SHE GOT GAME

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Author Maggie Hill will be having a reading from her new novel, “Sunday Money.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 7:00 PM.

The BookMark Shoppe: 8415 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (718) 833-5115

Here’s an overview:

It’s 1971, but for Claire Joyce and girls’ basketball, it might as well be 1871. Stilted rules (three-bounce dribbling, two roving players for full-court games, and uniforms that include bloomers) set their play unfairly apart from the boys’ basketball Claire’s older brother John has trained her in.

Basketball is the only constant in Claire life, and as she enters her teen years the skills she’s cultivated on the court—passing, shooting, and faking—help her guard against the chaos of an alcoholic mother, an increasingly violent younger brother, and the downward spiral her beloved John soon finds himself unable to climb out of. Deeply cut from the cloth of the Catholic Church, Brooklyn’s working class, and the limited expectations her world has for girls, Claire strives to find a mirror that might reflect a different, future self. Then Title IX bounces on the scene. Suddenly, girls’ basketball becomes explosive, musical, passionate, and driven—and if Claire plays it just right, it just might offer a full ride to a previously out-of-reach college.

Sunday Money follows Claire as she narrates her way through 1970s Brooklyn, hustling on and off the court and striving to break free of the turmoil in her home and the rulebook “good” girls are supposed to follow.

E-Mail: SteveFinamore@yahoo.com

THE LORD’S SUPPER

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Day 15 of 365 images in 365 days…

It’s Holy Communion time. No better time than now to pull this classic photo from the archives.

From left to right: Finamore, Langton and Godfrey. Holy Name Communion. Circa 1972.

“The body of Christ…”

If you know, you know.

Those were the days my friend…

OFF-TRACK BETTING

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Day 14 of 365 images in 365 days…

With the running of th 150th Kentucky Derby tonight from Churchill Downs, I thought a picture of OTB that was located on 12th street and 5th avenue would be ideal.

Gotta admit, I am not feeling, nor have I been feeling this iconic race for a few years now.

But back in the day, WOW! I was always juiced when this race came on TV.

I recall visiting OTB often and placing bets. It became addictive.

Do OTB’s even exist anymore?

Those were the days my friend…

THE GIRL’S SCHOOLYARD

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365 images in 365 days…

Holy Name schoolyard – oops, make that the “girl’s schoolyard.”

This place used to be a sports wonderland.

Stick ball, slap ball, punch ball, football, off the point, tag, manhunt, coco-lee-vee-o…

We even used it as a place to hang out morning, noon and night.

Those were the days my friend…