By Craig Brown
Latta’s #1 fan, Karen Allen. (Photo by Craig Brown.)
I first met Karen Allen during the regular season when Latta was hosting Lake View in softball.
After Mr. Paul Moody assured Karen that I was a good guy and not representing some foreign newspaper she walked over to me and opened her green bag that was crammed full of Tootsie Roll Pops and ask me if I would like one. I thanked her and picked out my favorite chocolate flavored Tootsie Roll Pop. Karen manages to save enough of the delicious suckers so that the entire baseball and softball teams can enjoy one after the game.
I have covered four games at Latta since then and Karen has greeted me with her bag and a great big smile at each of these games. Sometimes I turn from the game to watch her greeting others with a smile and a Tootsie Roll Pop.
After Friday’s game, she dropped by the Lady Vikings dugout to drop off some remaining Tootsie Roll Pops. I asked her what her official title was and she replied with that sweet smile on her face that she was the Vikings’ number one fan. She gets no argument from me on that.
If you are in Latta for a ball game and having a bad day, go sit on the Viking side for a little while and a smiling face with a bag of Tootsie Roll Pops might stop by and cheer you up. Be advised to only take one piece of candy because she has to stretch her love for as many people as she can.
Karen told me she is 21 years of age and a graduate of Latta High School. The world would certainly be a better place if there were more Karen Allen’s. As a matter of fact, I have become a Karen Allen fan.
