I bet if you have downloaded this podcast, you are wondering what on earth it is about. I know, the title is curious. Well, let me tell you. I'm in the city of Yakima at the moment, writing for you from a lounge chair, next to a pool, at the Oxford Inn hotel. It is situated right next to the river, in a lovely tree-lined area, quite close to the baseball park. And that is why we're here. Yes, you've heard about our involvement in this sport before. This summer, we have weekend tournaments just about every other week, and most are out of town. So, right now, we're relaxing after a long morning of driving here, and then sitting through two games. Our team, called the River Cats, actually won both games. We have more games tomorrow, and then drive home. In between games, I walked around the nearby area with my children, and took them to a play area of the Kiwanis park. Over a little shady hill, we discovered a large skateboarding park. Boys and young men were busily whooshing by on their skateboards, making jumps and turns, and doing all sorts of acrobatics. Unfortunately, my camera's battery was completely flat, so I had to use my phone to take photos. You could definitely see a hierarchy of talent out there. The most talented was an older boy who had obviously skated for years. He and I chatted for a while. It turns out that he has backpacked around England, and builds muscle cars. Who knew? You never know who you'll meet unless you start a conversation....Anyway, as I was taking photos, a boy called Eloy came up to me and asked if I would take his photo. "Of course," I said. He excitedly chose a few routes to show off his talents, and I snapped away. After a while, I realised that the next baseball game was about to start, so we would have to leave. I asked Eloy which school he goes to, and I also wrote down acupofenglish.com on a piece of paper, "Give this to your English teacher, and you will see yourself on my blog," I told him. I hope he has a chance to read this blog, and see his photo. These talented young people need to be celebrated.

 

Grammar notes.

 

Related vocabulary: involvement, to make/ do a jump/ turn, hierarchy.

 

1. His involvement in the project was unexpected but useful; he really helped us.

 

2. The skateboard champion made lots of jumps and turns, and impressed the crowd.

 

3. The hierarchy of power in the government is seen in the different responsibilities that each has.