The truly inspirational do so naturally and without fanfare

Intelligent and congenial - Tracey Duffy is not a Duffie, although the local families are related. Tracey, now 36, is intelligent and congenial and she always leaves me feeling better about myself. I ran into her at the Rehoboth firehouse 5K Aug. 21, where she ran 29:44. Tracey is a Cape graduate from the class of 1997. She ran track in high school. She is currently a mom and a military veteran who holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Delaware State and a master's degree in social work from Widener. She's a proud member of New Castle County Police Department and is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officers. Tracey is also the co-host and creator of The Brown-Eyed Perspective along with Cliffone Howell (Cape ‘95) on blogtalk radio. They broadcast every other Thursday from 8 to 9:30 p.m., just call 347-857-2213, the dial-in number. Next episode airs Sept. 1. Folks can get more information on the Facebook page, search The Brown-Eyed Perspective.

You’re still the same - I ran into the Hollingsworth sisters at the Cape play day Aug. 20. Both are Cape graduates. Clara, a stellar field hockey player during her Cape career, is the newly named head coach of field hockey at William Penn High School, where she teaches graphic arts. Clara played on the 2000 Cape team that lost to Tower Hill in the finals. Rebecca, a former state champion in the high jump at 5-foot-4-inches, is a mom and teaches at Laurel. I don’t know much, but I know they still look the same because my wife Susan saw their picture and exclaimed, “Oh my god, they look exactly the same!”

Three’s Company - A trio of friends entering fourth grade in the Milford School District asked me to snap their picture prior to the Running of the Goat 5K in Milford Aug. 19. They lined up shoulder to shoulder and then I realized one was my granddaughter Lina and I thought, “Just how many of these little Fred people are there?” Fast friends were Lina, Erin Dunlap and Avery Villabos. 

Brisco kid - Isaiah Brisco, 26 years old, was one of those football and track stars at Cape, just like his late father Henry who excelled for the Vikings in the early 1970s. I ran into Ike prior to the running of the Breast Fest 5K in Dewey Aug. 20. “I’m here running with Bryan Mack,” Isaiah said. “You ain’t running with that silky smooth soccer guy,” I answered. “Bryan can jump off his bike and with no training base break 20 minutes in the 5K. My advice is to stay away from him.” The former classmates ran together like baby brothers and halfway in Brisco let him go. Mack ran 20:11 and Brisco powered to a 23:28. And then Bryan ran back against race traffic to find his buddy and escort him to the finish line. Isaiah, a 2008 Cape graduate, is a two-time state champion in the 110 hurdles, three-time champion in the 300 hurdles. He is 10th best in state all-time in 110s and his 37.5 ranks fourth all time in 300 hurdles.

A soccer Spoor sport - The entire Cape boys’ soccer team was in Dewey Aug. 20 to run the Breast Fest 5K. The first booter back to the finish line was 16-year-old Aidan Spoor, who cruised to a 19:56, which is 6:26 mile pace. Aidan is just a junior. He has a track background and, according to coaches Pat Kilby and Gary Montalto, is a great kid and outstanding soccer player. Tom and Christine King of Lewes are his grandparents.

Snippets - Mike Schmidt in the Phillies broadcast booth on weekends gives off a clear message that he’d rather be home where the only metric that matters is his career home run total of 548. Schmidt told Tom McCarthy, “I liked to swing at first-pitch fastballs.” McCarthy posed that question to his computer and said, “The league average for swinging at first pitches is .324,” and Schmidty  said, “I’m glad they didn’t have all that information when I played. I just swung hard hoping the ball would go a long way.” An entourage of Cape hockey fans are planning a trip to Philly on a Sunday afternoon, Sept. 11 to watch Drexel play at Temple. Tess Bernheimer is a Drexel freshman, plus Temple and Annie Judge are currently looking at each other. When I was at Temple the rule was, “If someone looks at you keep on walking and don’t look back.” I can safely say after two weeks of Olympic coverage I couldn’t find half the countries on a map and would never wrestle a guy from Azerbaijan. Go on now, git!