Published: May 28, 2008 11:43 pm            

Amey Takes Aim: Celebrating talent off the playing field

TERRE HAUTE — Remember the name Devin Walsh.

He’s not a baseball phenom with a 95-mph fastball or a 7-foot point guard with mad skills, he’s a budding playwright. But since what I do here is basically find and evaluate talent, I feel it’s my job to alert you all to him. If he turns up in the same sentence as O’Neill or Albee or Shakespeare before long, you will have been given the inside information.

Devin married my “niece” Arielle on Saturday in Carbondale, which is why I was unable to watch Terre Haute South in its valiant tennis struggle at Jasper.

You might remember I’ve mentioned my Carbondale nieces from time to time over the past 30 years or more.

They are four of the most beautiful, fascinating women I know, and because Rich and Peg had Arielle’s wedding at their house — considering the elegance of the event, I may have to start calling it their estate — I was not about to turn down the chance to see all four of them at the same time. Four distinctly unique individuals, yet totally bonded in a sisterhood that I wish for Darcy and JoJo some day (I can safely say, of course, that they have the distinctly unique part down already).

Hillary is the oldest, the one I’ve known since she was just starting to walk. As I told Darcy and JoJo and Ryan, if there were no Hillary back in the day to show me how cool little kids could be, I very possibly wouldn’t have chosen to have kids of my own.

Then came Monica, probably the kindest and sweetest among four sisters whose first commandment from Peg was to be kind and sweet. The mysterious Haley, totally brilliant with touches of non-conformity (learned from Arielle) and rebellion (perhaps from Monica), is the youngest.

But Arielle, the third in line if you’re keeping score, deserves a little more explanation since this was her day.

Peg’s first husband, Hillary and Monica’s dad, is my fraternity brother, thus the nieces claim. When people ask now how I’m related to the girls, I tell them I was awarded custody in the divorce settlement. But when I visited Rich and Peg for the first time after Arielle had arrived, I actually had a tentative plan to stay close to the older girls and remain neutral with Arielle.

Arielle, at the age of about 3, had different plans. We were at a Chinese restaurant, and after about 30 minutes she appeared at my side with a big smile — I’m fairly certain Devin has seen that look a few times — and basically never left it the rest of the visit. Now she was the one who would follow me everywhere I went, and my bonds with the entire family were complete again.

Arielle makes her own choices. She’s the poet (published at 5, I pointed out to one of her professors at the wedding), the non-conformist, the charmer, the 21st-century hippie.

She is also, like the gentle streams that carved out the Grand Canyon, a force of nature. For example, the wedding Saturday was outside, and the day was ominously cloudy — until Arielle walked out of the house on her way down the aisle, and then the sun came out for the rest of the day. Literary folks such as Arielle and Devin can no doubt make something of that symbolism.

And here’s why I know you’ll be hearing from Devin (besides the fact that one of his own plays was quoted twice in the toasts at the reception, which I thought was pretty cool): Arielle also inherited from Peg the gift of being an inspirer of men. Everywhere else in the country is having a housing crisis right now, and Rich is still building houses (and wineries; I may have to rethink this wine prejudice of mine) left and right.

So basically Devin has no choice but to reach greatness. He may, from time to time, even entertain the thought that it was he who had picked Arielle — to which I reply:

Dude, you have no idea. Enjoy your good fortune.

• • •

• Honors — Two Wabash Valley high school seniors were among 33 winners of scholarships from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association recently.

The awards, based on scholarship, leadership and citizenship, went to Micahlyn Allen of Terre Haute North and Derrick Held of Bloomfield.



Andy Amey can be reached after 4 p.m for comments or news items at (812) 231-4277 or 1-800-783-8742; by e-mail at andy.amey@tribstar.com; by mail at P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN, 47808; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.

        

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