Basketball

Basketball Court (Photo credit: xcode)

I went to the local park with one of my younger friends - a tyke still in middle school - to engage in a session of basketball wherein he'd teach me the tricks of the trade he's considered a professional at. Despite his best efforts, I didn't learn much - at least not about basketball itself.

I did learn about the incredible social ritual known as just going to the park and playing basketball with complete strangers. I spend so much time thinking about the right way to approach people, what to say to them, how to carry yourself, what excuses you can come up with - and here was my friend and tutoring pupil, defying all of my preconceived notions about "casual encounters" by simply coming up to complete strangers of any age and soliciting their time, physical effort and desire to engage in a simple game involving a rubber sphere.

It was mind-blowing! To think that as we grow up, social interactions became so much more methodical and potentially awkward to the point that many feel they're not even worth it anymore! But it's nice to see that more practical human beings like my basketball pro pupil are keeping things as real as can be.

Basketball