"Katie, The Square Shouldered Girl"
by Bob Weissman
Copyright ©2000
ISBN: 0-87714-624-1 eBook edition
ISBN: 0-87714-449-4 PB edition
All rights reserved by Denlinger's Publishers, including the right to reproduce this electronic book, or portions thereof, in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
THE AUTHOR
Bob Weissman was born and raised in the New York City area. His interest in sports goes back to his days playing sandlot baseball and watching the Mets, Yankees, Jets and Giants. After college, Bob spent ten years in the Army as a communication officer. In the service, he played on and coached numerous sports teams, including coaching a group of women officers to a post flag football championship. His interest in girls athletics intensified while coaching many of his daughter's youth sports teams.
Bob, author of Teammates, The Universal Bond, works today as a marketing executive for a fortune 100 company, and lives with his family less than a ten-minute drive from the beautiful Potomac River, in suburban Maryland.
THE BOOK
Hi! My name is Katie Calhoun and I'm twelve. My family has moved from our home in Savannah, Georgia, to Potomac, Maryland. While my brother Rory and I hated leaving the city we loved, what we hated even more was being considered different. During my first day of school I find that I am an outsider. My speech, dress and heritage separate me from my classmates. I hope that they accept me because of my softball skills. But that turns out to be the wrong answer. After several failures to belong, I make the friends that really matter. I learned that being accepted is not as important as making real friends, and that you must protect them and reward them with our trust. Join my classmates and me, as we learn what is really important in life. Join me as we form a team and learn that a team is more than a collection of players and coaches. That winning and losing is not the measurement of a team. By competing to! gether, we all can learn from all our mistakes and failures and embrace all our differences.
Selected Review
Set in suburban Maryland, this contemporary tale combines, sports, school issues of cliques and social interaction with a look at baseball history. Using the example of courage displayed by Jackie Robinson when he integrated the Dodgers, Mr. Wilson, the school principal makes a poignant and stirring presentation to the girls' softball team. The players take his important words to hear and pull together as a real team for the first time in the season. Life lessons are often fraught with pain and suffering but Mr. Weissman lets readers learn from the actions of others in this very readable middle grade novel. - Sheilah Egan, Virginia Parent News
Introduction
It wasn't the first time she had been in an airplane, but it was the first time a plane was taking her away from her home. Katie was worried about her twelve year old cat; would he be OK on the flight to Washington? Lee was an easygoing animal, and she could not understand why he had to stay in the cage and in the baggage area. Sitting next to her was her big brother Rory. Dad had arranged first class tickets for the whole family so they were comfortable and alone. "Remember, we must change in Atlanta and we don't have a lot of time," Dad reminded the family for the tenth time.
"Dad, how come we didn't drive? Lee would not have to be in the baggage compartment then," Katie asked.
"Katie, we have been over this before. Our car is being shipped and we have only so much time before you start school," Dad explained.
"Ha! Ha! You have to start school a week before me! That's what you get for going to a fancy snob school!" stated Rory.
"If you had her grades, you could attend a school like Pickering Academy; but all you care about is hearing people cheer. Education is everything, and sooner or later you will learn that," Father complained.
"Jefferson Calhoun! Lay off the boy and stop acting like the world needs a hundred more people like you. He is seventeen and a good kid and I am sick of you yelling at him!"
Lillian Calhoun, known to the world as Lily, was no shrinking violet. She was a tall woman from a family of large people. Both Katie and Rory get their height from her side of the family. Lily's blue eyes were bright, clear, and as blue as a mountain lake. They seemed more likely to be on a lady with blonde hair instead of a brunette. People who knew her best described her as a lioness protecting her cubs. As the family quieted down, Katie was thinking about all the changes in her life. Katie was a spunky girl of average height. She had dark brown hair and eyes. Her skin was clear with cheeks the color of apples. What Katie always thought were different, were her large shoulders, arms and hands. Katie never liked her large square shoulders, except that they gave her the extra strength to be a star in any sport she tried. Katie looked like an athlete, and walked like a cat, powerful and smooth. She was born in the old house on Henry Street in Savannah. All her friends used to play in the dozens of parks in Savannah, Georgia. Her home was surrounded by beautiful gardens and stately colonial homes built in the early 1800's. There were hundreds of trees with hanging Spanish Moss. She could walk everywhere, and she knew everyone. She was moving to a state where she would be an outsider. She was worried about where she would swim, where she would play ball, and if she would make friends. But right now, she was mostly worried about Lee in the baggage compartment. She looked at her big brother, and he smiled at her.
"Don't worry Katie, I will always be there to protect you. Besides you're the best girl softball player in the whole world. Once the season starts you'll be the most popular girl in school," Rory told her as if he could read her mind. "I'm the one with the problems." Rory was well over six feet tall. He had the same broad shoulders as his sister and mother. While not handsome in the traditional sense, he had a big smile and clear brown eyes. The things that stood out the most about Rory were his incredibly large hands. Rory could hold four baseballs between his fingers. What kind of ball do they play in Maryland he wondered to himself. Are there decent teams? Will the scouts find me? The school I am going to is not known for anything except drama." Rory sat back in his seat and thought, my sister is the best person I know, and she is worried. What chance do I have?
At the same time, Lily was the most excited person going to Washington. After graduating in the top half of her high school class, she fell in love with an egg head attending the University of Georgia. Marrying young and leaving college to support her husband had been a difficult decision. Lily, never a quitter, finished college at night and never regretted the late nights required to get her degree. A career woman, limited by living in a traditional small southern city, she was going to the biggest job market in the country. Lily would finally be able to build a career, and not just have to be worrying about the kids, she thought as her mind raced. In two years, Rory will be playing baseball for a living. Every scout said he was the next Nolan Ryan. Katie is the most well rounded person I know, so she will be fine. Jefferson is the one I am worried about. He has taken over a company that is failing and not willing to change. Was the risk worth it, and will this job kill him? We don't need the money, and we loved Savannah. Why did he have to do this?
Jefferson, who everyone called Jeff, sat back in his seat and wondered if he has made a mistake. Since meeting Lily, his life had been almost perfect. A beautiful wife, great jobs, and two kids who made him proud. Now he was taking on the toughest challenge in his professional career. All his life he wanted to be a company president. Always the number two guy, he made a great living, but wondered if he could handle the challenges of really being in charge. But this opportunity had a price, and a steep one. He was moving his family to a new state, a new life style, and in some ways, a New World. I hope I did not ruin our lives, he thought. He was still wondering as the plane banked to the left and started its landing in Atlanta.
"Next stop is the nation's capital and our new life," Jeff said to his family.
"Great, I am going to a public school known for acting," Rory complained. Katie was worried only about her cat.
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