i've mentioned before how the lives of my father and i have followed
eerily similar lines. when i think about the happenings in both, i am
at once both disturbed and hopeful. when i was small i told my mom i wanted to play football. she wouldn't
ever commit to it and the discussion went on for a while. then, i got
it in my head that i wanted to be a boxer. i told her, and she signed
me up for soccer the next day. i had no idea what soccer was. i doubt
she did either. i showed up to my first practice in jeans and cowboy
boots. and a life long love affair was born. somewhere in my first season, a ball junk punched me in my man
business and i layed on the ground rolling around in pre puber agony.
my mom was panicking on the sideline, yelling at me, asking if i was
alright. when i could talk again, i yelled out that yes, i was
alright, that i had just been hit in the nuts. which quieted my mom
and made her turn bright red. fast forward 30+ years and i'm coaching my son's team. yesterday i was
on a knee surrounded by a team of small 4 year old boys trying to
explain to them that the ball could touch their feet, their heads,
their knees and their bellies, but not their hands. one of the boys
said, "if it hits you in the nu nu, you'll do this," then made a face
and bent over slightly. another boy giggled and said, "what's a nu
nu?" we are only yards away from the soccer moms chatting it up and i
am trying to suppress my own chuckles, when Tiny Tank blurts, "you
mean if you get hit in the nuts?" soccer mom conversation ceased and whatever self control i had
maintained flew away like a plastic wal-mart bag in a west texas
breeze. practiced ended shortly thereafter. i was not embarrassed
like my mom had been so long ago, but i did laugh long and hard. i do
not know where he heard the term nuts. my guess would probably be a
cartoon though. have you watched any of them lately? ridiculous. it seems my son's life may follow similar lines as my own. i believe
in that sort of thing. i pray that he will be spared the pain i've
endured though. protect my children, Lord. it's all i'm asking.
ghost
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