Unexpected

As a young boy, I fell in love for the first time, and it was one of those sweaty, dirty, bouncy, affairs. Not too surprisingly, it still goes on. My dad walked me into the backyard, and told me to look up. There was a basketball pole and hoop, stretching forever skyward, and my interest was piqued. I learned the fine art of dribbling, shooting, pretending, and dodging. The pole was cemented in and the base was not level at the ground. If the shot was made just right, and I was standing just wrong...I would get nutted. The ball would bounce right up into my groinal region, and after much pulsation and tears, I would pick myself up and shoot again. It was here that I learned to shoot a sky-hook. Dad was 6'4 and I needed a shot that he couldn't block. The red dirt around the goal became my stomping ground, and eventually around age 10, I beat my dad pretty easily. Unexpectedly, he died in 1983, at the age of 35. That evening I watched my favorite player, Dr. J defeat "Mr. Sky Hook" Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the NBA finals. In high school we played thousands of games of 21 or HORSE or 2 on 2, and I was the star. The perfect afternoon consisted of rigging a Jam box out the back door, blasting some Journey or Prince, and shooting hoops. Many times I would go in the house, remove my socks, and spend lots of time scrubbing off my clay mired legs. I played on the goal on the hill, beside the well until we moved from there in the early 90's.

Today, I went into work and my day did not go as expected. One of our Truck Unloaders died from a heart attack last night. He was 41 years old. He left a wife and 2 kids, ages 4 and 9. I was pretty shaken today, not because he and I were good friends(we were not), but because of the thoughts that dashed about in my mind. I guess because he was young, and left two kids and a wife, 1983 came running backward and knocked on my soul. I thought of my Mom and her strength, and my sister and her love for my father, and the face of the 12 year old redhead hoop star and hurt flooded me. Unexpected emotion on a Wednesday, usually reserved for Sunday.

I left work and walked to the Toy Department. I picked up a large box and some football cards. After paying, I loaded the box in my car, sticking out of the trunk, and headed for home. My night has been immersed in grace and memories...if I didn't know better I can see clay on my feet and hear someone say...look at the rim...follow through...Good Shot Son!