Friday, March 26, 2021 (Court Day #365)

I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning to thundershowers and lightning. Sure enough, when I got up, through my son’s apartment window, I could see wet asphalt. Not good, the courts would certainly be wet. But how long would it take for courts in NC to dry off with no sunshine, but warmer temperatures? This is unknown territory for me.

Shortly after noon, while outside, I saw dry spots in the parking lot. Ah! I changed and drove to the courts. There were only about 6-7 cars in the lot at Ephesus Park at half past noon. There was one game going and an older couple hitting a ball back and forth by themselves. The man asked if I wanted to play, I quickly agreed and another man, wearing khaki pants, Rick, arrived about the same time and made a foursome. We played a couple of games. Not hard games, but not a cakewalk either.

Back for a second time.

The only other court busy had five University of North Carolina students playing an energetic game while one student waited to rotate in. Top player Ben Johns name came up in their conversation but I resisted the strong temptation to yell over that I’d met and chatted with Ben. They stayed another 90 minutes after I arrived before they left.

Another view of the courts. Wendy is seated on the left.

Kylene was back and I played a game or two with her. Wendy (knee) was back too as was Ben. Ben and I ended up playing a number of games on the same courts.

A selfie with Ben.

I had a really good last game with a tall fellow named Rob, Michael, and Gary. It was past 3 p.m.—my planned departure time—but I couldn’t pass up this game. Rob was very solid with an obvious tennis background. He shared that he’d lived three years in San Francisco. When he warned his partner, Gary, I believe, mid-game that I was a lefty, I corrected him that I’m a righty but playing lefty since I had shoulder surgery. “That’s impressive!” I demurred, “I’ve been doing it 18 months.” “It’s still impressive!” (Actually, it’s now more than two calendar years—though probably about 18 months of actual play considering my layoff.) That was a fun game. I got to and made some shots I would have been proud to make right-handed. I did hear the “I’d hate to have to play you right-handed!” comment after this game. Always nice.

It was a lightly attended day, as some commented; 4 courts was the maximum in use, and mostly 2-3 courts.

At 3:30, I said my goodbyes, apologized for having to leave—they’d be missing a fourth—and headed “home” to shower and get ready for a visit to my cousin David and his family who live about an hour to the south.

One milestone is today was a “year’s worth” of court days. 365 days on a pickleball court. Between injury and and a pandemic, it took a little over four years to do it, or an average of one outing every 4-5 days . . . and that’s including a half-year break from play.

Number of days on a court: 365
Number of total hours: 1,036.5

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.