PLAN B If it’s not raining today at 1pm, I’m going to be playing tennis somewhere, even if it’s just with myself. For the second Saturday in a row, the Zebulon Old Farts Tennis Tour has been derailed from its flagship playing time by rain and I’m not the only one not liking it. I talked with Rick Rogers a couple of times this week and he was super-pumped about playing tennis yesterday morning, saying that he was seeking to make amends for last Monday night and he was especially looking forward to wiping that shit-eating grin from the face of that night’s big winner, Spencer Creech. Speaking of Spencer, he called me yesterday afternoon around 4, saying that he was about to go stir-crazy himself. He said he was normally recovering from a long morning of tennis at this time on Saturday afternoons and he had so much energy built up, he didn’t know what to do with himself. As for me, when I can’t play tennis, I just read and eat and eat some more and read some more, and not necessarily in that order. As much tennis as I do play, I could lose weight easily if I had any will power at all over my appetite. But I don’t. Not one iota. Funny thing is, I realize all it takes to have that will power is to simply change my way of thinking. I don’t have to go out and buy a damn thing, or start some type of regiment with pills or powder to lose weight. All I have to do is get my thinking straightened out. Been working on that little project for nearly 60 years now and not too much has come of it. Still, it’s there if I want it. According to the weatherman, the sun is going to shine today and we should be able to play some tennis somewhere. Our Plan B is to play anytime we get an open window of two or more hours. If the courts in Z-town are dry enough, we’ll play there. If not, we will be at East Wake High School. Plan B also includes some flexibility in the start time, as we can start whenever we choose, but right now we’re looking at 1pm. The tennis courts at Whitley Park in Zebulon are on the verge of becoming unplayable. There are cracks in the courts running from baseline-to-baseline, splitting both service courts in half. There are also a couple of areas about twenty feet long and a foot wide that are pure dead spots. The surface of the court has separated from the asphalt underneath and there’s a pocket of air between the two. When the ball hits in these areas, as it often does, there is a distinctive ‘tink’ sound, and the ball doesn’t come up very much at all like it does when it hits a solid surface. Sometimes you have time to adjust your shot; most times you don’t. It just something we have to deal with. Dealing with someone’s serve (like Jamie Harris, Spencer, or Tim Jones) and it hits in one of those cracks and takes a really shitty hop is another thing we have to deal with that just shouldn’t exist. Also, when it rains, as it has today, after the area inside the lines has dried out, the court between the baseline and the fence on the south side (swimming pool end) is slick with mildew on the surface and is somewhat dangerous, especially for old folks and Old Farts like me. As if that’s not enough, some vandal has taken it upon him- or herself to dig up the tennis surface on the court next to Whitley Manor. Sheesh. Anybody got any cheese and crackers to go along with all this whine?
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 11:18:53 +0000
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