on being nearly 30 at a high school basketball game

you are watching the game and thinking, my god, they are only kids. you remember when it mattered, now you want to tell them to just go out there and run around. you shake a few hands, say hi, but feel a little off, as if it's not your time anymore. you know a couple of the cheer leaders. they look cute in their outfits. you think of them as if you were their older brother, but your feelings probably wouldn't come off well, so you don't say anything to them. the game is rather boring, or is that just your own sense of alienation? you look at them and think, i could bust them if i got into shape, but is that true? probably not.

the whole things matters and doesn't matter. a 6 foot white kid tries to dunk, and misses. the coach, a 6 foot 11 inch giant, screams "what are you thinking?" and then remembers he is dealing with children. brookline wins, they make the playoffs. the whole thing was mildly positive.

i didn't linger long. i had a bus to catch. as i walked, i thought, why did i do this? yet, i may go again. in the end, what is there to do? it is good to see people caring, energy being displayed, heavy set girls somehow doing splits. and yet, there is an undercurrent of sadness to it all. former players who still live in the projects, sitting in the front row, replaying their past when they too were stars. an old man shouting into a pa system, telling everyone to stay off the floor.

at the end of it all, the life of things return. despite the old man's pleading, the little ones run onto the court and fling balls at the basket. cheerleaders receive roses from admiring parents. there is a touch of anarchy, as the refs retire and the coaches depart. it is during the best part that the people leave. sadly, they are only satisfied with structure.

brookline high school. it's really not such a bad place. i've worked there for close to three years, and still haven't committed suicide.

maybe i'll go to another game.

i didn't hate it as much as everything else.

way to go warriors.

by the way, when is supposedly liberal brookline going to stop calling their team the warriors?

i just can't quit when i'm ahead.

what do you expect from a bleeding fart liberal, who has been unable to build an ass roots, bowel movement?

i guess something like this blog