![Before the world knew him as author Mark Twain, young Samuel Clemens posed for this 1850 daguerreotype. By Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg: G.H.[?] Jones [or Jonco?] / Hannibal Mo derivative work: Smalljim (Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones_1850-c7.jpg)
Before the world knew him as author Mark Twain, young Samuel Clemens posed for this 1850 daguerreotype. By Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg: G.H.[?] Jones [or Jonco?] / Hannibal Mo derivative work: Smalljim (Mark_Twain_by_GH_Jones,_1850.jpg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Molly gets a clue about her family’s past through a daguerreotype.
Far from a simple snapshot, these photographic relics are being kept alive by a small group of devotees.
![A Yankee-Red Sox spring training game at "Fenway Park South" in 2012. By NT1952 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Jet_Blue_Park_at_Fenway_South.jpg)
A Yankee-Red Sox spring training game at “Fenway Park South” in 2012. By NT1952 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Right about now, Brandon (Out of Left Field) would be turning to thoughts of spring training.
Here are intriguing facts about JetBlue Park and the history of the Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida:
![Dr. Florence Bascom helped train the majority of female geologists in America during the early 20th century. By Smithsonian Institution from United States (Florence Bascom (1862-1945) [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Bascom3.jpg)
Dr. Florence Bascom helped train the majority of female geologists in America during the early 20th century. By Smithsonian Institution from United States (Florence Bascom (1862-1945) [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons
In Fire in the Heart, Molly’s mother worked as a geologist.
Life has gotten easier since then for women pursuing geoscience careers. Here’s one perspective:
![The stories this prospector's letters could tell... By Tony Oliver from Denver, CO, USA (Prospector) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/256px-Gold_prospector.jpg)
The stories this prospector’s letters could tell… By Tony Oliver from Denver, CO, USA (Prospector) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
In Fire in the Heart, 14-year-old Molly O’Connor wants to learn about her deceased mother and her family’s connection to Gold Rush California.
Letters are Molly’s link to the past. Here’s a site that uses correspondence to reveal history in ways never imagined.
![Karate kids train at the Jack and Jill School. (By Jjskarate, cropped and color enhanced by Zanaq (File:JJS_Karate_Kids_on_Training.jpg) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/256px-JJS_Karate_Kids_on_Training_-_crop-1.jpg)
Karate kids train at the Jack and Jill School. By Jjskarate, cropped and color enhanced by Zanaq (File:JJS_Karate_Kids_on_Training.jpg) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
A new kid in town faces down a bully by announcing he’s earned a black belt in karate. How popular have the martial arts become for self-defense?
Imagine cross country track on wheels! (Image credit Griff Wigley; courtesy of Minnesota High School Cycling League)
The characters in Blue Coyote belong to a high school road bike team. Schools really are taking up such a sport.
![Robbie Rogers became America's first openly gay professional soccer player in 2013. By Longbomb (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/128px-Robbie-rogers.jpg)
Robbie Rogers became America’s first openly gay professional soccer player in 2013. By Longbomb (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Todd confronts his soccer coach over a bully teammate. He asks: if the racist “N” word is forbidden, why is a homophobic player allowed to spout the “F” insult?
National “No Name-Calling Week” was observed nation-wide in schools in January. Learn how children’s author James Howe became an inspiration for the movement.
Alex imagined such helplessness. By MyName (3scandal0) (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In Blue Coyote (a companion book to Twelve Days in August), Alex Beekman has a recurring nightmare of falling into the La Brea Tar Pits.
While he escaped such a fate, others did not.
![BMW's M1 from 1979, a star in Munich's BMW Museum. By Olli1800 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lizaketchum.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/BMW-M1-BMW-Museum.jpg)
BMW’s M1, made only from 1978-81, a star in Munich’s BMW Museum. By Olli1800 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
In Twelve Days in August, Todd compares the BMW, his favorite car in the world, to “sleek” Rita Beekman.
The BMW company history dates back to 1916, when airplanes and motorcycles were “Beemer” priorities.
In 2010, Josh Carlson peeked before kicking his first career hat trick for Victoria United. By Vunited (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New high school soccer star Alex Beekman had scored a hat trick in a game at his old school. The “three in one game” slang doesn’t trace its origins to soccer or even hockey, but another surprising sport.