Do you have any stories of times gone by where you've thought about things that have happened (or not happened) and you wonder what might have come of it if things had gone different in some way? I'm nearing my mid forties and really starting to see the results on my body & mind for activities I've partaken in over my years. I'm a very active guy but feeling the slowdown in a few areas.
-I crack a pretty lame joke every now & then with people close to me saying that I've been with my beautiful wife long enough now that if I had illegitimate children running around, they'd be well over 18 and I wouldn't need to pay any benefits. Phew!
-I've played basketball forever at various levels. When I was in my teen years I played in an area that got noticed by one of the founding NBL clubs and I was on the path to training to be Professional. That stopped quite abruptly when I had a run-in with the Uncle of a kid that was trying for the same position. He was refereeing a game we played against a Japanese college, made a shit call against me so I let him have it. The Japanese guys thought they were getting written up so they ran on the court with fold up chairs! As I walked off the court to the cheers of my people (I was ejected......) I chucked a brown eye at the ref. I then had to leave the building. That same weekend I was playing on outdoor courts, dunked it and pulled the whole system down. My hand was under the steel ring which shattered my hand into 7 extra pieces. Six months later the bandages and wires came off after six surgeries and I learnt to use my arm again. While I was in hospital, the judiciary (headed by the jealous uncle that I mooned) gave me a lifetime ban from their club which was the feeder club to the NBL Team. That meant I could never progress. Harsh but I learnt a lesson in Karma back then. Anyway, I've been thinking lots about this lately as I near my last ever competition game next week to avoid hurting my body any more. I wonder what might have been if I kept my pants on that night and if I could've made something of it. I'm at peace with it, looking forward to less knee and foot pain.
-Last week on our morning walk in our local Marina at 6am trying to spot the fish & stingrays with our Pup, we spotted a body floating in the water. It was still dark but lit up enough to make it out. I jumped the fences and did as much as I could with the intention of hoping to resuscitate the guy but he was well & truly gone. Poor old guy, we know nothing more of the circumstances that led to him being in the water but again I wonder what might have been if his circumstances varied by something miniscule.
Got any yarns of what might've been for you?
-I crack a pretty lame joke every now & then with people close to me saying that I've been with my beautiful wife long enough now that if I had illegitimate children running around, they'd be well over 18 and I wouldn't need to pay any benefits. Phew!
-I've played basketball forever at various levels. When I was in my teen years I played in an area that got noticed by one of the founding NBL clubs and I was on the path to training to be Professional. That stopped quite abruptly when I had a run-in with the Uncle of a kid that was trying for the same position. He was refereeing a game we played against a Japanese college, made a shit call against me so I let him have it. The Japanese guys thought they were getting written up so they ran on the court with fold up chairs! As I walked off the court to the cheers of my people (I was ejected......) I chucked a brown eye at the ref. I then had to leave the building. That same weekend I was playing on outdoor courts, dunked it and pulled the whole system down. My hand was under the steel ring which shattered my hand into 7 extra pieces. Six months later the bandages and wires came off after six surgeries and I learnt to use my arm again. While I was in hospital, the judiciary (headed by the jealous uncle that I mooned) gave me a lifetime ban from their club which was the feeder club to the NBL Team. That meant I could never progress. Harsh but I learnt a lesson in Karma back then. Anyway, I've been thinking lots about this lately as I near my last ever competition game next week to avoid hurting my body any more. I wonder what might have been if I kept my pants on that night and if I could've made something of it. I'm at peace with it, looking forward to less knee and foot pain.
-Last week on our morning walk in our local Marina at 6am trying to spot the fish & stingrays with our Pup, we spotted a body floating in the water. It was still dark but lit up enough to make it out. I jumped the fences and did as much as I could with the intention of hoping to resuscitate the guy but he was well & truly gone. Poor old guy, we know nothing more of the circumstances that led to him being in the water but again I wonder what might have been if his circumstances varied by something miniscule.
Got any yarns of what might've been for you?