Wish Read Visits Section 36!

Photo by Ferell Ann Photography

Section 36 has another visitor! Wish Read is passionate about wellness, a talented singer, and the current Miss Paradise. I was thrilled that she wanted to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more.

So, let's see what happens when Wish Read visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Paradise crown?

I was so excited to finally become a Miss! This is finally the big leagues of pageantry, to be really going for Miss America, so I was so happy to get my title. Miss Paradise was the title of my best friend when we were teen queens, so I told her first when I got my title, and she was so excited that I got to share that title with her.

What part of the upcoming Miss Nevada competition are you most nervous about? 

Is it cocky to say I am not nervous? This year I have really been looking for something that made me feel like myself again. The only thing I felt would give me that feeling would be completing again, as well as having the sisterhood surrounding me and the ability to better myself.  That is exactly what I love doing and being with people who are all there for each other for more than a crown and a sash, but a sisterhood.

Is there a specific goal you’d like to accomplish during your time as Miss Paradise?

I would love to have videos out by the end of my reign that
teachers can send to students as resources for mental health. I feel like especially after the pandemic and going back to school, it is going to be a real shock to the system. I hope to be a video guide/friend to handling that shock and that experience. I plan on working on that series after Miss Nevada and before school starts, so it can be in the first week of school link for students in Nevada!

Photo by Ferell Ann Photography

How did you select your social impact initiative “Wishing For Wellness”?

Wishing for Wellness is the dream 6-year-old Wish had to have someone to look up to who made having a mental illness not so isolating. I just had this idea that I was the only one going through it, and the reality is I was not. No one, especially a child, should have to feel that isolation. If you have followed me throughout my pageant journey you may have seen my other social impact initiatives change, but truly I was so passionate about causes that did not affect me because I was not comfortable in helping myself. Now that I truly can look in the mirror and have a high level of self-awareness, I know this is the initiative that I will work on until my kids and grandkids know that experiencing mental health is a part of what makes us human.

What do you enjoy the most about performing your talent on stage?

My talent has such a special place in my heart. I will be singing Yesterday by The Beatles because my mother and grandmother are such big fans of the Beatles and when I was in high school I saw this heartwarming mother-daughter dance to the song that emphasized the relationship between mother and daughter and that always touched my heart and reminded me of them. I am beyond blessed to be able to tell my truth through this song. I have been working on it forever, so I am so excited to share it with everyone!

How would you complete the sentence, “I get great satisfaction when ___”?

I get great satisfaction when I mentor someone/inspires someone to be greater and better. In my life I was always my biggest motivator, I just wanted to impress myself and make myself proud as well as the Big Man Upstairs, but honestly, some of my greatest victories have come from my princesses going on to do amazing things with the things I taught them or even my mentees within the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society doing well in Students of the Year! I know it is truly my place on this Earth to inspire greatness in everyone I meet and I try to do that as often as possible.

If you could be a Disney character for a week, who would you choose? Why?

Photo by Ferell Ann Photography

Not to play into my name, but I would love to be the Fairy Godmother, so I can grant wishes for people and truly make their dreams come true. I always admired her and just loved her attitude about life, that there is nothing in life that you can not turn around and that is how I try to look at life.

If you had an extra ticket to a Red Sox - Dodgers game, who would you take with you? Why?

I would take my dad because he can always find a life lesson in anything around us, so I would love to hear what he says. Also, I do not know why this happens, but crazy cool stuff happens when I am with my dad, so I know something awesome would happen at that game.

Is there a feature or activity at a baseball game that you’d especially like to experience?

'Take me Out to the Ball Game' is always playing on repeat in my head, so I will have to get some peanuts and Cracker Jacks while I am there. Truly not a baseball game without that!

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I completely agree!

As always, I want to thank Wish for visiting with us, and for sending along the fantastic pictures to go with the interview.

I encourage you to follow Wish on her title's  Instagram account. It's a great way to keep track of everything she has going on!

I also definitely want to wish her the best of luck when she competes for the Miss Nevada title. It would be wonderful to have the first Section 36 visitor wear that crown!
 
