We were midway through Elementary School when we joined The Royals baseball team. It was a “daddy pitch” league, hardball and co-ed. At that age, seven or eight, we were all still relatively close in size, and in uniform with our mullets brushed back under the brim of our caps, we easily passed for boys.
I wasn’t good, not at all. I remember very little about that year of baseball, but here is what I could dig out of the recesses of my mind:
1. I played shortstop and my one “big play” wasn’t. I didn’t actually tag the kid out, but to all those watching it looked like I did. I immediately begged the umpire to recall his decision but I think the kid stayed out.
2. I peed my pants in the outfield. This is one of those, “was it really me or was it Tegan?” memory mix-ups. I’m pretty sure it was me. What I know is that I still feel too shy to ask people to use the bathroom.
3. There was a parade, we got to march in it and hand out candy. What the parade was for, I’ll never know.
That’s it. I always hoped I would discover that I was good at a sport. Long before I understood racquet ball, I knew I was pretty decent at hitting a tennis ball against the garage door. I had a lucky game of basketball in grade eight where I scored 14 points (or was it 21?) and it seemed as though I was going to be one of those underdog stories. However, I didn’t repeat that effort ever again. I remember one of the physical education teachers in high school telling me to join the field hockey team, but, I was long past the team sports or extra curricular activity stage. I loved watching hockey but was a lousy skater. I was decent at Super Mario Kart, but back then being skilled at a video game just meant you were an “indoor kid”. I didn’t like getting hurt, and once karate became about kicks to the ribs and not the knuckle push-ups, I quit. I was a decent swimmer but gave that up when puberty hit and bathing suits corrupted my confidence.
Perhaps all of that is why I thoroughly enjoy reading about sports. Fiction or Non Fiction, it doesn’t matter.
One of my favorite non-fiction books is, “The Fight” by Norman Mailer. I also loved “Netherland” by Joseph O’Neill- a gorgeous novel that described Cricket in a way that I finally understood it.
I haven’t been reading a lot this month, but I managed to get through “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach. It was really terrific and the main reason I started thinking about my time on The Royals.
I’m still dipping in and out of ‘The Forgotten Waltz’ by Anne Enright. It’s a gorgeous book but I have to admit that I bought it for my KOBO reader and I tend to forget about it sometimes. That seems to be the biggest glitch for me about my electronic friend…
I always enjoy being in the studio because there is always plenty of time to read or “unwind from a long day with a book” type moments. So, hopefully I will have more updates and book recommendations soon!
skq