Cougars: All Studs & No Duds

In the summer of 1995, Julie and I said our vows in Chicago, honeymooned in the Caribbean, and then moved to our new house in Georgia. (A new house for $99,600! Good price but we were so broke that I had to ask my employer for a $5,000 salary advance for the down payment!)

We had been apartment dwellers the previous three years. This was our first home. A place we could make our own.

Soon after we moved in, the painting and decorating began. One afternoon I was hanging a shelf in the garage. It was going to hold some heavy stuff so Julie said that I should be sure to secure it to the garage wall studs, which was something she had learned from her dad, SteveOts. Securing to the studs ensures stability and strength. Helpful information because I knew absolutely nothing about home improvement.

The garage was drywalled so I had to figure out where the studs were located. I figured I would just keep hammering nails vertically into the wall until I hit a stud. Pretty clever idea I thought.

A little while later Julie walked out, looked at the garage and saw several nail holes from ground to ceiling. With a confused and quizzical look, she asked, “Whatcha doin’?” “Looking for studs, of course” was my response. She then informed me that studs run vertically and I’d never find one that way.

Julie called SteveOts and his advice was to get a stud finder. It was the first time I’d ever heard about such a device that uses magnets to find studs behind drywall. (It was around this time that I learned about the benefits of spackle, as well).

Just last week on the morning after our game, Julie asked me to hang a long and heavy shelf.

First task, find the studs. I grabbed my almost 30-year old stud finder and went to work.

Once I found one stud, it was easy to find the rest. In the home construction game, studs are separated by 16 inches.

It sure was easy to find the studs on Tuesday night. Our 16-inch softball game brings the Cougars together.

With a 6-0 shutout victory, the Cougars were total studs with stability on defense and strength on offense. And we always have that Cougar animal magnetism.

Martini and Joker were electric as our battery. Joker called a flawless game behind the plate and Martini lofted beauty pitches all night.

Our infield was perfect. Absolutely perfect. L’il Rads caught everything at 1B, Crawdaddy made a few stellar plays including throwing a runner out from his back at 2B, Big Ball Jimmy showed his utility and versatility at SC, while our left side of Ev and CRads cleanly fielded a dozen or so hot grounders.

Outfield – also perfect. Kev, Goose, Boom were stationed from left to right and not a ball got by them.

An errorless game and our first shutout in 7 years!

We were stud-muffins on offense too!

In the 1st inning, Kev tripled and Ev singled for our first tally. They each knocked hits in the 4th inning but were stranded. Joker singled in the 5th and was also stranded. Going into the 6th inning, Cougars were only up 1-0. Li’l Rads watched a walk, Crawdaddy singled for runners on first and second. Ev singled to plate a run. CRads singled for another ribbie. Then Goose came to the plate. We know from Top Gun that Goose is a big stud and he proceeded to launch a rocket that disappeared into the night sky. The sphere would have cleared the fence had it not hit the overhanging tree like a wall and dropped just inside the fence for a two-run double. Martini carved a single to the right field line to score our final run. Philthy may leave dentistry and become a tattoo artist because he beautifully inked our scorebook.

Watch and enjoy all the highlights. The Cougars are 16-inch studs!