Page 2 January 27, 2022 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Travel
The Thing About Bruxelles
Article and photos
by Ben & Glinda Shipley
You can tell a lot about a country by sorting
through its stock of public statuary. Americans
tend to favor—and then disfavor—resolute
citizen warriors, preferably seated on snorting
steeds large enough to support a half-dozen
selfie-snapping protesters. Communist Russia
replaced the smug Romanov boyars with angry,
determined workers, then spread their stoneand
metal likenesses across eastern Europe like
a kitsch factory on overdrive. Italians can’t help
a fondness for bold, holy conquerors from a
legend of two thousand years ago. The French
love myths of any kind, stolen or otherwise,
while the British vent their wind-blown imperial
ambitions.
In Bruxelles, Belgium, the most celebrated
statue—le Mannequin-Pis—is a two-foot-high
fountain, first reported in 1451, of a threeyear
old urinating into a canal. Supposedly, his
aristocratic father commissioned the artwork
out of gratitude after the son wandered off
and was found relieving himself. Not that
anyone really cares. Every year, local mobs
get drunk on the legendary Belgian brews and
dress the bronze boy in a gaudy, new outfit
without interfering with the free flow of his
miniature stream.
Our own favorite gusher, le Cracheur (the
Spitter), spews a constant stream of disdain from
his wall perch between police headquarters and
one of the oldest gay bars in Bruxelles. Here
again, no one seems to know or care why he
was carved, although his birthdate is fixed at
1704. Yet, when you consider that nearly all
European fountains were built to supply water
for drinking and washing…
Off the Grand’ Place in Bruxelles, a life-size
brass wall inlay commemorates the death of an
obscure Brabantine patriot, Everard t’Serclaes.
In 1356, Everard led a daring assault on the
Flemings at the Bruxelles Hotel de Ville. Thirty
years later, he was innocently walking down
a peaceful street, when grudge-filled enemies
recognized and cut him to pieces. It goes without
saying, that the local guide books advise the
gullible to rub Everard’s arm for good luck!
So what do these statues say?
In 50 BCE, when Julius Caesar was driving
the Roman Empire up through Europe, the one
tribe he found nearly impossible to quell was
the Belgae. These uncouth, illiterate savages
did something no other tribe had managed,
which was to turn the fearsome Roman Legions
leftward toward the future British Isles. Yet
some areas of the globe are just destined for
invasion, and the tiny walnut-shaped wedge
between France, the Netherlands, and Germany
seems to be one of them. Over the centuries
since the ancient Italians, the Belgians have
reluctantly hosted Goths, Danes, Saxons,
Austrians, Spanish, French, British, Dutch,
Germans, and Americans.
Each invader has tried to shove its One True
Religion down local throats, some with more
success than others. All have left traces, making
Belgium an authentic melting pot long before
the first passengers set off for the New World.
But none has entirely succeeded in breaking
through the defining characteristic—the “thing”
about Bruxelles and Belgium—which is a
healthy and persistent contempt for anything
that represents official authority. Rulers be
damned. The unit of social organization here
isn’t the state, the city, the neighborhood, nor
even the street. The only structure that really
matters in Belgium is the family.
In 2000, the US Supreme Court decided
ES Eagles Winning
Efforts Come up Short
By Gregg McMullin
With high school sports finally back in
action, after a Covid relief period, it was
apparent that there was some rust to shake
off. For some teams, it was the first time they
had played a game since before Christmas.
For others, it was a layoff of two or more
weeks. It was obvious teams were struggling
to return to game conditions after their respective
layoffs. What was also noticeable were
the player’s efforts. The girl’s water polo
team had played one game since December
18. Both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams
had played just two games since December
23, and the girls’ soccer team played one
game since defeating Santa Monica 2-1 on
December 20. In each case, the spirit and
energy each displayed in their return to action
was evident that their competitive spirit
hadn’t dampened.
Water Polo Team
Continues Dominance
The Eagles are the top-ranked CIF Southern
Section Division 4 team and for a good
reason. They have an 11-2 record and a 17-7
win over Division 2 power Notre Dame (SO).
They also have signature wins over Mira
Costa, Santa Monica and Redondo.
Playing in their first game since January 7
and with very few practices in between, the
Eagles played host to South Torrance in their
Pioneer League opener and rolled to a 23-0
rout of the Spartans. The final score wasn’t
indicative of what it could have been. The
Eagles were faster and more aggressive on
both ends and could’ve scored ten more had
head coach Nila Ward not called for a more
La Place Royale: Godefroy de Bouillon summons the faithful to
the First Crusade, then dies in Jerusalem.
See Travel, page 11
La Grand’ Place: Rubbing Everard t’Serclaes on the arm might
bring you luck, but it didn’t help with his enemies.
Alyssa Mullane readies to score against South Torrance.
Sports Shorts
See Eagles, page 12
AYSO Region 92
Championship Success
By Anthony Gomez
The boys went undefeated on the season with
eight wins and two ties. In the Tournament
of Champions, they beat Manhattan Beach
1, South Redondo, and Westchester 2 in
pool play, then defeated Manhattan Beach
2 in the semifinals to reach the Area 1D
Championship game vs Hawthorne.
In the Championship game, Hawthorne
came out fast, scoring in the first few minutes.
Hawthorne’s striker sliced through the entire
defense before tapping it in to take an early
0-1 lead. Hawthorne’s stout defense didn’t
give much room to work with in the final
third of the field, but late in the 1st quarter
Louis Lappe sent a ball into the box that was
deflected, and Xavier Gomez was able to corral
the ball and put it in to tie the game 1-1. Then
early in the second quarter, Hawthorne beat
the defense and broke away for their second,
regaining the lead 1-2. Hawthorne packed
the back making it difficult to move the ball
around deep in their territory as the Gundo
boys kept battling and getting opportunities
but couldn’t convert. They kept firing shot
after shot, either just missing or at the goalie
for an easy save, crosses and corners were
flying through the box but went untouched.
So many chances, yet none of them could
See Sports Shorts, page 4