Thanks again Wish, and good luck!

1975 Topps Page by Page: Page 60 (532-540)

I'm sure that you all remember that I finally completed my 1975 Topps set.

Now that it's done I thought it would be fun to look through the set and talk about it. Going page by page seemed like a good way to go about it. Hopefully you find it interesting to read what I have to say.

How about we continue with page 60?

Red Sox Cards on the Page  

1. I remember Tommy Harper more as a Red Sox coach than as a player. But, here he is as an outfielder.

Cards that make the 1975 Topps set cool 

Players from the 1975 World Series are cool. But, Harper isn't one of them. By the 1975 season itself, Harper was playing on the West Coast. He was actually on the Oakland team that lost to Boston in the ALCS that year. Cards of Hall of Famers are cool. Lou Brock certainly fits that bill.

My favorite card on the page 

For some reason, the Rudy Meoli card calls to me. Love the idea of using a card picturing him tracking a (most likely) foul pop out. Quite an "action" shot to look at for a year.

What would your answers to those last two categories be?

Lily Jeswald Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has another visitor! Lily Jeswald is passionate about stopping the diabetes stigma, a talented singer, and the current Miss Commonwealth. I was thrilled that she wanted to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more.

So, let's see what happens when Lily Jeswald visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Commonwealth crown?
After all the hugs, photos and my mom running onstage WHILE I was being crowned, I threw off my gown and headed straight to the Cheesecake Factory with my mom, Kim and my boyfriend, Jake. During the Fettuccine Alfredo and Chocolate Cake, I discovered our waitress was actually related to Miss Massachusetts, Lynsdsey Littlefield! So funny how worlds collide. 

What did you learn about yourself at the Miss Commonwealth competition that will help when you compete for Miss Massachusetts? 
I learned how important it is to be my true, genuine self.

Through all the stress of competing, it's hard not to belittle yourself for not being like the girls around you. I am so grateful that as I've grown up, I've been able to hold my own, while still keeping my bubbly personality. 

Is there a specific goal you’d like to accomplish during your time as Miss Commonwealth?
As Miss Commonwealth, my number one goal is to give back to my community. When I was younger, I studied at the Burtwood School of Performing Arts in Middleboro, where many of the Miss America Organization girls studied public speaking, and so as you can imagine, my dream was always to be one of the girls with the 'sparkly hats'. Once I started competing in the Miss Massachusetts Outstanding Teen program, I realized being a titleholder meant a lot more than wearing gowns and singing onstage. It required the women who competed to be well-rounded, well spoken members of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, who continuously gave back to their community. I am so excited to get started - next week I will be singing the national anthem at the Veteran's Day event in Middleboro, MA to kickoff my start of appearances as Miss Commonwealth.

How did you select your social impact initiative, “Type 1 Diabetes and Me: Generation Z”?

I live my social impact initiative. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of four, and now seventeen years later, I wear both an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor. As a child, there were not many kids like me, so I sought out to find them. Did you know there's over 600,000 people right now in Massachusetts alone who have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? This is an underrepresented group, and as Miss Commonwealth my goal is to be their representative at Miss Massachusetts. I like to say the phrase "Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there". With all chronic illnesses there are two immediate reactions: "Can I catch it?" or "You poor thing". I'm here to stop the stigma and to show children and adults alike that people with T1D can be successful in whatever they wish to do, despite their medical condition.

As a talented singer, what do you enjoy most about performing on stage?
I was a shy kid, but I always loved singing. My pure love for

Photo by Peter Camyre

Disney movies kickstarted my love of musical theatre. The most thrilling experience of performing onstage is the fact that it is always different. I have performed both onstage and on film, and nothing is more nerve wracking than the idea that something could go wrong - at any time. There will never be this exact show again. People will sing the same lyrics all over the world - but no one will tell the story the same way again. 

