I was all set to write about the great white shark that tried to eat Mick Fanning while he was surfing in the J-Bay Open this week, but then something more exciting happened.
You see, while Fanning and the shark (who I think we almost have to assume was, at the very least, a distant cousin of Septima) were scuffling in South Africa, I was in Georgetown, watching the Major League All-Stars win Lower Sussex its second state title in two days. While the rest of the world was talking about shark attacks, we were talking about next-at-bats.
The previous night, I had been in Wilmington (my second four-hour round-trip of the week), watching the Junior League All-Stars win the first title and earn a trip to the regional tournament in Connecticut. But while both games were, of course, kind of a big deal, what was really special is what happened afterwards.
It seems like it’s been a trend all week — when someone in the community needs help, they get it.
When the news broke that former Bethany Beach lifeguard Garrett Cuppels needed to raise money for treatment that might enable to not only resume his career as an orthopedic surgeon, but be able to walk again, someone anonymously donated $20,000 (no, that is not a typo) to his cause. While I wish I knew who the donor was, I don’t think they need any public recognition to realize what a beautiful thing they’ve done.
Similar happenings started when the Lower Sussex girls realized that, after taking down the best All-Star teams not only in the District, but in the state, they still had some obstacles to overcome. They needed to raise $10,000, in less than a week, to get to West Haven, Conn., for the next round.
But that’s when the community stepped in again, just like they had for Cuppels, and just like they had so many other times before.
Restaurants offered to host “dine-and-donate” nights. Overture Audio & Home Theatre donated a 40-inch LED television to be raffled off. Local watermen donated bushels of crabs. Cripple Creek offered up rounds of golf. Catch Surf sales manager and Lower Sussex Little League alum
Ryan Savage was back in town with the rest of the Catch Surf team for a stop on the Get Wet Tour and dropped off a prize pack. Colin Herlihy did the same with some of his Toobs’ Herlihy gear. It was all for Lower Sussex, and it was all because the community generally cares.
I guess I should be used to that kind of thing, living here now for the past two years, but being from Baltimore, it’s still all kind of unbelievable to me. Sure, there’s some sense of community back in one of the murder capitals of the world, but not like this. Maybe there’s too many home teams there. Maybe people don’t care as much. Maybe there’s just something special about this place.
When my friends from the city come down here, usually they bring a few Sussex County jokes with them. But, usually, I just laugh them off. And after what I saw from this place last week, why wouldn’t I? I guess the community around here is something that you have to be a part of to be able to appreciate just what a community is supposed be.