the other side of the fence
on wednesday there’s an outdoor volleyball league that sets up camp in stead park–right behind the bar. i watch them for a bit before i work every wednesday and cry a little on the inside because i’d much rather be there on the court. the park itself is raised about 4 or five feet above the streets/alleys that surround it. then there is a chain link fence about, oh, twenty feet or so. so i’m down on the street watching (critiquing) the skill displayed by some of the teams and by teams i mean women on the team.
anyway. i’m standing there when some girl mishits (surprise) and knocks the ball up over the chainlink fence down to the alley where i’m standing.
being much more confident in my ability to kick a ball than throw one, i opt to punt the ball over the fence. however, i was way too close to the fence to just pop it up and over. my first attempt nearly decapitated a bike cop who was (cruising) pedaling down the alley. he ducked. i apologized because i really didn’t see him. then i try again and this time the i get enough height on the ball, but not enough arc and the ball goes up up up and down on the very top of the chain link fence and falls back down on my side.
some douche bag yells “just throw it”. and for some reason i felt the need to explain to this group of strangers why i felt more confident with my punting skills than my throwing. although, i’m not retarded. i know how to throw a ball.
side story: one time during one of our active senior sundays back in the day before all my friends moved away, clay, kai and scotty and i were tossing a frisbee down on the mall when a nearby family playing catch lobbed the ball over to clay who then attempted to throw the ball back. now, i’m not saying it was a bad display of athletic ability, but it was. when a field trip of elementary school kids giggle at the sight…well, not everyone has the ability to throw a ball.
side story: at work, when it’s slow, we like to lob balled up napkins from the ends of the bar into the trash can that sits in the middle–a distance of twenty feet or so. based on my average there, i really should be in the NBA.
so i do have hand eye coordination and finally decide to risk it and toss the ball over very easily. what i really wanted to do was march all the way around to the open gate, ball in hand and crash their little volleyball party.
i’m looking forward to my weekend in Houston next month. a full weekend devoted to sitting by the pool, maybe some shopping, definitely eating, reading magazines at legally fawns. i’ve decided to call it Weekend at Spa Fawn. ooh! or Spawn for short!
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