Sunday, January 20, 2019

Day 96, "Every picture has a story"
George and I played in our club tournament yesterday.  There were 10 teams signed up.  We played 2 30 minute matches.  After the hour there were 4 teams undefeated so they made it to the semi-finals.  In the semis and finals we played until a team won 5 games.  George and I won semis 5-2 and the finals 5-3.  Before I go any farther I need to say George is a very good player as he plays at a 4.0 level so nice partner!  I play at a 3.0 level and there is also a 3.5 level.  In the first match we faced a guy who plays on a 3.5 team and the same was true for the second match.  In the semis we faced 2 guys who play at the 3.5 level and in the finals one of the guys is a 4.0 I would say.  Of course the winning was fun BUT there was a much much more important aspect of the day than winning.  
Tennis here, as I would say in any sport any place, tends to be cliques.  I started playing a few years ago and in order to learn the game to some degree I had to play with players who are mostly at a 2.5 level.  In fact in 2017 my team won the 2.5 league which included 8 teams from communities within a radius of 15 miles.  I have worked hard to UP my game and likewise several of my teammates have done the same.  Last year we moved to the 3.0 level and it was a learning experience.  Well as I practice and play I have tried to get matches with guys who are at the 3.0 or 3.5 level.  It is almost like there is a glass ceiling and one can't go higher.  So yesterday  as George and I defeated guys (of course George had a lot to do with it BUT I held my own and played well) who do not want to include me in weekly morning play it was fun.  Then in the championship Dan, who organizes much of the play, had to sit and watch us play and win.  It was redemption big time.  Will it make it any easier to get into the matches with better players?  It actually does not make a big difference for me at this time as I think I have shown that I can "play with the big boys" and compete at their level.  Does it mean that I am as good as they?  No, but there still is an UP to my game that I intend to strive for.  Enough, it was a fun afternoon.

I had a funny experience this morning.  I got up about 4:00 AM and went out to see if the paper had arrived.  As I went out the door I noticed it had not rained and it was forecast to do so.  In fact I had driven the car around the block and parked it in a parking space under a car port as I washed it yesterday and did not want to have it rained on.  We can not get into our garage until the tile is completed on the roof as there is a dumpster in our driveway now.  Anyway I was not surprised that the paper had not come.  It looked like a nice night.  About a minute after I got into the house it sounded like God dumped a giant kettle of water on the house as the rain poured down.  No need to say poured down as never have I seen it pour up!  IF I had been in the middle of the driveway looking for the paper I would have been drenched before I made it into the house.  What made it so strange is there was NO warning that it was about to rain.

AND
It was the fall of 1957 and I was starting the 5th grade.  Larry and I were the guys in 5th grade who were OK.  Some of the guys were one or two years older but in our grade because they had struggled in school in the past.  Well to be honest they still struggled. Our room was 5th and 6th graders.  In the 6th grade were several boys like Jack, Chuck and Walter.  Jack was  a good athlete while Chuck and Walter were not so much in ANY area.  BUT they were older than I.  AND back in those days "old" ruled in the classroom as well as the ball field.  Shortly after school started in the fall Chuck and Walter decided they needed to let me know that they ruled.  They must have thought they needed to show me who was boss or what ever.  As I walked to the bus at 3:30 they came from behind the bus, jumped me and threw me to the ground.  "What the heck is this? Two against one.  They jumped on top of me, slapped my face and then ran off.  What was I to do as I had to get on the bus.  Interesting as Ray K, the bus driver, just watched the whole thing.  What was I to do?  Back then you did not go to your teacher or to Mom and Dad.  No, you had to take care of things yourself or let by gones be by gones and accept the fact that they ruled.  Well in my world that was not going to happen.  I was big for my age as I was about their height but living and working on the farm certainly was better for strength than living in town.  I kept in mind what happened and waited for my time.  A few days later, during recess, we were playing west of the school where there were play things.  Just before the bell rang to come in I grabbed Chuck, who was standing off to the side of the play ground.  I threw him to the ground and jumped on top of him.  As I held him down he looked at me and said I won't do it again.  I pushed him a bit and let him go.  Walter was next a couple days later and he was more mushy than Chuck.  From that time on I did not have any trouble with the guys.  I know that kind of thing would not happen today.  BUT I am not sure what is best.  Walter and Chuck were in the grade above me so we never were the best of friends but we were friends.  Also they were not sports minded so after grade school they were not in my circle of guys I kept company with.  In my high school days there really was not much social life for guys like me.  25 miles from school did not lend itself to much social life except on the hardcourt or football field or on the bus.  When I think about it I feel that the fighting may have been the reason NOBODY teased me about my stuttering as it was the worst in 5th and 6th grade.  
A side note.  Chuck died about a year ago.  He, his younger brother Greg and his older brother Lee all have passed away and really at a young age so to speak.  I send a note to a friend about Chuck's death and she said Chuck and Walter remained friends all through adult life.  I would say in grade school and high school they were partners in crime.  Not crime of today's world but mischief that was NOT nice for sure.  

The FP is history and after tennis yesterday and Sunday today I HAD to enjoy a bit of Irish Cream in it.  

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