How would you finish the sentence, “I get great satisfaction when ___”?
I get great satisfaction when I... eat ice cream? Just kidding. (Not really :) ). I think the most satisfying piece of my education so far has been directing and teaching. I am a current double major in both theatre and english at Dean College in Franklin, MA. Seeing one of my students or performers have a breakthrough is the best moment for me. When a student works hard week after week after week and one day - it just 'clicks'. That makes the hours of teaching worthwhile. 

If you could be a Disney character for a week, who would you choose? Why?

I am the biggest Disney nerd around. I would love to think that Cinderella's castle is my second home! I would have to swap places with Ariel from The Little Mermaid. My childhood dream of being a singing mermaid would finally come true - and having Flounder as my sidekick would be the icing on top of the cake.

If you had an extra ticket to a Red Sox game, who would you take with you? Why?
I have never been to a Red Sox game - so I'd have to take my brother Ricky with me to show me the ropes. He is the sports sibling - I'm the musical sibling. 

Is there a feature or activity at a Red Sox game that you’d especially like to experience?
I want to throw the first pitch as Miss Commonwealth! I would LOVE to sing the national anthem at a Red Sox game and start the game off - I did sing at New York Fashion Week last year - so I'm fully qualified! :) 

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Yup. Most definitely qualified!

As always, I want to thank Lily for visiting with us, and for sending along the fantastic pictures to go with the interview.

I encourage you to follow Lily on her title's Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as her personal Facebook and Instagram, and the Facebook and Instagram accounts for her social impact. So many ways to keep track of everything she has going on!

I also definitely want to wish her the best of luck when she competes for the Miss Massachusetts title. It would be wonderful to have another Section 36 visitor wear that crown!
 
Thanks again Lily, and good luck!

2021 Bowman Blaster!

I got a package from Target! That's always the best feeling. Well, the best feeling since they stopped selling cards in-store. It was obviously more fun to see them sitting on the shelf since you could, you know, just buy them and open them. Now you have to buy them...wait forever...then open. Oh well. I was able to sang a few blasters unexpectedly not long ago, and they finally arrived. Let's see how the first one went.

Let's get to it!

Here's what the box looks like.

As promised, there were six packs in the box.

The problem with Bowman is that many of the players in the set are years away from the majors, so you tend to get lots of cards of guys you've never heard of. Which might be why they were available for me to purchase...just a bit harder to flip. But, that's not the case when you get one of the Red Sox top prospects who is banging at the door to the major leagues. I've definitely heard of this guy.

Another guy I've heard of. One of the pieces, although a replacement part, that came back in the Mookie Betts deal...Downs is easy to remember with a first name like that. Soon he'll be the best Jeter to ever play at Fenway.

Of course, the other problem with Bowman is that the design isn't very creative. It never is. Not sure why. Does Topps assume the people buying the cards are hard-core investors who aren't buying cards they like the look of? It's not like people are buying these cards because they happen to like the set. They're buying them for the rookie hits. Probably before even bothering to look at the cards themselves.

Also got this numbered parallel of a Phillies top pick. See? Can't flip this. Gonna have to sit on it to see if he's everything the Phillies hope he is.

Overall, not a bad box. A couple Red Sox prospects, and someone to watch.

How did you box go?

1975 Topps Page by Page: Page 59 (523-531)

I'm sure that you all remember that I finally completed my 1975 Topps set.

Now that it's done I thought it would be fun to look through the set and talk about it. Going page by page seemed like a good way to go about it. Hopefully you find it interesting to read what I have to say.

How about we continue with page 59?

Red Sox Cards on the Page  

0. Once again.

Cards that make the 1975 Topps set cool 

Team cards are cool. Players from the 1975 World Series are cool...and a whole team in this case. All-Star cards are cool, especially with that fun logo. Cards of young Hall of Famers are cool. While I'm not sure either Gaylord Perry or Sparky Anderson would qualify as "young" in 1975, they did have pretty long chunks of their careers after that. 

My favorite card on the page 

Have to go with Gaylord Perry. Nice posed action shot tightly cropped to show off the fun uniform. The all-star logo, and a Hall of Famer. Hard to beat that.

What would your answers to those last two categories be?