March 23, 2007
-
1 You remember how I talked about how much I enjoyed playing some hard basketball the other day?
2 That very morning, the morning that DN went out, I took my class to the library for something or other. I had them do some handouts, and for once I had time to relax a bit. But what on Earth can you do in a library?
3 Oh yeah.
4 Well, I thought I should walk down the mythology aisle, since we were studying the Odyssey, and then I thought I should just grab anytning by Shakespeare so as to advertise our next unit in a rather subliminal way.
5 Neither thing happened. I drifted down the sports aisle, still buzzing with adrenaline from the hard-fought basketball game the day before. As I grazed across the various titles, I saw a book about the basics of basketball. Honestly I don't remember the title, but it drew me in instantly, because its premise was that basketball is a mind game, and not so much a physical game.
6 Some Zen master. I liked the concept because it meant that with the correct mindset, someone older and wiser could outthink a younger player with more skills. For a guy who has been youthening since the age of 900, I felt it fit me like a comfortable gym shoe.
7 I moved past the students and sat in the corner, opened the book and became engulfed. EVERYTHING in basketball is mental, was the premise. It gave wonderful tips on how to focus on the ball, or on your opponents stomach when guarding. Lots of great tips on how to slow down but explode with speed when needed.
8 I was getting swallowed up in the book when a voice came right over the top of my head.
9 "Whatcha reading?" It was the guy who played on my team the day before. This guy could leap over the top of the rim and spring off the end with his Nike's.
10 "Me? Oh...uh, nothin'. Just a book about basketball." I flashed the cover and he was amused.
11 "It's all mental, man. See ya tomorrow." He gave a cool-guy point and moved out. Cool Guy Zen Master. I clicked back like a character from a bad Woody Allen movie and returned to my reading.
12 Right before the bell rang I shouted at my students to push chairs back and pick up trash, a diversionary tactic so I could back-door them and dunk the book back onto the shelf.
13 When the bell rang, I thanked the librarian, crumpled a piece of paper and sank a twelve-foot free throw right into her trash can. She looked, I shrugged, she smiled, and I moved out.
14 For the remainder of the day I couldn't wait to play yesterday. In the morning I ran into the guy arranging the game and we started talking about the practice that would commence early yesterday because we had a block schedule, creating a nice early release period. We'd be on the courts by 2:15, which was awesome. I couldn't wait.
15 Well, the day went slowly, and people kept requesting after-school time for meetings, doors to be unlocked, Battle (FANTASTICS for you YB'ers) practices, and
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" people. I realized I needed some shoes, so once everyone disappeared, I vanished myself, hopped in the TOOOOONDRA and screamed down Quimby to Eastridge.
16 I walked into some shoe store that had HUGE sports shoes with no prices, a guy wearing large jerseys, a crooked hat, bling, and who completely ignored me. Some beatbox crap blared in the store and I felt a bit out of place. Just a bit.
17 I skipped out, dashed upstairs, looked to my right and saw JC Penney's. THEN I saw an oasis. Payless Shoes. HAAAAAAILYEAH! Found a pair of sleek Spaldings that fits guys with duck feet, and then I thanked the gal. I bolted out of the store, popped the TOOOOOONDRA into gear and flew back up Quimby.
18 I opened the doors for everyone who needed doors opened, met with people who wanted to talk, and FINALLY broke into the gym, where the door opened and nine teachers stood at center court and applauded. One guy looked like he wanted to cry.
19 "It's the guy with the keys!" He grabbed them and dashed to the bathroom, screaming "I've had to pee for twenty minutes!" Everyone laughed. They started giving me crap, "Hey, it's Air Bud! If we pick teams, we get him!" Yeah, I had a pretty good game and it spread that the old guy is dangerous on the court. Of course I loved it, even if it was bullshit.
20 We finally got going. I stretched, shot for a few minutes, and the game was underway. Full court. Zen. The sun beamed through the gym windows. We played hard, and had lots of fun. I got into a rhythm and scored four points early, which made me feel great until I screwed up three passes, missed horribly on an easy shot, and fouled some guy shamelessly. That felt good though.
21 I grabbed a loose ball at center court, dribbled down, got past three people and landed a lay-up, and moved back down the court. I didn't want them to think I was lagging, even though my lungs were ready to explode.
22 Then it happened.
23 I felt the huge pop in my calf, and had to stop immediately. I walked it off. They stopped the game and everyone rested while I limped around in terrific pain. They wanted to resume and I said I'd go back in and see if I could just run it off.
24 Couldn't.
25 Flat tire.
26 I continued walking around almost in tears, but I kept smiling and acting cool. Zen, right? I thought of how all the Zen in the world wouldn't make things work if the body wouldn't do it.
27 A flat tire.
28 It never did get better. I hobbled out to the TOOOOOONDRA, literally had to lift my leg into the truck by holding my pants and carrying the thing in. The entire limb was gone, a massive slab of painful dead weight. Horrified, I managed my way home.
29 Last night I began typing up the DN, but the pain was unbearable, and then the computer froze. I tried getting my leg up on the couch, but it wouldn't work. I was in excruciating pain. I just turned off the light and went to sleep, woke up this morning and the computer was still stupid, but the leg felt better, just from one night of rest.
30 But for a while, the entire world stopped. As of yesterday, my leg still wouldn't work at all. Although I had less pain, it still wouldn't work. I was completely immobile, except to hobble to any available destination.
31 A flat tire.
32 That explains that dame at the top of the page.
33 I figured if you saw a picture of me and my leg, you probably wouldn't have spent the morning reading all of this.
34 Thanks for listening.
35 Have a great day.
36 Ain't she sweet?
37 Peace.
~H~MONDAY: HOUDINI
Recent Comments