Cheerleader In Training

"You put your left foot in . . ." Little girl provides the halftime entertainment for tonight's junior football game dreaming that one day she'll be a cheerleader performing for thousands of applauding fans in an air-conditioned stadium.

Not tonight, though. The match was played in sweltering heat that had slightly cooled from a mid-afternoon high of what the weather people (who know about these things) told us was the equivalent of 40 degrees. But the temperature didn't bother the little girl or her mother, who packed her daughter into a stroller after her halftime performance and hiked five laps of the perimeter running track without breaking into a sweat.

Meanwhile, the fans were gasping for air high in the stands, antennas searching for the sweet taste of a moment's cooling breeze, while on the field the players, crazy with the heat, staggered after the ball praying for the final whistle.

Go, Mom, go . . . and bring me a cold drink next time you pass by