Which of course brings to mind one thing. Pain. Oh, and I don't just mean your garden variety muscle aches and cramps due to switching from armchair quarterback to covering court space the size of Manhattan, I'm talking real pain. The kind of pain only you can inflict upon yourself.
Like when you get out of a chair to go shag a loose ball for the players and you managed to rack yourself on the next chair. Hard. Yeah, that hurt. Or how about jumping up for a ball that's clearly over your head and landing square on your tailbone. Good thing I fattened up for the winter chill. Of course, nothing is as good as swinging away to inflame your rotator cuff problem.
Which is why I was having more pain than usual. Most of you may know I'm still recovering from feet muscle injuries (plantar fascia) on both feet. Obviously I'm a slow healer. So when I injured my right rotator cuff last fall during 3-man league, I figured all was lost. But then I remembered, much like Charles Shackelford, I was amphibious.
Which means I can suck just as bad using my left hand as I can my right. So I brought my short, fat, broken body out to play. Since I wasn't allowed to play for the last 4 months, I was a little out of shape. Humpty Dumpty was out of shape, I was just pathetic. So after a few serves I was winded, but I figured it would pass.
It didn't, but something else did. Let's talk about no bathrooms for a second. This is pretty inhumane. But since there were woods nearby, us guys figured no problem, just go in the woods. But inside, I knew differently. Hey, I've watched those "When Animals Attack" specials and I know darn well that you are very vulnerable in that position. Combine the hurrying with the aforementioned crotch injury, and you've got yourself more pain.
But you rarely have pain without embarrassment, and this day was no different. One time I was so twisted around on a play, that when the play was over, I actually had to reach in and put my underwear back on correctly. Now that's embarrassing.
Well, for all the pain and embarrassment, I still had a great day. Mostly in part to my wonderful friends (some old friends, some new) from my net: Dan Wascher, Darren Koch, Justin Pellett, Roberta Wensko, Kristi Downes, Heather Knott, Sara Graveline. And more folks in the playoff rounds: Dan Alderete, Jeff Gauza, Maribeth Day.
Maybe one day I'll be healthy again (but I'll still be retardedly short). Hope everyone else had a good day whatever you were doing,
Clay
Bronze Prince of April 2003