A Last Shot with Time Running Out
From “Towering Inferno” to pilot light
I got a new basketball for Father’s Day, to replace one I donated to the neighborhood pool and tennis club we belong to. Trying out the new ball at the club’s outdoor court I took a bad shot and it bounced off the court and settled near something that turned out to be the ball I had donated. At least it appeared to be.
While the new ball was slick and shiny, the ball I gave to the club had lost most of its color, and much of the orange/brown covering had worn off, replaced by a soft grayish stubble. It was no longer taut, had lost pressure and was too soft to dribble.
I have a long history with basketball. Growing to 6 feet 6 inches tall made me a popular choice when picking teams — until my lack of every other athletic attribute became evident.
Still, basketball gave me many good times. I once dunked in a game to a chorus of “Oooh” from onlookers. I played an exhibition game against members of the Oakland Raiders football team and when I blocked a shot, the gym announcer instantly nicknamed me, “Towering inferno!”
My slightly taller older brother and I used to have fiercely fought and sometimes angry matchups. I remember our temperatures were rising during one contest when he suddenly yielded and stopped returning my hard fouls with his own. It was the morning of his wedding day. He said he didn’t want to risk getting or giving any marks that would show up in the photographs.
I even learned I had Parkinson’s because of basketball, when I broke my finger in a pick-up game. The surgeon who repaired it said the shaking in my hand couldn’t be eliminated by fixing the ruptured ligaments because the trembling came from “up there.” He was pointing to my head.
The weathered ball had gotten a lot of use; many moments of triumph and defeat turned it from slick to worn, from that solid orange/brown to mostly gray, like my hair. I am tired now, and my moments of basketball glory, such as they were, are entirely behind me. But the old weathered ball and I had our day on the court, and speaking for both of us, they were enough.
