Here's a recent happening...
Today, I was shooting around and working on my ball handling in the gym. There was another guy shooting at the other end of the court, so I had a basket all to myself. After a while, another guy came in with a gym bag. I was kind of worried that he would want to shoot with me. There were side goals open, but no one likes shooting on those if they don't have to.
I was hoping he wouldn't wander around my goal and commit the cardinal sin of rebounding MY shot and, in doing so, assume he could shoot with my ball. Guys do that ALL THE TIME and I HATE IT! Then they say something ridiculous about you being a girl in the gym and call you Mrs. Jordan (as in Michael) and make a big deal out of you having basic basketball skills and you have to make small talk while you're trying to get your ball back.
When the guy came in, I had been using the side lanes of my half of the court to work on dribbling, so I nonchalantly made my way back to the basket for a few more shots just to make sure he knew this basket was taken. Kind of rude, I know, but c'mon, I've put up with more than my share of crappy guys who'd rather offer you tips on your technique than shut up and work on their own skills.
From the corner of my eye, I saw him open his bag and face the wall. I didn't see a basketball, so I began to fear for the safety of mine. I took another shot. When I looked back, the guy was juggling 3 ping pong balls.
Yeah.
A week ago, I darn near cried when I saw that this new rec center had a full size basketball court and again when I shot my first free throw after all these years. Basketball is something that I know. It's in my blood. It's in my bones. I played too long and sacrificed too much to not get emotional about the chance to play again... Basketball was always a place where life made sense no matter what was happening outside those gym doors.
This guy probably cried when he saw a full size court on which he could...juggle. Where the heck are we???
2 comments:
What a great story. Don't you feel like a dope when you think you know what life is going to throw at you and you're proven wrong for the millionth time? Also, I related to the feeling of security and familiarity on the basketball court. I, too, love playing basketball. I play once a week, with a bunch of people in a gym in Brooklyn, two hours of full-court pickup games. I absolutely cherish those two hours every week. All the rest of my life can just drop away. My focus has to be very specific, very defined, like staying in front of the person I'm guarding, or trying to remember to go hard for offensive rebounds. I really value that simplicity.
Anyway, good luck, and keep up the great work here on the blog!
well that just made my day! haha, i LOVE when unexpected things like that happen. it just goes to show you can never be sure what life is gonna show you from day to day, and comforting to know that sometimes its a smile-worthy event :)
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