riding on public roadways. There was a large crowd in attendance, approximately 100 people I guessed. All of us were given black arm bands. We were instructed to ride in single file, slowly and solemnly. We left a parking lot on Main Street in West Radford and rode east, through downtown and past the Radford University entrance. There were both children and adults riding every conceivable type of bicycle. We were given a police escort so we could stay together through the intersections.

It was difficult to keep a measured pace, as the line of riders acted like a slinky, bunching up and then spreading out. It seemed to take as much effort to ride slowly as to ride the usual pace. Nobody said a word.

We departed from the streets near the Dedmon Center and rode the trail along the New River to Bissett Park. From there, we rode through the tunnel under Main Street and through Wildwood Park. Part of our mission was to raise awareness among motorists, so I felt that we should have stayed on the streets. But with its views of the river and the dark woods of Wildwood, the trail is a special gem.

Radford is a lovely little city. The downtown is nicely kept. Bissett and Wildwood Parks are amenities that any city in the nation would covet.

Still, the mood was somber, per design. I personally was acquainted with two people who have been killed by motorists while bicycling. Errant motorists typically fall into two categories, the malevolent and the oblivious. Neither really WANTS to hit a bicyclist. The malevolent, for whatever personality disorder, believes that bicyclists don’t belong and it is his (or her) prerogative to hassle, terrify, or otherwise ruin the day of any bicyclists he may encounter, and doesn’t want to hit the bicyclist only because it will ruin his day as well. Parenthetically, I suspect this person would be entirely patient with a farm tractor going 12-mph on a public road but not a bicyclist doing the same speed. The oblivious is texting, doing make-up, fiddling with the radio knobs, or otherwise distracting herself (or himself) from the activity of driving. She doesn’t want to hit the bicyclist because she is actually a caring person, but has never considered driving a full-attention activity.

Bicyclists are sometimes at fault as well, running stop signs or disobeying other laws.

By state law, bicyclists are required “ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of roadway.” But painfully few of our local roads are wide enough for a car to pass a cyclist without using some of the oncoming lane. I’ve personally been imploring VDOT for years, as have other riders, to place adequate bike lanes or paved shoulders on local roads. But money is always tight and progress is slow.

What keeps Radford and most American cities and towns from being as nice as they should be, is that in the past 30-40 years, they have become almost completely automobile-centric, with the retail districts moving from downtown to the outer fringes. Automobiles are community de-magnetizers, fostering sprawl and gobbling up land. Bicycle and pedestrian activity magnetizes communities, keeping things tight and limiting sprawl. Bicyclists enjoy better health and fitness and our society benefits from reduced demand for energy consumption. The bicycle is the most efficient transportation device ever devised. In an increasingly energy-expensive world, they’re not going away.

We all just need to learn to live together. Because it’s really not a war out there.