Baxter Red is Baxter Red because there were other soccer players with the name of Baxter and this particular soccer player wanted hopefully to stay a stand-out super star. The messy world of soccer was pretty much just plain home to Baxter Red because of his bright red hair. Visiting the Pacific Northwest was a chance to relax and learn more . . . just looking for the edge.
Baxter Red was staying a week with his cousin Joseph. Baxter Red had been delayed several times at airports because of the weather and was now ready for a little running to keep him limber. Joseph had things to do for work, but took Baxter Red to Wright Park near downtown Tacoma. “Don’t worry if you break anything; you can crawl to the hospital, just over the hill.” “Thanks . . . thanks a lot” laughed Baxter Red.
Looking around the large park, Baxter Red was taken in by the beauty and the layout that would allow him to run and not run into people. Within minutes Baxter Red was exercising and getting his legs limber. He stopped however to enjoy the beauty and his head snapped to attention when he saw a small rocket dressed like a soccer player. He was captivated.
The soccer player was a female . . . a young female soccer player. Baxter Red saw himself as a A#1 player on movement, but he saw this young player moving like he had never seen before. She stopped on a dime and moved left and right and even spun around. Baxter Red looked a little closer and found out what she was doing was competing with a squirrel. The girl darted here and there while the squirrel double tracked, spun, and circled in what all seemed like one fantastic ballet movement.
She stopped when she saw Baxter Red and at the same time her father walked up with a mean look at him. Baxter Red just held up his hands and said “I was just looking at the squirrel.” The father looked down over his glasses and nodded his head like he was saying “Yeah . . . right.” Baxter Red said, “I’m a professional soccer player and I was gob struck by the movement . . . of both the girl and the squirrel.”
Soon the three of them were talking about soccer. Baxter Red invited the father, the mother and the daughter to dinner at It’s Greek to Me, an excellent restaurant not far from the park. After the father and daughter left, Baxter Red tried tag with the squirrel, but he didn’t have it all down like the young girl did.
He simply sighed and kept practicing. The quick moving girl was named Bailee. When Baxter Red quit for the day, he was a whole lot faster but was tired and ready for a nap. His lower legs told Baxter Red he had some work to do to catch up with the excellent girl soccer player, Bailee.
