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Go You Bemidji Beavers!

by Renee Prosen

Webmaster's note:  In mid-February 2010, Dennis Prosen ventured forth to the snow and Arctic-cold of northern Minnesota to be inducted into the Bemidji State University 2009-2010 Athletic Team Hall of Fame.  He was accompanied by his lovely wife Renee Prosen who wrote the following article.

Somewhere between duct tape cure-alls and tater tot casseroles, lives a group of retired swimmers in the heartland of America.  On a recent trip there, I had a chance to discover how life evolved for them and the regular inhabitants who once shunned fitness as something maybe only Californian crazies did.

First, I should explain what would draw a reasonable couple from California to the land of 10,000 frozen lakes.  It was my husband's honor of being inducted into Bemidji State University's Sports Team Hall of Fame.  The swimming team of 1978-79 had earned its place by finishing 9-1, winning the conference title and taking fourth at the NCAA Nationals.  But doing it in a place that is so inhospitable to their sport is just another dimension to their experience.

While there were no absolutes, it seems that the fastest swimmers in the 70's were still pretty fit but they didn't necessarily stay that way by swimming.  Three swimmers who came for the induction swam at World Masters last year.  Five swim for fitness, seven coach swimming, 12 have kids who swim competitively.

That's a lot of sports passion.  And it seems their commitment has changed the face of fitness statewide.  Steady growth has continued in my 25 years of visits.  I used to observe that not a lot of people in The Cities (see below) worked out.  Even fewer did so in the Iron Range (see below).  They were mostly people who'd rather hang out in Fish Houses (see below) and just catch Walleye (see below).

There are definitely more workout facilities, more people using them now and users tend to be older.  This year, for the first time, I was not the only woman in the weight room, at the Y, the fitness center at BSU and the hotel workout room.  People are getting moving.  They know it will make them healthier and at least they have enough indoor option to make it work.  Even the senior citizen apartments where my 90-year-old in-laws live have one.  Hats off (well, maybe not till spring) to Minnesotans who have found indoor exercise as a great way to wait out winter.  However, it is important to not only understand how Minnesotans think, but how they speak.  Garrison Keeler would concur.

*The Cities - Sophisticated metropolitan area encompassing Minneapolis (home of Mary Richards in the Mary Tyler Moore show) and St. Paul.  High density population, chain fitness clubs, heated bus stops and upstairs bridges connecting downtown buildings.

*Iron Range - Rural area up north where soil is red from iron ore, where few swimmers and many hockey parents earned their living.  The hockey coach whose team beat Niagara University our first night in Bemidji, couldn't get over my husband's roots as a swimmer in 'da range.  "The Range" is better place to be from if you play hockey.  The US hockey hall of fame is located in this area.

*Walleye - not Wall-E - Japan and California have tuna and sushi.  Minnesota has Walleye, a delicate fish only spawned and eaten in the north, it is generally exported.  Restaurants boast their own unique treatment.  There are even Walleye Tacos (pronounced Tack-os).  Frequently caught in Fish Houses (see below).

*Fish Houses - Suppose I told you people in Minnesota fish all winter in sub zero temperatures and they never get frostbite because they have heaters.  They watch TV while fishing.  Essentially, a Fish House is a portable party shack.  You drive out in your truck on the frozen lake (18-24 inches thick) and you put up your structure.  You turn on your the 20,000 BTU gasoline heater, arrange the furniture (also carried out in the truck), throw down Sports Illustrated, some beer and, oh yeah, some fishing tackle.  Bore two holes through the ice.  Then place a doo-hickey inside that bounces the bait around so the walleye see it and want to nibble.  But, just so you don't have to spend your whole time looking down a black hole for approaching fish, you use another thing-a-ma-bob that pulls an orange flag to full-mast when a fish bites, just in case you're too drunk to notice.

2010 Marlins Registration Packet

Next time you are at Joinville Swim Center, be sure to pick up your Marlins 2010 Registration Packet.  Contained in it are the following:

1. Cover letter from Marlins President Nancy Littlefield
2. 2010 Marlins Team Dues Registration form
3. 2010 US Masters Swimming / Pacific Masters Swimming Registration form

Or, CLICK HERE for the complete three-page document in PDF format.

Please complete and sign the 2010 Marlins Team Dues Registration form and leave it at the Joinville front desk with your check:  $30 individual or $60 family.  Please make your check payable to: San Mateo Master Marlins

You should also renew your membership with USMS and PMS.  The fee for 2010 is now $42.00.  To renew this membership you can either:

• Complete the form (third sheet in the Registration packet) and mail it in with your check, or
• To register online with a credit card CLICK HERE or at the link on our Fees & Dues page.

Status Report on Don Galine

Webmaster's Note:  As many of you have heard, Don Galine, a member of the San Mateo Master Marlins since the early 1970's, was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.  On July 1, he had surgery at UC San Francisco to remove a large portion of the tumor.  Don is a graduate of Hillsdale High School in San Mateo where he was an All-American swimmer.  As a Masters swimmer, he has always been ranked among the very best in the nation.  In addition, Don, a successful litigation attorney in San Mateo, has been a most generous supporter of the San Mateo Master Marlins.  Don, age 63, and his wife Sue, make their home in Hillsborough.  They have two children, Allison and Brett.  Although in recent years Don has been competing with the Walnut Creek Masters team, we know that he is truly a San Mateo Master Marlin at heart.

The family respectfully requests that you please do not visit Don without an invitation or without calling first.

Update #19 - February 15, 2010

by Randy Brown

Dr. Chang believes the Avastin and Temodar may be masking an area of enhancing cells making it difficult to get a clear MRI read.  It was decided by all that a new approach is in order.  Thankfully, UCSF ranks as one of the top three hospitals in the world for glioblastoma and with Genentech playing a role in the building of a brand new state of the art facility at China Basin in San Francisco, Don and Sue don't have to travel far for treatment.

Don will be taking an experimental Phase 2 drug called XL 184.  As Coach Rich Donner says, "This is just a hiccup in your amazing complete recovery."

On Thursday,February 11, Don and I took a drive over to Half Moon Bay for a walk along the beach.  I told him that on Friday my wife Patricia and I would have the veterinarian come to our house to put our pet Dalmatian, Geronimo, to sleep.  Geronimo has been a loyal, loving member of our family for over 15 years.  So the day before Don goes to UCSF for more testing, he spent most of his time trying to cheer ME up!

One memorable story was the time he and his 16-year-old surfing buddies headed out to Pillar Point onto military grounds.  The GIs approached us with guns drawn.  "We thought they were going to kill us," said a still excitable and very much alive Don.  We stopped on the way home to buy roses for our wives.  "Good, this way I won't forget Valentine's Day." said Donny boy.

He called me twice on Friday after his testing at China Basin out of concern for a grieving Patricia and me.  No wonder this loyal, sensitive man has so many friends.

Aloha nui loa,

Randy Brown